The term “chest injury” includes different types of trauma to the chest, including penetrating injuries and blunt force trauma. Both types of chest injuries can cause life-threatening conditions and life-altering impairments.
Because of the potential damages a chest injury can cause, it is important to understand some things about chest injury cases. A personal injury lawyer in Lafayette, LA will fight to get you a fair settlement from the party who caused your chest injury.
What Types of Chest Injuries Can a Victim Sustain?
Chest injuries can cause severe damage. The type and severity of the injury determine the risk for permanent impairment.
Our legal team handles cases involving all types of chest injury, including:
- Puncture wounds
- Internal bleeding
- Broken and fractured ribs
- Internal organ damage
- Soft tissue damage
- Ruptured diaphragm
- Flail chest
- Injuries to the trachea and esophagus
Chest injuries result in numerous complications, including collapsed lungs, infections, and heart failure. Immediate medical attention is required to diagnose the severity of the injury and develop a treatment plan. Prompt medical care reduces the risk of long-term consequences and helps to prove your personal injury claim.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of a Chest Injury?
Chest trauma can occur without any outward signs of injury. Therefore, it is essential to be checked by a doctor. You should discuss the potential signs and symptoms of a chest injury with your doctor.
Common signs of a chest injury include, but are not limited to:
- Any type of chest pain, including dull and sharp pains
- Difficulty breathing
- Pain that worsens when you cough or breathe
- Discoloration and/or bruising
- Shortness of breath
It could take hours or days to feel the full symptoms of a chest injury. You cannot be sure how severe the injury might be until a doctor examines you. Therefore, it is always best to err on the side of caution and be checked by a physician whenever you are involved in an accident, experience blunt force trauma, or are near a blast or explosion.
What Are Common Causes of Chest Injuries?
Any type of accident can cause a chest injury. We handle all types of chest injury cases caused by negligence, intentional torts, or other wrongful acts.
Chest injury cases we handle include those caused by:
- Car accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Truck accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Construction accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Defective products
Many chest injuries result from blunt force trauma. For example, a person in a car crash hits the steering wheel or the dashboard, causing chest injuries. Another example is a construction worker being hit by falling debris or a piece of machinery.
The party responsible for causing your injury could be liable for your damages. In some cases, a jury could award punitive damages. Our legal team will work closely with you and your physicians to document your damages to calculate how much your case is worth.
How Much Is My Lafayette Chest Injury Case Worth?
Each personal injury case is different. Even though two people suffer a chest injury, it does not mean their cases are worth the same amount. Many factors impact how much your claim is worth.
Factors that could impact the value of your chest injury claim include:
- The type of injury
- The duration of your recovery
- Whether you sustain a permanent impairment
- The medical treatment you receive
- Your financial losses
- The impact on your ability to work
- How the injury affects your daily life and relationships with family and friends
- The psychological trauma you experienced
Your fault for the cause of your injury could also impact the value of your case. Louisiana comparative fault laws do not bar you from receiving compensation if you are partially to blame for causing your chest injury. However, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.
We understand this tactic and will fight back against unjust allegations of fault.
What Damages Can I Receive in a Chest Injury Claim?
Damages are awarded to compensate an injured victim for their losses. In a chest injury case, you can receive compensation for your financial losses or economic damages.
Those damages include:
- Doctor’s bills and costs of medical treatment
- Rehabilitative therapy, including occupational and physical therapy
- Future medical bills
- Past and future lost wages
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Long-term nursing care
- Diminished earning capacity
You can also recover compensation for your non-economic damages for a chest injury.
Those damages include your:
- Mental anguish
- Physical pain and suffering
- Impairments and disabilities
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Decrease in quality of life
Assessing the value of a personal injury claim can be challenging. If you have future damages because of a permanent disability, our legal team may work with several experts to accurately predict your future damages.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lafayette Chest Injury Lawyer?
Knowing when to hire an attorney after an accident or personal injury can be difficult. You would benefit from seeking legal advice if you sustained a chest injury. However, we understand that the cost of hiring a personal injury lawyer might be intimidating.
Most Lafayette personal injury attorneys take cases based on a contingency fee. Instead of paying an upfront fee, you pay when your attorney recovers money in your case. Therefore, you do not need to worry about paying attorneys’ fees until you get paid.
What Is the Deadline to File a Chest Injury Claim in Louisiana?
Most personal injury claims must be filed within one year from the date of injury. If you miss the statute of limitations, you lose the right to file a lawsuit in court. Therefore, we encourage you to discuss your personal injury case with an attorney as soon as possible.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Lafayette Chest Injury Attorney
You deserve full compensation for all damages you sustained because of a chest injury. Contact Kenny Habetz Injury Law at (337) 399-9000 to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced Lafayette personal injury lawyer.
