Disabilities And Complex Financial Situations

No one ever plans on getting hurt. A personal injury — or an injury caused due to someone else’s negligence — is not something people normally plan for when managing their finances. A simple trip to the store or a fun drive in a car might be all it takes to change your life. If someone at the store does not clean up and mark a spill, you might break a bone, leading to a permanent disability. If another driver is texting and not paying attention to the road, they might crash into you and leave you with life altering disabilities, as our friends at Cohen & Cohen have seen many times.

Even if you work with a personal injury lawyer and win your case, your settlement may not be enough to cover the new way you are now forced to live your life which can result in filing for bankruptcy. This might be due to several outstanding factors that you should be aware of:

Debts

When you win a personal injury case, any debts you currently owe will normally be taken out of the settlement you receive before it ends up in your accounts. That means any credit card debt, medical loans, or even back rent might be taken from it before you see any of it. If you were already in a tough financial situation before your injury, it may leave you in a worse financial situation after it is resolved in court. If your outstanding debts eat up your settlement, you will need to seek a bankruptcy lawyer for help.

Ongoing Treatment

Personal injury settlements are meant to cover expenses such as lost wages and medical bills. However, the settlement may not be enough down the line as your medical team determines you need further treatment. You may need more surgeries to fix broken bones or you may need more physical therapy than originally planned to help in your healing process, just to name a couple of examples. This can quickly lead to even more medical bills. Unfortunately, collection agencies may start harassing you to repay these bills, but thankfully filing for bankruptcy can stop them from contacting you.

Loss Of Job

After your initial injury, you may find that your workplace is more than happy to accommodate you. Personal injury settlements help you if you lose a job due to your injury — for example, if you worked in a warehouse lifting boxes but suffered a shoulder injury that no longer allows you to lift, then the settlement would work to cover that. However, the settlement does not factor in if a company is struggling. So, if your company has issues and later does layoffs, you may find yourself out of a job with a lot of debt — not to mention the fact that in some cases you may need to make adjustments to your living situation so that you are able to remain there such as chair lifts or ramps which can quickly add up with no income coming in.

With outstanding debts, ongoing treatments, and no wages, it might be a good idea to file bankruptcy. Everyone’s case is different, so it is best to speak with a legal professional near you to understand what your options are to protect your finances after a debilitating injury.