Orange County Eye Injury Lawyer

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20,000 workers a year sustain traumatic eye injuries, and car accidents, slip and falls, unsafe products, medical malpractice, and other types of accidents cause many more. It’s not surprising that people consider the loss of vision to be the most devastating loss of a sense. Learning how to accomplish basic daily activities with reduced sight or blindness can take many years of practice, and many great joys in life like seeing flowers and mountains can be gone forever. When an eye injury is caused by the negligence or recklessness of another person, it’s possible to collect compensation for medical bills, lost earnings, pain, suffering, and mental anguish. An experienced Orange County eye injury lawyer knows how to help you collect the largest amount of money damages possible to compensate you for your loss. Call our personal injury firm today to schedule your free consultation and learn more.

What Is Eye Trauma?

Eye trauma is an eye injury that is caused by an external force. It can affect the eye itself and/or the surrounding tissue and bones. Eye trauma can vary in severity from a minor problem that resolves on its own to a medical emergency that requires a helicopter to a trauma center. These are the most common types of traumatic eye injuries:

Blunt Trauma

A blow to the eye such as being struck by a rock, hard ball, or inside of a vehicle, can damage the eye itself, the eyelids, and the surrounding muscles. Mild injuries usually produce a “black eye” and swollen eyelids. More serious trauma can cause bleeding inside the eye or broken bones, which may require surgical repair and cause impaired or lost vision.

Penetrating Trauma

Penetrating trauma to the eye, is always serious and usually results in severe vision loss and can cause complete loss of the eye itself.

Perforating Trauma

This is similar to penetrating trauma, except that it is usually even more severe, as the source of trauma goes all the way through the eye.

Foreign Object in the Eye

When sharp objects such as slivers of glass, wood, or metal shavings enter the eye, they can damage the cornea. It can feel like there’s something in your eye that you can’t get out and may require immediate medical attention.

Chemical Burns

Harsh chemicals can damage the eye even in vaporous form. If flushing out the eye with water is unsuccessful in relieving pain and discomfort, emergency medical treatment should be sought.

Can a Car Accident Cause Eye Problems?

Many eye injuries are caused by car accidents. Front seat passengers are especially vulnerable to eye injuries caused by glass from a shattered windshield. More serious accidents can cause blunt, penetrating, and perforating trauma as parts of the car become bent, twisted, and displaced. Rollovers and truck accidents can cause explosions that result in chemical burns to the eyes and first, second, or third-degree burns to the eye area.

Can You Go Blind From an Eye Injury?

Accidents are one of the leading causes of complete blindness, which is defined as the “inability to see any light.” Eye injuries also cause partial blindness, which is very limited vision. Blindness is measured after all corrective glasses or contact lenses have been utilized, and a person is considered “legally blind” when their corrective vision is less than 20/200. It’s possible to become blind as a result of an eye injury, even if you had perfect vision before the accident. Whether the blindness is permanent cannot be determined until every possible treatment to improve and correct your vision has been attempted.

How Long Do Eye Injuries Take to Heal?

Some minor eye injuries resolve within minutes, but serious eye injuries can require many years of treatment and multiple surgeries. The more important question is usually how quickly you can get to Level One Trauma Center after the injury occurs. Immediate treatment and surgery is crucial, but penetrating and perforating eye injuries can require many surgeries over a period of years to restore or improve sight. When sight cannot be restored, the healing process will involve learning how to do things without sight, including learning braille and using a cane or a dog for assistance with mobility.

How Much Can I Claim for an Eye Injury?

Some eye injuries are so minor that it’s hardly worthwhile to make a claim, but victims that lose their sight often collect six or seven-figure judgments. Large amounts of compensation are common due to the economic and personal hardships of victims. Claimants are entitled to reimbursement for their medical expenses, including rehabilitative services to learn to do things without sight. If your eye injury caused you to lose your ability to do your job, you can be reimbursed for retraining, in addition to lost earnings due to the loss of sight, and time off from work to recuperate and retrain. You are also entitled to a large amount of money as compensation for your pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused by your eye injury. Close family members can also make claims for loss of companionship and loss of services due to your temporary or permanent disability.

Orange County Eye Injury Lawyer

Our Orange County personal injury attorneys know how to maximize the amount of money you can collect to pay for your state-of-the-art medical treatment, reimburse you for your lost earnings, and compensate you for your pain, suffering, and mental anguish. We’ll investigate your case, leaving no stone unturned in order to get you the highest amount of compensation possible. We offer a free consultation to discuss your case and our legal strategy, ensuring that you have a complete understanding of all issues. Please call (800) 900-9393 today to make an appointment.