Compensation for a Lacerated Liver in an Atlanta Car Accident
Lacerated livers are relatively common among survivors of Atlanta car accidents. If you have experienced this injury, you may be curious about your treatment and your pathway toward compensation. Continue this conversation alongside an experienced Atlanta car accident attorney for personalized guidance.
How Does a Car Accident Cause a Lacerated Liver?
If you are recovering from a lacerated liver, you might be confused about how your car accident managed to cause this injury. This is actually a leading cause of liver injuries across the entire country, and doctors are well aware of this. The National Institutes of Health outlines several “mechanisms” of liver injury, and they include acceleration injuries, deceleration injuries, and compression injuries.
An acceleration injury occurs when the liver is subjected to a rapid force from a vehicle, such as a dashboard or steering wheel. In a deceleration injury, a “rapidly moving body” suddenly stops. This causes the liver to impact the inside of the chest wall, crushing or lacerating it. A compression injury occurs when the liver is trapped or squeezed between two objects. For example, a seatbelt might squeeze and lacerate the liver during a high-speed car crash.
Is a Lacerated Liver a Serious Car Accident Injury?
A lacerated liver has the potential to be incredibly serious, even life-threatening. However, doctors today know exactly how to treat this injury, and surgery is not usually required. Doctors typically inject certain drugs intravenously and supervise the patient while they rest. This is often enough to prevent serious complications and encourage the liver to heal.
That said, surgery is certainly a possibility. The key is to seek medical attention as soon as possible so that doctors can determine whether you have a minor or serious laceration. Regardless of the “grade” of laceration, you can expect to take at least a couple of months off work as you recover. More serious lacerations may require up to six months of rest.
Will a Lacerated Liver Lead to High Compensation?
A lacerated liver in a car accident should lead to compensation if another driver contributed to the crash or outright caused it. That said, the specific level of compensation depends on various factors. First, consider whether you received relatively minor treatment or surgery. The latter will result in higher medical bills and therefore higher compensation.
You should also consider how much work you missed and your average wages. High earners who miss months of work can expect fair compensation that reflects these losses. Finally, you also need to consider your “non-economic” damages, which represent your psychological or emotional issues in relation to the car accident and your lacerated liver.
Can a Car Accident Attorney in Atlanta Help Me?
A car accident attorney in Atlanta may be able to help if you’re recovering from a lacerated liver. Although medical professionals should be able to treat this injury, it has the potential to be life-threatening. You may want to discuss your options for compensation alongside Morain & Buckelew, LLC for more personalized guidance.
Source:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3570073/