A residual injury is one that has long-lasting effects. Consequently, it is often referred to as a long-term injury. It has an impact on the victim’s life for an extended period of time.

Possible effects of a residual injury

It could decrease the mobility of the injured body part. For instance, damage to the kneecap could make the knee less mobile, and less able to provide the leg with some flexibility.

A mended injury to the skin might leave a scar. The effect of a scar would depend on the nature of its location, and the chosen career of the scarred patient. A model’s career might come to an end, if she were to sustain a scar to some portion of her face.

The re-occurrence of pain: This would be an annoying effect, because it could not be seen, but it could be felt. Such painful sensations might cause a worker to struggle with a job-related task. That could definitely create problems, especially if the same worker were to seek re-assignment to a different task.

Degenerative effects: These are effects that emerge over time, as the treated victim ages. Sometimes, the treatment itself might cause a degenerative effect. For instance, patients that have undergone IV treatment with a certain type of antibiotic have a tendency to experience a loss of hearing, as they get older.

How lawyers and insurance companies try to place a value on the different effects

Study the costs created by attempting to remedy the effect: That effort works best in the case of scarring. What would it cost to have a cosmetic surgeon remove or cover-up the scarred area of skin?

Study the costs for introduction of special equipment in the home. If the claimant has been forced to move around in a wheelchair, what could be the cost for adding a ramp on the porch steps, or a lift on the stairs? What would be the cost of a new bed, one in which the mattress was at the same level as the claimant’s wheelchair?

Review mention of pain in the records of the treating physician: That would include mention of any discomfort, during performance of an activity that had been carried out with ease in the past. Discomfort could include development of problems with balance.

Personal Injury Lawyer in St Thomas knows that those are the sorts of problems that might develop in someone that has suffered a traumatic brain injury. Victims that had managed to display a terrific sense of balance in the past might note the appearance of difficulties, when trying to stay balanced. A treating doctor ought to be told about any actions or circumstances that have managed to highlight the emergence of those sorts of difficulties.