Eye Injuries

Long Island Eye Injury and Vision Loss Attorneys

Our eyes are considered to be one of the most sensitive parts of our bodies, which is why even the slightest amount of eye damage can result in a catastrophic injury. Eye injuries tend to result from some kind of traumatic experience, and it’s unfortunate how these types of personal injury cases are becoming more frequent in New York and throughout the entire country.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 20,000 eye injuries that occur in the workplace each year across the United States. The overall spike in eye injuries can be due to a lot of different causes, including defective products, auto accidents, medical malpractice, unsafe workplaces, nursing home negligence and much more.

On this page, we’re going to discuss the common causes, types, costs, and compensations oriented around eye injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered any kind of vision loss or eye injury that resulted from an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, then it’s crucial that you reach out to us so we can go over the details of your accident and make the right determinations towards your best course for legal action.

Our team of attorneys has seen many different types of eye injury and vision loss personal injury cases over our 20+ years as a law firm, and we’ve recovered millions for our past clients who were injured in accidents that weren’t their fault.

Contact us for a free case review so we can begin the initial steps towards you or your loved one’s rightful compensation.

Common Causes of Eye Injuries

According to the AAO, a foreign object in the eye is the most common cause of serious eye injuries, and about 25% of eye injuries are a result from other contusions and open wounds.

CBS News did a report in 2015 that found that falling is one of the common causes of vision loss eye injuries. They found that over 8,400 hospitalizations over a 10-year period in the U.S. were a result of a slip and fall injury, and many of these injuries created debilitating eye injuries.

Children under 10 years of age are most likely to suffer childhood blindness as a result of an object or individual striking their head. The other leading causes of childhood blindness include car accidents and incidents involving sharp objects.

Some of the other common causes of eye injuries and vision loss for everyone include the following:

• Fistfights
• Domestic abuse
• Truck accidents
• Defective products
• Chemical spills
• Debris
• Nursing home negligence
• Workplace accidents
• Airbag deployment
• Acidic, Alkali, or Caustic products

The AAO has estimated that about 2.4 million eye injuries occur every single year, just in the United States, which are all caused by an array of unique, circumstantial factors. We understand how the consequences of living with an eye injury or vision loss can be very severe, and our attorneys are here to help make moving forward with your life a little bit easier.

What Are The Different Types of Eye Injuries?

Just like most injuries, the severity of eye injuries can vary dramatically. The more severe eye injuries can end up leading to permanent vision loss, or even an accident victim losing an eye for life. The following are some of the common types of eye injuries:

• Chemical burns and general exposure: These types of eye injuries occur when liquid alkali or acid ends up coming in contact with an individual’s eye, which can very quickly result in severe to permanent eye surface damage. Some examples of how these chemical exposures occur include a worker rubbing their eyes when handling dangerous chemicals, and aerosol exposure through products like hairspray, pepper spray, mace, and tear gas.
• Subconjunctival bleeding: This type of eye injury occurs when there is a collection of blood within the surface of the white area of an individual’s eye. Physical trauma is the main cause of this injury, but this type of bleeding can occur without cause or warning.
• Cornea cuts or scrapes: These are also referred to as corneal abrasions, and this essentially refers to when someone’s eye gets scratched. These injuries typically occur from some kind of poking occurrence, like from a fingernail, metal object or tree branch. But there are some cases in which someone can scratch their eye by simply wearing contacts for too long.
• Traumatic Iritis: This iris injury typically happens when someone receives a blow to the eye, and what’s so scary is that relatively normal activities can lead to these types of serious eye injuries. Some examples are an accident with a baseball bat or other club types, balls and airbag deployments. Fistfights are also a common cause of this type of eye injury.
• Eye socket fractures and hyphemas: Significant blunt force trauma is typically what will cause these types of eye injuries. There are countless examples of this type of impact that can lead to facial bone fractures, but they’re all very serious.
• Lacerations or punctures: These eye injuries are extremely dangerous and are typically caused by very sharp objects, including glass and metal.

Some of the other common examples of eye injuries that our team of attorneys has seen include:

• Double vision
• Optic nerve damage
• Partial vision loss
• Blurred vision
• Intense sensitivity to light
• Reduced peripheral vision
• Trouble seeing in dark conditions
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Full blindness

Medical Treatment and Costs of Eye Injuries

The AAO has reported that there was about a 62% increase in eye injury treatment costs over a recent 10-year period, so now it typically costs more than $20,000 in order to comprehensively treat typical, preventable eye injuries.

Treatment options will always vary on a case-by-case basis, but there are many eye injuries that require invasive surgery to correct any serious eye damage and preserve the individual’s vision. There are some situations in which an eye injury victim will have to undergo multiple invasive surgeries in order to fully recover from an accident.

Most, if not all, eye injury victims also require long-term, extensive physical therapy. Eyes can take a very long time to fully heal, which coincides with consistent professional intervention to ensure that the recovery process remains on track.

It’s also important to note that there are many eye injuries that are unfortunately permanent, so in these cases, a “maximum” recovery isn’t necessarily a complete recovery.

Common Compensation for Eye Injury Victims

Getting a full, comprehensive settlement offer is never an easy task no matter what type of injury an accident victim is suffering from, and this is primarily because insurance companies and defendants will always be aggressive in terms of fighting personal injury claims by trying to reduce their financial liability. This reduction in liability leads to less compensation for the injury victim.

The attorneys at Siler & Ingber, LLP are experienced with eye injury litigation and are always fully committed to holding all negligent parties 100% accountable. We work tirelessly until we’ve ensured that our clients have received their full and rightful compensation. When it comes to vision loss and eye injury cases, some of the common financial damages that are available include the following:

• Surgical operations
• Emergency room bills
• Physical therapy
• Necessary medical equipment
• Any and all other medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Long-term disability
• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Reduced quality of life as a result of permanent impairment

Reach Out To Our New York Eye Injury Attorneys

Siler & Ingber, LLP is considered to be one of the top personal injury law firms in the entire state of New York, and our experience within eye injury and vision loss litigation help set us apart for these kinds of personal injury cases.

If you or a member of your family has suffered a serious eye injury as a result of an accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, then you shouldn’t hesitate to contact us today for a free case review so we can go over the details of the accident and set forth the best strategy towards legal recourse.