One of the most traumatic consequences for a victim of a personal injury accident is to lose their eyesight, which can be total blindness, or a partial or temporary loss of sight. It goes without saying that a loss of eyesight will significantly affect most areas of a person’s life, from their ability to earn a living to emotional relationships with family and friends to simply getting around. An experienced personal injury attorney will work with a victim and their family to recover all losses that are suffered from loss of eyesight, including the following.
Medical Bills, Equipment, and Rehabilitation
A liable defendant in a personal injury lawsuit resulting in blindness will be responsible for paying for all medical costs over the victim’s lifetime. This includes hospitalization, surgeries, visits with opthamologists and other medical professionals, and any costs of rehabilitation. In addition, the defendant should pay for all equipment that is needed, including eyewear, equipment for use in the home to assist in sight or to help a person navigate, seeing-eye dog costs, and so on.
Loss of Income Earning Ability
Again, loss of sight can often mean that a person can no longer do their job, and may even mean they are not able to work in their chosen career. In a personal injury lawsuit, a victim can obtain the total lifetime differential between what he would have earned had his sight not been impaired and what he will be able to earn now, which in some cases may be a very significant difference.
Pain and Suffering
Beyond medical costs and loss of income, a loss of eyesight is inherently a deeply traumatic event and leads to a significant difference in the way a victim is able to enjoy life. Defendant’ are expected to cover the cost of that differential between a life with eyesight and life without eyesight through pain and suffering damages. These damages – which can sometimes be the largest aspect of a personal injury recovery – are meant to compensate the victim for the physical pain that is felt as well as loss of enjoyment in life, such as the change in the ability of the victim to relate to family and friends and engage in other aspects of life.
Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys in the Inland Empire
At McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP our personal injury team – led by by partner Cory Weck, a Marine Corps officer with over 20 years of service to his country and 15 years of experience litigating personal injury cases – has repeatedly won verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients across the Inland Empire in the millions of dollars. Our attorneys understand that the fear, anxiety, and pain that you and your family are going through following a personal injury, and we are dedicated to doing everything we can to help our clients get the help they need. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced personal injury attorneys.