Being injured can turn your world upside down and affect every aspect of your life. When someone else’s negligence causes you injury, you deserve compensation for all the harm you have suffered. This includes not only financial or economic damages but also your non-economic losses, like reduced quality of life.
What Is Quality of Life?
“Quality of life” is a broad term that describes your overall well-being and satisfaction with life. In a personal injury case, it refers to the broad impact of your injury on your physical and mental health, security, and enjoyment of life.
Another way to define quality of life is how well you’re living now compared to before the injury. That includes whether you can take care of yourself, maintain relationships, enjoy hobbies, or work to support your family.
The World Health Organization considers quality of life a subjective evaluation of how someone perceives their reality relative to their goals. Another definition is how much you can enjoy the possibilities you value in life.
Quality of life is deeply personal. What matters most is how your injuries have changed your life, not anyone else’s. Some measures of quality of life are objective, like your health or financial stability, it’s also subjective and based on how you feel about your life.
How an Injury Can Affect Your Quality of Life
The impact of an injury often goes far beyond hospital bills. For many people, injuries disrupt every part of daily life, from mental health to financial stability.
Some of the most common types of injuries that reduce quality of life include:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis, such as hemiplegia or paraplegia
- Limb loss
- Burn injuries and disfigurement
- Severe fractures or orthopedic injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Hearing or vision loss
There are many important indicators of quality of life that should be assessed after an injury.
Here are just some major ways an accident can reduce your enjoyment of life:
Physical and Mental Health
An injury can cause lasting mental and physical challenges.
Your quality of life may be damaged by:
- Reduced life expectancy
- Impaired mobility
- Reduced range of motion or stiffness
- Reduced overall physical health
- Chronic pain
- Insomnia and other sleep problems
- Mental health struggles like anxiety, PTSD, and depression
- Cognitive impairment, including memory problems, reduced impulse control, and impaired executive function
These issues can limit your independence and prevent you from working or enjoying life.
This is one of the most obvious quality of life metrics that may be impacted by a serious injury. However, poor physical or mental health can affect many other areas of life.
Social and Leisure
An injury can affect your ability to engage with the community and participate in activities you once enjoyed. It may also impact your relationships.
This category includes metrics such as:
- Community engagement
- Relationships and social connections
- Intimacy, companionship, and affection
- Security and safety
- Recreation, leisure, and hobbies
This is one of the most overlooked quality of life metrics after an accident. At home, relationships may suffer or become strained when your ability to care for your children, partner, or home is disrupted. In some cases, the role of “caregiver” reverses entirely.
It may be harder to leave the house, participate in events, or stay connected with friends and family. Many people withdraw from their social circles after an accident.
Economic
Money is a crucial aspect of quality of life. Struggling to afford basic living expenses isn’t just a financial concern: it has a big impact on mental and physical health, personal satisfaction, and more.
This category includes many important economic metrics such as:
- Income
- Economic stability
- Employment
- Housing
Together, these economic factors form the foundation for stability, opportunity, and overall well-being in individuals and communities.
How to Prove Your Reduced Quality of Life
To recover compensation for loss of quality of life, you’ll need to show how your injuries have changed your day-to-day living. This can be one of the most challenging parts of a personal injury case because there’s no receipt or bill for emotional suffering or lost independence.
Personal injury lawyers know how to build a strong case that tells the full story of your life before and after your injury.
They gather clear, credible evidence to support your claim, including:
- Expert testimony – Medical providers, vocational specialists, life care planners, and others can explain how your injuries will affect your life.
- Statements from family, friends, and coworkers – People who know you can provide testimony about how the injury has changed your life.
- Photographs and videos – Visuals are a powerful way to show injury severity, recovery, scarring, and limitations that are hard to explain with words alone.
- Medical records – These help document the severity of your injuries, care, prognosis, pain management, and more.
- Personal journal and testimony – This gives insight into your daily pain levels, emotional state, and activities affected by your injury.
By documenting the full picture, we fight to ensure that the insurance company—and if needed, a jury—understands the real impact of your injury.
Contact Darrell Cochran Personal Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
After a serious injury, don’t trust the insurance company to recognize the impact on your quality of life and make a fair offer. Darrell Cochran Personal Injury Lawyer is ready to fight for the compensation you need to rebuild your life and safeguard your future.
Our legal team has recovered more than $1 billion for our clients. We will leverage over 30 years of experience to build your case and pursue the full value of all your losses.
Contact our law office today at (253) 948-0250 for a free case evaluation with a personal injury attorney. We’re here to listen to your story, help you understand your legal options, and give you the tireless advocacy you deserve.