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Unfortunately, eye injuries are common. Most of them cause eye irritation or soreness, but severe injuries can cause vision loss. If you or your loved one experienced an eye injury, you’re probably wondering what’s the compensation for loss of sight in one eye.
Schmidt & Clark lawyers have dealt with numerous eye injury settlements, and today we’ll explain everything there’s to know about the loss of sight compensation claim.
Summary of the Key Findings
- Loss of sight can happen for many reasons, such as accidents, bright lights, chemical reactions, even small particles such as dust.
- How much compensation for loss of sight in one eye you can get depends on the injury you suffered and several other factors.
- You need a personal injury lawyer to help you file a claim and get fair damages.
Incidents that Cause Loss of Sight
Many kinds of eye injuries can result in partial blindness or complete vision loss. Some of the most common injury examples are:
- Trauma to the eye — Most commonly happens during a truck or an auto accident, assault, or an attack when a person or an object strikes your eye.
- Bright lights — Extremely bright lights can cause temporary or permanent blindness. People dealing with lasers, explosions, and electrical objects need to be extra careful and wear protective equipment.
- Chemical burns — If a dangerous chemical makes contact with the eye, you can lose your eyesight. Your employer is obligated to provide correct training and equipment if you’re dealing with dangerous chemicals.
- Head injuries — A severe head injury can cause blindness directly or through an injury to the brain.
- Small particles — If grit or dirt enters the eye, it can damage the eyeball and cause loss of sight.
- Electric shock — Electric shock causes a sight injury due to the shock itself or sudden bright light.
- Product liability or unsafe products — When a product failure or damage causes eye injury. This can be due to the manufacturer or the retail store owner's negligence.
- Someone else’s negligence — Most commonly medical malpractice, such as:
1. The eye doctor doesn’t recognize symptoms of a visual crisis and doesn’t refer the patient to a hospital.
2. Failure to correctly diagnose the issue, which results in a missed opportunity to provide the correct treatment.
3. Poor corrective eye surgery, such as a laser eye treatment.
What Kind of Eye Injury Can You Get a Compensation for?
Minor eye injuries will heal quickly, especially if treated promptly. However, eye injuries can also have permanent damage, which can be devastating.
Parts of the eye that can be injured include:
- Iris, pupil, and cornea — They control the light that reaches the lens. They are located at the front of the eye and are most commonly injured due to trauma.
- Lens — It focuses the light that goes to the retina, which is further in the eye. Muscles control the lens shape, and if they are injured, the injury can cause temporary or permanent loss of sight.
- Retina — Is found at the back of the eye. This is the nerve that reacts to the light which the lens provides.
- Optical nerve — Goes from the back of the eye to the brain. The optic nerve can transfer electrical impulses to the part of the brain in charge of sight, so the brain turns the electrical impulses into images.
The most common consequences of injuries to one or all of these eye parts include:
- Partial loss of sight
- Double vision
- Blurred vision
- Pain in one or both eyes
- Detached retina
- Permanent vision loss in one or both eyes
Damages that Can be Claimed After Loss of Sight
Your best chance of claiming compensation after a personal injury that resulted in a loss of sight is to hire personal injury lawyers.
They can help you calculate how much compensation you may get.
“Losing an eye in an accident or being involved in an accident resulting in loss of sight can be very stressful. But, you may be able to claim compensation if the accident that resulted in your injuries was down to the negligence of others.”
-Legal Expert, YouTube Channel
There’s no exact amount of compensation you may receive, but some of the most common eye injury settlement damages include:
Lost earnings if you’re unable to go back to work. Damages depend on how long you won’t be able to work and if the injury is career-ending.- Current and estimated future medical expenses.
- Transport cost for traveling to and from the place you get medical treatment.
- Cost of tools to help you get around, such as a wheelchair.
- If modifications to the home are necessary because you can’t get around as before.
- If you need additional care, such as hiring a nurse.
- Loss of reputation and social status after loss of sight in one eye.
- Mental suffering
Factors that Affect the Settlement for Loss of Sight In One Eye
The average workers' compensation for an employee who damaged one eye at work is about $96,700 [1].
The worth of the vision loss claim will depend on these factors:
- If you have home or workplace injuries
- If you were wearing eye protection
- If the employer provided you with adequate protection
- If you lost sight due to medical negligence.
The type of injury you sustained:
- Minor injuries — These are usually fully recoverable in six months after the accident and include temporary loss of sight in one eye and eye socket fracture.
- Moderate injuries — The difference between minor and moderate injuries is that moderate injuries have permanent deterioration in vision. However, there’s not a complete loss of sight in one eye.
- Loss of one eye — Complete loss of an eye is more serious than only losing vision in one eye. This also results in cosmetic deformity, which can result in higher eye settlements. The settlement will depend on your age and vision deterioration in the remaining eye.
- Complete blindness — If you have permanent loss of sight in one eye or both eyes.
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FAQs
How Much Is the Loss of One Eye Worth?
The loss of one eye is worth $64,000 on average. How much compensation you’ll get depends on if you lost an eye due to an accident, for not wearing protective eyewear, or if it was another person’s fault [2].
What Happens When You Lose Sight in One Eye?
When you lose sight in one eye, you’ll have a lower ability to track moving objects, estimate distances, and perceive depth.
This is why you need a lawyer to help you recover compensation and have a better quality of life.
What Causes Complete Vision Loss in One Eye?
Complete vision loss in one eye is caused by an accident, eye trauma, blockage of blood flow to the retina, retinal detachment, and more.
Can Blindness in One Eye Be Cured?
About 80% of visual impairments can be cured, but 20% of cases have no cure. These cases include a gradual loss of vision or a severe injury.
File a Successful Claim With Experienced Lawyers
Every eye injury is a traumatic experience, no matter if it's the right or left eye, a temporary partial loss of sight, or a permanent vision loss.
You need lawyers experienced in accident claims to explain your legal options and help you get a fair settlement. Schmidt & Clark lawyers have successfully helped past clients get adequate compensation for their personal injury cases.
Contact us for a free consultation today, and we will help you get damages to alleviate your suffering and improve life quality.
References:
1.) https://www.statista.com/statistics/411256/job-injury-eye-compensation-usa-by-state/
2.) https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-much-are-your-body-parts-worth