How A Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Can Help You

Regardless of the type of accident, injuries can take a significant toll on a person - physically and mentally.

However, some accidents and injuries are so serious they can completely alter the course of an injured person’s life. These are considered catastrophic for a good reason - the afflicted individual may require years of medical care or rehabilitation. 

What’s also frightening about these scenarios is that the person may lose their ability to work. So if you or your loved one were involved in a catastrophic accident, you must seek adequate compensation for medical and other financial expenses to avoid financial peril and a lifetime of pain.

Here’s how a catastrophic injury lawyer can help.

What Is A Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is an illness/physical injury considered particularly severe. It has a considerable impact on the victim and requires extensive medical treatment. 

Since many types of injuries may end in harrowing consequences, it’s usually hard to make a comprehensive list of ailments. Yet, what usually springs to mind are the following conditions:

1. Traumatic brain or head injuries

2. Severe burns

3. Spinal cord injuries

4. Amputation

5. Paralysis

6. Loss of hearing or vision

7. Organ damage

While some of these injuries may not be permanent, they may still take months or even years to fully heal. Sometimes, the full extent of the ailments may not even be known for a while.

Additionally, whether an injury will be considered catastrophic doesn’t rely on the type of accident. Rather, it solely depends on the severity of the injury. This means that severe injuries may occur anywhere from automobile accidents to accidents that happen due to defective products.

It’s a sad fact that these occur daily throughout Florida. Hence, you should have an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer at your side who will help you pursue the case and keep the negligent parties accountable for their actions. 

Determining Liability For The Injury

If the injury was caused by negligence, a defective product, or an intentional act, you should file a personal injury claim. This is where a catastrophic injury lawyer plays a key role, as they can help you determine who is responsible for the injury by investigating your case

For instance, in medical malpractice cases that led to catastrophic injuries, the party responsible may be the hospital, a nurse, or a doctor. In car accidents, the other driver may be at fault, but there are circumstances in which external factors such as road conditions or manufacturing defects may be the cause of the accident.

The Full Impact Of Catastrophic Injuries

Even though the injury affects the victim the most, it also has an impact on the lives of all family members, especially the children. As the victim may go through multiple surgeries or medical visits, the medical bills may quickly pile up and prove financially devastating for the entire family - especially if the main financial contributor is the one who is injured.

This may end up causing a severe loss of enjoyment of life and significant psychological trauma. In some cases, families may not be able to deal with the stress, and it’s not uncommon for catastrophic injuries to even contribute to broken marriages.

Thankfully, with the help of an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer, you can file a personal injury and potentially recover both economic and non-economic damages. Once more, it all depends on the intricacies of the case, but you shouldn’t be expected to take all the financial burden when someone else's negligence caused your current disposition.

An Average Cost Of A Catastrophic Injury

The financial impact of catastrophic injuries is difficult to estimate. This is because no injury is different and they not only vary in severity but also the extent of medical intervention required, as well as their impact on the quality of life quality.

As an example, let’s take high tetraplegia (a form of paralysis of all extremities), a common catastrophic injury. 

In the first year after the injury occurs, the medical fees may easily reach over $1 million, and throughout the patient's lifetime, the costs may rise to $5 million. This is in case the injury occurred at an early age.

Those numbers are only estimated costs of medical treatment, not accounting for other financial costs like lost productivity or wages. This is why it’s not uncommon for victims to file for bankruptcy. 

The Types Of Damages You Can Recover

For starters, individuals who suffered a catastrophic injury can recover damages for the incurred losses. The amount ultimately depends on the injury itself, as well as the event that led to it. 

Typically, the damages in catastrophic injury cases include (but are not limited to):

1. Future and current medical costs

2. Loss of future income

3. Lost wages

4. Loss of household services

5. Costs of additional care

6. Pain and suffering

A catastrophic injury lawyer can help you determine the amount of damages you can recover. To ensure that you or your loved one are given proper medical care, a lawyer may leverage the services of a life care planner to accurately quantify the associated costs.

A life care plan is a report that describes the condition of the patient, as well as services and goods required to fulfill their needs. 

It may also cover:

1. Transportation requirements

2. Assistive technology (such as wheelchair or crutches)

3. Renovations to the injured person’s home made to accommodate the condition

4. Medication and additional medical supplies

5. Therapeutic interventions

6. Home care services

7. Mental health counseling

Even with the financial side of the care taken care of, some victims will never completely recover. However, with the necessary planning, rehabilitation, and care, they can get the highest quality of life possible with their injuries.

Seeking Justice

If you or a loved one were a victim of a catastrophic injury, your best course of action is to hire a catastrophic injury lawyer and recover damages that may help you restore your life. 

It’s not just about money, though. Filing a lawsuit will help you pursue justice and get peace of mind knowing that the person who caused your accident is held accountable.

If you’re looking for a lawyer to help you with your case, you cannot go wrong with the Law Offices of RITE. We can bring our wealth of experience, and we’ll approach your situation with commitment and compassion.

Call (904) 500-RITE (7483) or send a message to info@rite4justice.com to book a free consultation and take the first step toward justice.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.