If you must file a personal injury lawsuit, that’s not much fun. You usually do it if you feel you have no other choice. Some person or entity harmed you, and now, you need justice and financial restitution.
In this article, we’ll talk about how your family can support you during this difficult time. The other adults in your family can help, but even your kids can often do their part.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawsuit Entail?
Personal injury lawsuits usually happen when a person or entity harms someone else, usually by accident. It can happen intentionally as well, but that’s a more infrequent occurrence. Those cases often bring criminal charges against the perpetrator as well as civil ones.
As an example, let’s say you’re driving, and another driver hits your car. It’s obvious they caused the accident. You’re in a no-fault state, so you have the mandatory amount of personal injury protection insurance. PIP insurance covers 80% of medical expenses, which you now need, because you have medical bills piling up.
However, you need surgery, and your PIP coverage has run out. That means you must pay for the cost of your surgery out of pocket, not to mention the medication and physical therapy sessions while you’re recovering.
If you don’t have very much in savings, you might run out of money quickly. These situations usually cause civil cases. You hire a lawyer and move forward with a lawsuit against the other driver, who acted recklessly and caused your current predicament.
In this scenario, your family can support you while your case works its way through the court system. Here are a few ways they might do that.
Your Older Kids Can Babysit the Younger Ones
Maybe you have several kids. Perhaps you have one or two teenagers and some younger ones as well. If so, you might ask whether the older kids can help watch the younger ones. You may need that pretty badly. Perhaps you have a spouse or partner working while you are in court.
In the afternoons, when the kids get home from school, the teens can babysit the younger ones. They can give them snacks and help them with their homework. Neither parent can do it, so your family can pull together and help each other in this way. If you have responsible teens, then hopefully, they won’t mind doing this when the family needs them so much.
Your Spouse or Partner Can Take a More Active Role in Childcare
You might also ask your spouse or partner, if you have one, whether they can take a more active role in childcare. Perhaps they have a job, so they don’t usually help with the kids all that much. Now, though, their role must change out of necessity.
You might see whether your spouse or partner can do half days at work. They can come home in the midafternoons and watch the younger kids when they get home from school. They might also work from home for a while if they have a job that lets them do that. This way, they’ll be there when the kids get back in the afternoons.
Ideally, your spouse or partner can get back to their regular routine sooner rather than later. It’s just while your civil trial plays out in court that they must deviate from their normal days.
Your Kids Can Do Some Housework
You might ask whether your children can do more housework than usual. Perhaps you already have kids who are old enough to do some chores. You might have the older ones do the dishes, dust the living room, do some laundry, or anything else you and your spouse or partner can’t always handle with your busy schedules.
Now, with you tied up in court, you can ask that they take on more responsibilities. Maybe that means one of your teens moving the lawn or trimming the hedges if they need it. You might ask that they rake the leaves in the yard or shovel the driveway.
If you have younger kids, maybe you or your spouse or partner might simply ask that they keep their rooms clean and bathe themselves without complaining or giving you a hard time. If you can make them understand what’s happening and how much you need this, then perhaps they will do it without too many complaints.
Your Family Can Have Meals Ready for You
You might see whether your spouse or partner can cook meals so you have dinner ready for you when you get back from court. If you have older kids, then perhaps they can do it instead.
You might teach them to make some simple dishes like pasta that won’t take a whole lot of time or effort. If anyone else around the house can pitch in so you don’t need to handle meal preparation yourself, then you should feel glad you have a hot meal waiting for you at home when you get back from your latest court date.
Your Family Can Support You Emotionally
Finally, your family can support you emotionally during this difficult time. Maybe that simply means encouraging you and telling you that they love you when you get back from your court appearances.
Until you bring civil charges against someone, you may not realize how exhausting courtroom battles can get. Even if you feel certain the other party caused your injury or illness, that doesn’t mean they’ll just accept responsibility, apologize, and hand over the money you need.
Often, the opposite happens. The person or entity who you hold responsible will fight the charges to the very end with their lawyer’s help.
In the best of circumstances, you can get through your civil trial and get a verdict or a settlement offer quickly. That way, your family won’t change their routine for very long. In the meantime, it’s great if your family can pull together and support you.
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