A Guide to Personal Injuries and Working From Home

If you're a victim of a personal injury from a car accident, slip and fall, or other incident, then your lifestyle may completely change due to the injury. One area where you may have to adjust is your work location. Limited movements or leg injuries could force you to miss work or transition to a work-from-home position.



As you move ahead with a personal injury case, follow this detailed guide to learn more about how working from home changes your quality of life and the various costs associated with the transition. A lawyer can seek compensation for all of the costs and help prevent financial losses due to an injury caused by others.

Home Office Changes and Expenses

If you've never worked from home before, then you may need to make changes to properly adjust to a new home office. First, you need to set up a clear office space. If you do not have a designated space, you may seek out home renovations like the installation of a door or a room conversion. A contractor can supply estimates of the costs.

Purchases for the office could include furniture like a desk, chair, and filing cabinet. Certain types of equipment like a printer, desktop computer, and monitor are also often essential for a home office. If you need to communicate with your company or others, then a webcam, microphone, and speaker are necessary.

Some specific equipment needs are based on the injury you have. For example, if you have a leg injury, a special chair purchase allows you to sit comfortably during a workday. If you have arm or hand injuries, consider adaptive equipment to properly type and use a computer mouse.

All of the expenses add up and will be a major consideration as you move forward with a personal injury case. Exact costs always help, so if you purchase anything, keep the receipts and detailed information.

Food and Diet Changes

The location where you work often has a direct impact on your daily diet. You may encounter a lot of food and diet changes associated with a new work-from-home routine. In some cases, your place of employment could have had a cafeteria with meal options. A break room may have included meals and snacks to enjoy throughout the day.

When you work from home, you may need more food prep or rely on food delivery services for your orders. The changes could come with a financial cost along with other burdens. You could end up paying a lot more to have food delivered to your house.

You may have to take extra time to prepare meals. Write out the differences in your daily diet to track and monitor the experience for your case. Any drastic changes can reflect on the injuries and work in favor of your case.

Work Hours and Office Routine Changes

Working from home often takes a big transition. You have to develop new routines, you may need extra training, and you will require a lot of adjustments. In some cases, the actual hours you work could be cut down. If you're working less, you may see paychecks with less money.

Any financial change in your life will have an impact on your personal injury case. A lawyer will compare recent pay stubs to pay stubs from the past. Your cut work hours could be a direct impact of your injuries. For example, you may only be able to sit in a chair for a specific amount of time due to back injuries or pains.

Your office may reduce your work schedule due to limitations. You could have hands-on work cut from your job because you are unable to be present in the office. Track any little change and use those examples when you meet with a personal injury attorney.

Quality of Life

A transition to a home office doesn't just bring changes to your work schedule. The transition could affect your quality of life. Besides the actual work, an office could have provided you with a lot of socialization. You could have talked to coworkers on a daily basis, hung out after work, or made plans.

A work-from-home schedule eliminates a lot of those social aspects. You could become depressed over the loss and have a huge negative impact on your quality of life. As you go through a traditional workday, write down some of the major changes in your life and how they make you feel.

Quality of life is a big factor in personal injury cases, and a lawyer will use your personal statements to help move a case forward. Sometimes, you may need therapy or counseling sessions to help you through the lifestyle changes. The cost of those sessions is another aspect of the case your lawyers will use to seek compensation.

For more information on personal injury cases, contact us at Jeeves Law Group. We will help plan out your case, go over the details, and try to seek a settlement to cover your injuries.