The effects of an accident can stay with those involved for months, years and, in some cases, a lifetime. Many times, the physical injuries heal first, leaving a victim to deal with the psychological trauma of being involved in a serious accident, which can leave a person scared to even get back in a motor vehicle.
A 75-year-old man recently had a 51-year-old memory removed from his arm. In 1964, the man in question was involved in a serious car accident when he crashed his 1963 Thunderbird into a truck. The accident resulted in the man suffering a broken hip, among other injuries. Fast forward five decades and as the man is moving concrete blocks, his arm starts to hurt in the area where a prior x-ray had shown a slender object lodged. After his arm started to bulge, the man decided to undergo surgery to remove the object; the nature of the object turned out to be a surprise to all. The successful surgery removed what turned out to be seven inches of the left turn signal from his 1963 Thunderbird, a memento of the crash that had been overlooked by doctors at the time.
While Missouri’s statute of limitations restricts the time period during which one may file most personal injury claims to no more than five years, the effects of a single car accident can last a lifetime. In most situations, an injured party has one opportunity to recover damages for the injuries they have suffered. This single award represents payments for the immediate injuries, but also any future difficulties one may have due to the injuries suffered in an accident.
Having an experienced attorney on your side can help assure you receive just and fair compensation for your injuries, whether it is the pain the will likely never fully go away, lost memories or the physical and mental changes that decrease the overall quality of one’s life.
Source: ABC News, “51 Years After Accident, 7-Inch Car Part Found in Arm,” Jan. 1, 2015