If you’ve ever been involved in a car crash, you understand how confusing and trying the days and weeks that follow are. Not only do you have worry about medical treatment, insurance companies, and repairs, you’ve got to think about how you’ll get around day-to-day, whether or not you’re healthy enough for work, and many other things. You’re lucky if you haven’t been through this experience, but it could happen at any time. In the days and weeks after a collision things are hectic and crazy – things may not always go exactly as planned. To get a better idea of what I mean, let’s look at a hypothetical example:

Allison is a young professional mother of two. She works full time and spends her evenings looking after her kids, taking them to various events and practices, and just being an all-around good mom. Then, driving home from work she was involved in a car crash.

The other driver wasn’t paying attention, ran a red light, and hit Allison from the side. Allison had to be taken to the hospital and was kept overnight. She was diagnosed at the hospital with a concussion, a broken arm and wrist and neck strain. However, things didn’t get crazy until a few days later when she tried to get back to her normal life. Everything became a more difficult, simple tasks like bathing, getting groceries, cleaning her house, reading to her kids, or picking up her youngest child from daycare became more challenging.  She will likely miss time from work due to her injuries and for doctor appointments, will struggle with continued pain from her injuries. Allison’s life may get back to normal, but what if it doesn’t?

What many people fail to realize is just how much an injury crash can impact a victim’s life. Things that were easy before the collision become more difficult, and tasks that needed only minor attention become major issues. Allison’s situation is typical, but not everyone has been through a similar experience. This can lead to problems when people are forming opinions on a personal injury case.

Rather than empathizing with the victim, like those who have been involved in a similar incident, people will often pass judgment based on the way they perceive things. This is a battle that many who are injured in a collision, through no fault of their own, face. And insurance companies and their defense attorneys will be quick to take advantage of the situation. They’ll do what they can to make it seem like the plaintiff is exaggerating the injuries – and they hope people do not empathize with the victim but the defendant.

The problem is, everyone isn’t the same. Until you’ve been faced with a life-altering injury, you cannot understand how frustrating and disheartening it is. Just for a moment, consider the day-to-day activities in your life. Now imagine doing even the simplest one and it causing pain or even extreme discomfort. Things that were nothing more than an afterthought or a reflex in the past have now become a real challenge. It doesn’t sound too fun, does it? This is what crash victims who suffer injuries struggle with on a daily basis.

A legal judgment shouldn’t be awarded just because you feel bad for somebody, but injured victims also shouldn’t be prevented from getting a fair settlement because people are judging a situation unfairly either. You must consider the facts of the case and let them speak for themselves. The impact of an injury often goes beyond the upfront medical bills, long term treatment may be a necessity, and many times the individual’s quality of life is never quite the same.