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Car Accident Dental Injuries: What Every Victim Should Know

  • By websitebuilder@thryv.com
  • •
  • 09 Jul, 2018
  • •
Man Driving — Beverly Hills, CA — Richard D. Hoffman Law Offices
Dental injuries aren't typically thought of as a potential threat surrounding a motor vehicle accident. However, they are a real concern, and you know firsthand the trauma of walking away from a crash with serious dental damage. The law is on your side, but you must know how to move forward with a claim; here is some of the critical information you need to know.
Further Injury
Prompt medical treatment after an accident is essential, especially after an incident that results in noticeable injuries to your mouth, teeth, or gums. Consider the loss of a tooth, for instance. The human tooth is strong, so it takes a great deal of impact to knock a tooth out a person's mouth.

If you suffered the loss of a tooth, your injury is likely the result of impact to your mouth, face, or head, which could mean that you have further injuries beyond what you see. Head injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, aren't always immediately noticeable and sometimes come along with delayed symptoms.

You need to visit a medical provider so that they can assess your condition and help you discover any injuries you may not be aware of.
Long-Term Impact
The value of your injury claim will rest heavily on the long-term impact your injuries will create. Although people sometimes look at dental concerns as purely cosmetic, they can have a real effect on a person's life.

A person that loses several teeth might suffer emotional or mental distress with their new appearance, which may affect their relationships and even their ability to earn a living as they did before the accident.

Also, if the same person requires dentures, or another dental aid, after the crash, the inconvenience of having to care for the apparatus going forward is another long-term effect. California allows victims to receive compensation for similar outcomes in the form of pain and suffering compensation, also known as non-economic damages.
Natural vs. False Teeth
If you have dental implants, dentures, or another dental aid, and you suffered dental injuries after the accident, don't think that injury protection is only for your natural teeth. In the eyes of the law — damage is damage. Consider an incident where the victim had their veneer chipped.

The party responsible for the accident would likely be liable for the cost associated with repairing the veneer. If the accident victim also sustained injuries due to the chipped veneer, such as a cut, the responsible party may also be liable for the damages resulting from the added injury.

Whether you have natural or false teeth, you should have a full dental workup to determine what level of damage you have sustained and the specific treatment plan you will need going forward to assess a value to your claim accurately.
Comparative Negligence
Accidents often have several moving parts that all work together to determine the outcome of the event. For instance, a distracted driver could slam into the back of another vehicle where the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.

The distracted driver is the cause of the incident, but the other driver's failure to wear a seatbelt may have contributed to the level of injury they experienced. California is a comparative negligence state, so given the previous scenario, the driver who was not wearing a seatbelt may be partly responsible for their injuries.

If the court determines that the level of dental injury you sustained is in part due to your actions, your claim could be devalued based on your percentage of responsibility.

You should not be left alone to deal with an injury caused by someone else. At Richard D. Hoffman Law Offices, we will fight to ensure you receive any compensation you're due. Contact us so that we can help you.

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