When a senior citizen is injured in an accident, the resulting personal injury case will vary when compared to someone in their 20s who endured the exact same accident. This is due to a range of factors, including the important fact that it is highly likely that a senior will suffer more serious injuries, and longer-lasting effects of their injuries, than someone younger. For this reason alone, it is important for a senior to hire a lawyer to help them through their legal process and get the financial compensation that they are rightfully entitled to.
The following are just a few of the reasons that a senior citizen will have a different lawsuit when compared to someone younger, and why it is so important that they get the legal support of an experienced attorney to help them fight for the compensation that they rightfully deserve.
A Minor Accident Can Have Serious Consequences For a Senior
The simple fact of the matter is that a senior citizen is at greater risk of catastrophic, long-term injuries after a car accident, even something minor like a fender-bender or a low speed rear-end crash at an intersection. This is because older adults are at a higher risk of serious injuries from trauma, and can have a much harder time making a full recovery. After a car accident, an older adult may be left with chronic pain and a major impact on their quality of life that a younger individual would have avoided. However, just because an older individual sustains injuries that a younger victim may not have endured does not mean that they are entitled to less money as a result. Notably, consulting with an injury lawyer can help you clear the doubts.
The senior’s attorney will need to consider all of the injuries and the long-term impacts that they will have on their lives as they make a case for a fair settlement, or as they prepare for trial after filing a lawsuit. It is accepted that a senior will likely have greater medical costs for an injury than a younger victim, but at the end of the day your attorney will be seeking compensation for the damages, not what the damages could be if the victim were younger.
Combatting the Insurance Company’s Tactics
Keep in mind that the insurance company’s goal with any personal injury claim is to settle as quickly as possible, for as little money as possible. This will be the goal as the insurance company tries to explore the elderly victim’s medical history, and will likely attempt to dismiss as many injuries as possibly by claiming that they are pre-existing issues that they have no liability to compensate. This can get complicated if the senior victim does have a history of medical issues, but in no way should mean that they are not entitled to compensation – even if the injury in question was merely exasperated by the accident, and not caused by it initially.
An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to separate these two issues and will be able to gather evidence from a range of sources that will help to support the case. This process can be frustrating when going it alone, so whether you or a loved one is the injured senior citizen, it is extremely important to partner with an attorney who will help fight for fair compensation and push back against the insurance company.
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