In the State of Florida, an auto accident personal injury lawsuit requires a demonstrable injury. This injury need not always be physical. For instance, “significant mental distress” can count as an injury in some cases if enough proof can be provided. At the same time, there must be some proof of at least one injury that has already occurred as a direct result of the auto accident.
Therefore, a “possible injury” as the only injury claim must be further investigated in order to pursue legal action against the alleged perpetrator under a personal injury lawsuit. At the same time, a “possible injury” can add weight to existing, evidence-backed injuries. For example, someone can have proof of cracked ribs and a “possible injury” to their spinal cord. Documentation is still needed, so X rays showing proof of stress on the region in question but not necessarily an injury can compound other, provable injuries in some cases.
Similarly, someone can have a “possible injury” in terms of the projected severity over time. The assumption for most wounds and injuries is that they heal within a predictable timetable. With a known injury, there is a future possible injury in terms of how much functionality will remain lost over time.
An excellent example would be a traumatic brain injury that lead to a coma, and the victim later came out of it. A normally healthy person would likely recover from such an event, but the brain damage can alternatively be a severe “possible injury” that debilitates the person’s functionality over a long period, perhaps even permanently. So in addition to a known, prior concussion and traumatic brain injury, there is also a “possible injury” of a permanently disabling nature.
Another important concept to note regarding “possible injury” is that in the State of Florida, under Florida Statutes § 627.736, car accident victims have only 14 days to file a claim for past and future medical care expenses related to the accident. This statute means that any possible injuries must usually be diagnosed within that time in order to provide the minimum showing for the costs of an injury, even if related “possible injuries” exist connected to it.