Sight is one of the most important human senses, affecting everything from your ability to work to your enjoyment of the beauty around you. Eyes are sensitive organs in the body, so even the slightest scratch can cause significant damage. More serious eye damage can involve catastrophic injuries that alter your life and cause considerable pain. 

If someone else’s negligence is responsible for your eye injury, you deserve to be fairly compensated for your losses. An experienced eye injury lawyer from Nowlan Personal Injury Law can review your case and explain your legal options during a free consultation. Contact us today to learn more.

Why You Need an Eye Injury Lawyer? 

Eye injuries can profoundly impact your life. You may be unable ever to work again, so the financial compensation you recover may need to sustain you for the rest of your previously anticipated working years. You could also be dealing with significant emotional distress if your ability to see and interact with your children, grandchildren, and other loved ones is in jeopardy. 

Experienced legal counsel can assist in building a personal injury case and recovering your losses. Nowlan Personal Injury Law helps victims pursue justice after they’ve suffered catastrophic injuries. We’ve recovered over $86 million to date for our clients and will work just as diligently on your case if you hire us. 

Our vision loss lawyers want to help you rebuild your life after a catastrophic injury. Unlike other personal injury law firms, we don’t look to quickly settle our clients’ cases. We are fierce litigators who don’t back down from a fight. We will not settle your case for less than you deserve. 

We can help build a compelling personal injury case on your behalf by:

• Investigating the accident – We conduct a thorough investigation into your accident. We identify all at-fault parties and factors that contributed to your blindness, vision loss, or eye injury. 
• Explaining your legal options – With a better understanding of your accident, we lay out your legal options and explain if you have a viable case. You decide how you want to move forward.
• Gathering evidence – We gather evidence that connects the defendant’s negligence to your injuries. Solid evidence might include accident reports, eyewitness statements, photos or videos of the accident scene, workplace safety records, and medical records. We work quickly to preserve this evidence as it can easily be lost or destroyed otherwise.
• Working with your medical team – We can refer you to ophthalmologists, retina specialists, and other medical specialists for treatment. We consult with your doctors to understand the full impact of your injuries. 
• Calculating your damages – Our personal injury lawyers account for your short-term and long-term losses, including any reduction in your long-term earning capacity, anticipated future pain and suffering, future medical expenses, and disability-related expenses. 
• Negotiating with the insurance company – Our experienced lawyers are fierce negotiators. We take the time to understand our clients’ cases and recognize their full value. We fight for maximum compensation. 
• Litigating your case – Because we prepare each case for trial, we are ready to battle in court if the insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer. 

Our personal injury attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience. When you hire Nowlan Personal Injury Law, you communicate directly with our attorneys, not support staff. And because we used to work for insurance companies, we know their tactics and how to respond to them. 

Let us handle your legal claim so you can focus on your recovery. Call us today to schedule a free case review. 

Types of Legal Claims Involving Eye Injuries and Vision Loss 

One of the advantages of working with an experienced personal injury lawyer is that they can help identify the various legal claims you may be able to make. Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

• Personal injury claims – Through a personal injury claim, you typically seek compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance company
• Product liability claims – You might file this type of legal claim if your eye injury was caused by a defective product.
• Medical malpractice claim– These claims are filed against negligent healthcare providers. 
• Workers’ compensation claims – If you were injured on the job while performing your work duties, you might have the right to file a workers’ compensation claim. 
• Social Security Disability claims – If your injuries prevent you from working, you may be able to seek disability benefits. 

The eye injury attorneys at Nowlan Personal Injury Law can file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf to seek compensation from the parties responsible for your eye injuries.

What Types of Compensation Can You Recover After an Eye Injury? 

Eye injuries can have a dramatic impact on victims’ lives and those of their families. They can impede your ability to work and may require long-term treatment, including multiple surgeries and vision therapy. 

Through a personal injury claim, you can seek compensation for the following:

• Medical expenses for emergency medical treatment, ambulance rides, surgeries, hospital stays, therapy, and medication 
• Future medical expenses for anticipated needs in the future
• Lost wages for missed work caused by the injury
• Reduced earning capacity 
• Permanent disabilities and impairments 
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life 

A vision and eye injury lawyer can help identify the damages you can seek as part of your claim. 

Common Causes of Eye Injuries 

According to the National Federation of the Blind, over 7.6 million Americans suffer from blindness. Meanwhile, the American Academy of Ophthalmology reports that more than 2.5 million eye injuries occur annually and that 50,000 individuals will permanently lose all or part of their vision as a result of injuries they sustain. 

Many different situations can result in serious injuries to the eye. Some of the most common include:

Car Accidents 

Car accident victims can sustain eye injuries from various causes, including:

• Crashing into a hard surface in the vehicle
• Being hit by shattered glass, plastic shards, or flying debris
• Being injured by airbag deployment 
• Being exposed to harmful chemicals, such as gas or hydraulic fluids

Penetrating injuries, such as those caused by shattered glass that pierces the eye, are a common cause of blindness. 

