Being injured in a serious accident is obviously terrible. But what many don’t realize is that the recovery period after the accident can be just as frustrating and devastating, if not more. The recovery period is tricky because everyone wants to recover as quickly as they can. Yet everyone seems to follow a different timeline for progress.
If you’re dealing with an injury after a premises liability accident, you can’t compare your recovery to anyone else’s. Recovery is different for everyone. And those differences can affect how much compensation you need to seek if suing whoever caused the accident.
Experienced premises liability attorneys will know how to calculate what you should ask for based on all the different factors affecting your recovery time.
People Have Different Health Baselines
A major determinant of how your recovery might go is what your health was like before the accident. Everyone’s baseline is different. Some have pre-existing conditions that would make recovery much harder, such as a chronic disease. Diabetes, for example, can increase the risk of complications in fractures. If you had diabetes and developed these complications, your recovery would take longer. You might even have lingering issues long after your supposed recovery.
One person could be in great shape, while someone else might be out of shape. Another person might be unable to take certain painkillers, while a fourth person might have a much lower pain threshold than other people. All of those people will likely have very different experiences with recovery.
Your physical condition isn’t the only baseline you need to look at. Your mental condition is just as important. If you have depression, for example, that can make recovery take longer or seem more difficult.
Every Injury Is Different
Even if you were the healthiest person alive before your accident, your injuries are going to be specific to you. Injuries don’t fall neatly into a box where recovery is predictable.
The severity, type and location of injuries you have all depend on too many components to mention. For example, sitting even a fraction of an inch to one side in a car accident can affect how severe your injuries might be. All of that can change how easily you recover.
No Two Accidents Are Really the Same
The accidents that lead to severe injuries are also different, even if they seem the same at first. Two slip-and-fall injuries that occur on wet floors in supermarkets sound identical. But the weights and heights of the people who fell can affect how severe an injury is and how long it would take to recover.
The speed at which they were walking or running also would have an effect, as would the substance they slipped on. The way they fell (e.g., a stumble vs. falling backward) would affect recovery as well because the injuries would all be different.
Not Everyone Has the Same Access to Resources
Post-recovery resources are critical for the recovery period. Say you need physical therapy, but the nearest therapist is a three-hour drive away. You can see the therapist only twice a week. You’re going to have a much different recovery compared to someone who can see a nearby therapist five times a week. The competence of the doctors helping you matters, too.
Insurance is also a factor. If the insurance companies that handle your medical and auto insurance fight your attempts to get coverage after a car accident, that will make your recovery more difficult. Someone who has very good insurance that pays immediately may have an easier recovery due to more access to care.
Also, if you’re recovering on your own, you’re going to have a vastly different recovery experience compared to someone who was surrounded by helpful family and friends. Your support network, or lack thereof, plays a huge role in your recovery.
Mental Attitudes Can Be Very Different
The aftermath of a serious accident can leave an injured person with post-traumatic stress disorder. It can also make them depressed about what happened, especially if someone they loved was also injured or even killed. There are many reasons why someone injured in an accident could have a mental or emotional state that makes recovery more difficult. Even if that state doesn’t feel that intense, it can have a subtle influence on a person’s will to recover.
Tenacity Can Vary When Pain Is Involved
The injuries that result from an accident can leave the victim in pain. That pain can have a drastic influence on healing. Someone in pain may not be able to move as easily in physical therapy, or the pain could contribute to post-injury depression.
If you were in constant pain, and medication did nothing to help, you might not be so optimistic about your progress. That attitude alone could act as a subtle obstacle to recovery. Meanwhile another person who was injured might heal very well because they didn’t have as much pain as you.
Daily Responsibilities and Distractions Differ
One additional issue is the amount of daily responsibility and distractions that someone has to deal with while recovering. A parent may still have to deal with daily care for a child if no other family or friends are around to help. Another person might have to go back to work, even in a limited capacity, due to a dire financial situation.
If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to focus solely on recovery while others handle daily tasks for you. But there’s no doubt that what you have to deal with outside of your treatments can really help or hinder your recovery.
Don’t Compare Your Situation to Others
It can be helpful during the recovery period to have some idea of how long healing should take.
However, don’t compare how you’re doing to anyone else. Focus only on what you can do, and focus on making progress instead of catching up to others who may be recovering more quickly.
Concentrating on your own recovery can reduce the stress you experience. And that alone can actually make your recovery go a little more smoothly.
