If you have been injured in a car accident in Fort Lauderdale or anywhere in the state of Florida, mounting medical bills can quickly become a serious financial burden—even when you are not the one to blame for the crash. Even once your initial injuries are healed, accident victims can suffer for years with depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety.
Injuries that seemed healed can rear their heads once again and become chronic, leading to a lifetime of pain, lost wages, and a less than active lifestyle. In addition, accident victims with limited mobility may be at a higher risk for developing chronic health conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes.
When insurance companies offer car accident victims a settlement, none of those above complications are ever considered. These medical costs can quickly drain an accident victim’s savings and put a tremendous financial strain on families who are already struggling.
For these reasons alone, it is no real surprise that a 2005 Harvard study found that medical reasons were a primary cause of bankruptcy for hundreds of thousands of people every year. In 2005 alone, more than 2 million Americans cited medical reasons as one of the causes of their bankruptcy.
The reasons? The high cost of medical care, expensive prescription drugs, and increased health insurance premiums leave many accident victims struggling to make ends meet. When their injuries and pain levels prevent them from working and providing for their families, the results are disastrous. Before filing bankruptcy for medical reasons, many accident victims lost their homes, failed to fill their necessary prescriptions, and even went without food because their medical expenses were too high.
For these reasons, it is important to contact a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer immediately after your accident. Never speak to an insurance adjuster without discussing your case with a lawyer—and never agree to a settlement. The majority of settlements do not take these long-term costs and complications into consideration—leaving accident victims on the line for rising future health costs.