External forces or whiplash can cause pressure trauma to the eye, which can cause detached retinas. 

Facial bone breaks can also cause eye damage.

Bicycle Accidents 

Injured bicyclists often fall on their faces. They can suffer serious eye injuries due to the force of the impact or dust or particles from the ground entering their eye, causing injuries such as a scratched cornea.

Motorcycle Accidents 

A motorcyclist may be ejected from their bike and crash into the hard pavement, resulting in severe injuries to the eye, face, and head. 

Truck Accidents 

Truck accidents involve violent forces. When a truck weighing upwards of 80,000 pounds crashes into a much smaller passenger vehicle, the smaller vehicle can be crushed. This can lead to vehicle parts penetrating victims’ eyes or metal parts becoming projectile weapons during the crash.

Pedestrian Accidents 

The force of being hit by a motor vehicle often leads to pedestrians being knocked over into the hard ground. This can cause scratches, abrasions, and other eye injuries. 

Snowmobile and ATV Accidents 

People can also suffer injuries on snowmobiles, ATVs, and other recreational vehicles. The severity of these injuries can vary from blurred vision to legal blindness, often depending on whether the rider was wearing a helmet and if it stayed intact during the accident. 

Boating Accidents 

Boaters can slip and fall or be hit in the eye with boating equipment, leading to severe injuries. 

Medical Malpractice 

Some eye injuries occur during medical procedures. If a healthcare provider deviated from the standard of care and injured a patient during surgery or during another medical procedure, they may be responsible for your injuries. Likewise, if they failed to correctly diagnose you, which would have prevented your vision loss, they can be held responsible.

Construction Site Accidents 

Construction workers face threats to their vision from injuries caused by:

• Falls from heights
• Falling objects 
• Malfunctioning equipment
• Chemical exposure
• Flying debris

Construction workers often suffer injuries because they are not provided with the proper training or eye protection. Their employers or others may also violate building codes and safety rules.

Workplace Accidents 

People can also suffer eye injuries at work, which can impair a person’s ability to perform their job. Eye injuries are common in fields involving welding, intense light, and arc flash work. Workers can also be exposed to dangerous chemicals on the job from cleaners, paints, solvents, candle wax, battery acid, hot oil, or other chemicals.

Slips and Falls 

People who slip and fall can experience a variety of eye injuries, ranging from minor eye pain to ruptured blood vessels. Property owners are responsible for maintaining safe premises and can be held liable when they fail to uphold this legal responsibility. 

Premises Liability Accidents 

Other types of premises liability accidents can result in severe eye injuries, including:

• Dog bites, which often involve bites to the faces of young children
• Inadequate security, which may result in assault and other violent attacks on store customers, residents, or visitors
• Elevator and escalator accidents 

These injuries can take many forms, including minor abrasions and significant trauma that can potentially lead to the loss of vision.

Defective Product Accidents

Defective products can include machinery, unsafe toys, items with hazardous materials, auto parts, and faulty products. Defective products can cause serious eye injuries when they contain a foreign object or malfunctions. Product defects can cause items to dismantle, potentially flying off and hitting consumers in the eye. 

Some defective products can cause chemical burns, which can create immediate damage to the cornea and internal structure of the eye. Others can cause dangerous explosions that injure the eye or cause vision loss. 

Manufacturers have a legal duty to produce products that are safe for consumers to use and can be held liable when they fail to live up to this duty.

Common Types of Eye Injuries

• Corneal abrasion – A corneal abrasion can occur when a foreign object, such as dust or  metal shavings, scratches the eye, causing watering, pain, and light sensitivity.  
• Trauma injuries – The eye area around the site of a physical injury can swell and be painful. The swelling can interfere with vision.
• Eye bleeding – Eye bleeding involves the leakage of blood, which may endure for several weeks. This condition is often caused by trauma to the eye.
• Detached retina – Retinal detachment occurs when the retinal cells separate from the blood vessels that provide them with oxygen. This condition can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated immediately. 
• Orbital fractures – Trauma to the eye socket can cause fractures when bones shatter.
• Burn injuries – Individuals can suffer burns from fumes, soap, shampoo, makeup, cleaning agents, and other dangerous chemicals can cause damage to the eye tissue and permanent vision loss. 
• Open globe injuries – Open globe ruptures occur when blunt force trauma disrupts the integrity of the eye’s outer membrane. Open globe lacerations occur when a sharp object like glass or debris penetrates the eye. These injuries often require surgery to treat.
• Lens dislocation – The lens is a transparent, disk-shaped structure that focuses light onto the retina. A dislocation of the lens can require eye surgery. 

If you suffered any of the eye injuries identified above, seek immediate medical attention. Then, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate your legal options. 

Contact Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free, No-Obligation Consultation 

If you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, an experienced attorney from Nowlan Personal Injury Law can help prepare a strong case on your behalf for maximum compensation. We work diligently to identify the full extent of your losses and to secure full and fair compensation for them. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation.