Personal Injury Law Center

Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injuries often come with long-term consequences, such as disabilities, paralysis, and long-term pain, all of which can serious impact a person’s quality of life and ability to earn a living.

If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may be able to recover money damages in a personal injury lawsuit. Additionally, you may also be entitled to long-term disability payments. Obtaining maximum financial recovery for catastrophic injuries can be a time-consuming and difficult process, however, so it is highly recommended that you consult with a catastrophic injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injuries are those injuries that result in permanent disabilities that have a significant impact on a person’s life. Not only do catastrophic injuries affect the victim, but they also impact the victim’s family members and caregivers. Catastrophic injuries result in significant pain, rehabilitation therapy, medical expenses, financial burdens, and emotional challenges.

The following are some common types of catastrophic injuries:

• Spinal Cord Injuries. According to the National Spinal Cord Statistic Injury Center, there are approximately 12,000 new spinal cord injuries each year and there are estimated to be about 273,000 people in the United States currently living with a spinal cord injury. Not only do spinal cord injuries often result in paralysis, but they can also cause respiratory, urinary, gastrointestinal, and psychological conditions, as well.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most spinal cord injuries (46%) are caused by motor vehicle accidents, followed by falls, violence, and sports injuries. If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident or other type of personal injury accident, a spinal cord injury lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and fight to get the most money damages possible.

• Traumatic Brain Injuries. Millions of people sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBI) every year. In fact, according to the CDC, 2.5 million people suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2010 alone. Severe brain injuries can have a significant medical, emotional, and financial impact. The CDC reports that the total estimated economic cost of TBI in 2010, including direct and indirect medical costs, was approximately $76.5 billion.

Almost half of those individuals who suffer non-fatal severe traumatic brain injury have a related disability one year after the injury. Traumatic brain injuries can lead to a number of short and long-term medical conditions, including memory problems, weakness, decreased coordination, hearing and vision problems, depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions. According to the CDC, about 5.3 million Americans are currently living with a TBI-related disability and accompanying medical conditions, which can take a significant toll on the individual’s life, as well as the lives of family members. If you or a loved one has been affected by TBI, a catastrophic injury attorney can help you understand how to get brain injury compensation.

• Burns. Burn injuries can result in significant scarring, loss of mobility, infection, and even death. In fact, deaths from fires and burn injuries are the leading cause of fatal home injury. Burn injury victims often require a number of surgical procedures, including skin grafts, as well as long-term rehabilitation treatment. Additionally, burn injuries can have significant lifelong consequences. For instance, a burn injury victim may experience a loss of mobility at the burn site, need to wear pressure garments for a considerable period of time, and have special nutritional needs. A burn injury lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and help you get money damages and other compensation for your burn injuries.

• Amputations and Loss of Limb. Amputations and loss of limb injuries are most often sustained in motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, construction accidents, and dog bite attacks. Not only does the loss of a limb result in significant medical expenses, but it can also have a serious impact on the victim’s quality of life and ability to engage in gainful employment. For this reason, it is important to consult with a catastrophic injury attorney who can help you get full injury compensation, including personal injury money damages, disability benefits, and worker’s compensation benefits (if applicable).

 

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injuries can happen in any personal injury accident, but the following are some of the more common types of catastrophic injury accidents:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Construction accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Dog bites and animal attacks

 

Should I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit for Catastrophic Injuries?

The victims of catastrophic injuries often have several questions about their legal rights, and wonder whether it makes sense to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit. If negligence was the obvious cause of the catastrophic injuries, the victim may receive a settlement offer from the negligent party’s insurance company. For instance, if an individual suffers a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident, the victim may receive a settlement offer from the negligent motorist’s insurance company. In these situations, the injured party will need to decide whether to accept the insurance settlement or pursue a personal injury lawsuit. In other situations, however, there will be no insurance settlement offer, leaving the injured party with little recourse aside from filing a personal injury lawsuit.

A personal injury claim begins when the injured party, or plaintiff, files a complaint in the applicable court of law. Personal injury claims are subject to statutes of limitation, or time limits, on when the claim can be filed so it is important to contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible in order to ensure a timely filing of the claim.

Although personal injury laws vary from state to state, generally, in order to pursue a personal injury claim, the injured party must show that the defendant is liable for the catastrophic injury by proving the following:

• The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;
• The defendant did not comply with his or her duty of care;
• The plaintiff suffered injuries as a result of the defendant’s actions or inaction; and
• The defendant’s failure to comply with his or her duty of care was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

The defendant in a catastrophic injury case will have an opportunity to dispute the facts of the case, and may also attempt to refute the plaintiff’s claim of liability through various defenses. For instance, the defendant may seek to reduce the amount of money damages by arguing that the injured party was partially responsible for the accident, or try to avoid liability altogether by arguing that the plaintiff created an inherently dangerous situation or assumed certain risk.

 

Catastrophic Injury Damages

If you choose to file a personal injury lawsuit and are successful in proving that the defendant was negligent and liable for your catastrophic injury, you may be able to recover injury compensation for the following:

• Current and future medical expenses
• Current and future rehabilitation expenses
• Current and future lost wages
• Disability benefits
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

In some catastrophic injury cases, the injured party may be able to recover punitive damages to punish the defendant and deter future misconduct.

Because of the long-term impact of catastrophic injuries, individuals often suffer from serious mental injuries in addition to the physical injuries. Many victims of catastrophic injuries suffer from mental injuries, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. While catastrophic injury victims are entitled to money damages for emotional distress, pain and suffering, and mental injuries, it is often more difficult to prove and calculate mental injuries than physical injuries. Moreover, some states limit the amount of compensation that a plaintiff can recover for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. For this reason, it is important to contact a catastrophic injury lawyer who understands the full impact of the injuries and will fight to get you maximum money damages and other injury compensation, such as worker’s compensation benefits and disability benefits.

 

Contact a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Because there are strict time limitations on when an injured party can file a personal injury claim, it is important to consult with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. The applicable statute of limitations varies from state to state and based on the type of personal injury accident and named defendant. A personal injury attorney will be able to determine the applicable statute of limitations and help you file your claim in a timely manner. It is also important to contact a catastrophic injury lawyer promptly after an accident or injury in order to preserve the necessary evidence to support your personal injury claim.