Gwinnett County Car Accident Attorney Explains How Georgia Families May React to a Fatal Car Accident & How To Cope
Losing a loved on through a Duluth auto accident is tragic. It is even more tragic when the at-fault parties of the auto accident were under the influence of alcohol or were driving recklessly. Regardless of how your loved one was killed, it is necessary to honor their life and make sure that you have the appropriately tools to work through your sad and tragic loss as healthfully as possible. Learning how loss and the grieving process works is essential to managing your emotions.
Five Stages of Grief
There are generally five stage of grieving a loved one. Most people experience one or all of the following stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Depending on how close you were with your family member, what happened when your family member left in their car, what you said to them the last time you spoke with them and other factors will certainly impact the length and depth of grief.
If you have lost a loved one, along with getting access to the proper mental health professionals to make sure you are able to work through your loss in a health and effective manner, speak with a Duluth car accident attorney will enable you to obtain justice on your loved one’s behalf. You will learn about all of your legal rights, and those of your deceased family member’s rights. Call (888) 927-6955 to schedule your free legal consultation at the Law Office of Shane Smith.
Denial
Since losing any family member is painful, and especially through a Georgia auto accident, you may not believe it has happened to you and your family. Yes, you have heard about it on the news, but only think that it happens to someone else. Unfortunately, because thinking about not have this person in your life, especially if they pass on prematurely, is just too much to handle, you might not want to accept the facts.
Anger
Losing someone is extremely infuriating. When your family member is taken away from you, especially when they have done nothing wrong can understandably make you angry. If your loved one’s accident was caused by another person, for whatever reason, feeling angry at the at-fault party, the world, yourself for letting them drive can make you feel powerless and angry at the world. All of these emotions can hit you all at once and you may not know where to turn or how to act and anger is an understandable way to feel. However, feeling this way is not constructive and speaking with a mental health professional to sort your feelings out is essential to work through your loss.
Bargaining
Similar to what we normally think about bargaining in our daily lives, bargaining during the grieving process is when we say to ourselves, “I would do anything to make this feeling go away.” We may look to speak with a mental professional, seek the guidance of a friend, family member, practitioner of our religion to understand what we can do to make things right and move on. During this stage, you may feel powerless and feel like you have nowhere to turn and will do anything or speak with someone to learn what to do to work your way through this loss.
Depression
The next stage is when we feel that there is no hope, no reasons to keep moving forward. Understandably feeling overwhelmed, sad, and remorseful during this stage is normal. Depending on your support system and the circumstances surrounding your loss, your level of depression may or may not be that severe. However, if you do feel unmotivated, sad, cry extensively, then you should consult mental health professionals and family members to talk through your problems and develop strategies to find ways to memorialize your loved one, but also move on and live your life in their memory.
Acceptance
The final stage is coming to terms with your loss. After understanding how your loved one has passed away, forgiving yourself and the at-fault parties, and coming to terms that you do not have complete control over life and circumstances your loved one, accepting the loss of a loved one is difficult, but a necessary step during the grieving process. Performing volunteer work on behalf of the loved one, seeking justice for your loved one, or memorializing your loved one are all common ways, individually or together, to work through the loss of a loved one.
While losing a loved one through a Gwinnett County auto accident is extremely painful, making sure you have a good support system to deal with your loss is essential. Learning how the grieving process works and that feeling a flood of emotions from the loss is perfectly normal and how to deal with them, you and your family may be able to pursue a personal injury claim against the responsible at-fault parties. Call a Duluth auto accident attorney at Shane Smith Law to see if you have a personal injury claim, if you have damages and what your legal rights are to obtain justice for your loved one. Call Shane Smith Law at (980) 246-2656 today!