The Impact a Devastating Car Wreck Can Have on Your Career

A car accident can happen at any time. It can occur even if you’re a safe driver. When you experience one, it can damage your vehicle. It can also hurt you physically and scar you emotionally in some instances.

In this article, we’ll talk about what a car wreck can do to your work life. It’s something not everyone thinks about, but sometimes, a vehicular accident can change your career’s entire trajectory.

You Might Have to Miss Some Time 

If a car hits your vehicle, you might have a long to-do list afterward. For instance, you probably know you must call your insurance company and tell them what happened. Your policy may pay for the damage if the other driver caused the wreck, but you’re in a no-fault state. If you’re in a fault state, and the other driver caused the accident, their insurance should cover it. 

You must also think about whether you should sue the other driver if you’re certain they caused the crash and you need financial compensation to cover your medical bills. Filing accident claims before the two-year deadline becomes important then, since most states won’t let you file a lawsuit after that time elapses. 

Whether you sue the other driver or not, you may need to take some time off from work while you’re recovering. Maybe you sustained some extensive physical injuries, and you have a job where you’re on your feet all day. Something in food service or retail usually requires you to stand for most of your shift, and maybe you can’t do that for a while.

If you’re missing time, you’d hope your boss will have your job waiting for you when you’re ready to return. However, that’s not always the case. Legally, your boss can’t fire you because you’re missing work if you can point to an injury as the reason why you can’t come in. 

If your boss sees you as easily replaceable, though, they may try to skirt the law and try to have someone else fill your position permanently. Some unscrupulous employers do things like that if they think they can get away with it.  

Your Boss Might Not Trust You Anymore

Maybe you caused the accident, and not the other driver. Perhaps you consumed alcohol before you drove and caused the crash that way. If you failed a breathalyzer at the scene, you may even face criminal charges after the accident. 

If your boss finds out about that, they might not look at you the same way as they once did. Perhaps they trusted and respected you in the past, but they don’t any longer. 

They may fire you. They may not admit they did it because you caused the crash, but you might suspect that’s the real reason. They may say they’re reducing their workforce because they’re not seeing as much profit as they once did or something along those lines, but you’ll know the truth. 

Maybe You Can No Longer Do the Job You Once Could

Perhaps if a car accident injures you badly enough, you can’t do the job you once did. If you hold a position that requires a lot of physical labor, and you’re no longer in any shape to do it, perhaps you can’t ever return to work. 

You might see whether there’s any way you can do your job from home. Some companies now allow that, and a work-from-home situation might let you continue your career. Also, even if you can’t do precisely the same job, maybe you can do something else within your niche that’s a little different. 

In the worst of cases, though, if you sustained a serious injury during the wreck and you’ll never fully recover, you might have to retire from that profession entirely. If so, you might feel very sad about that if you liked your job or even loved it. 

You Might Feel That You Can’t Drive Anymore

After you spend some time recovering, maybe you feel like you’re physically ready to return to work again. Maybe your boss has your old job waiting for you. However, when you get behind the wheel and start up the car, you might start shaking. If so, perhaps you have PTSD. 

Most people call to mind combat veterans or individuals who survived robberies or natural disasters when they think about PTSD. You can easily have it after a bad car wreck, though. 

Maybe you will feel better in time, but for a while, perhaps you must take public transportation instead. You might not like that too much, especially if you drove for years before the wreck. Taking a train or bus will represent a significant difference in your life. Maybe you’ll need to leave the house earlier every morning to make sure you get to work on time. 

You Might Deal with Anxiety or Depression

Someone who endures a terrible car wreck may also experience generalized anxiety or feelings of depression. If you don’t feel like you can drive anymore, or you don’t physically look the same because the wreck scarred you, then you might need therapy. Maybe you’ll find it difficult to go to work every day, and while you’re there, you’ll have flashbacks to the event that shook you up so much. 

You might lose sleep because you have nightmares about the crash. If so, maybe you’ll feel like a zombie at work because you’re not getting enough rest. Your mood at work might change as well. You might snap at your coworkers or customers. 

Those who can return to work unchanged after very serious car wrecks can consider themselves lucky. Many times, such an event can impact every aspect of their life, and that certainly includes their work.

You might get over it eventually, but don’t let it surprise you if you feel like a different person for a while. Brushing off such a significant event might prove more difficult than you’d imagine.