What is a Catastrophic Injury?

Catastrophic injuries resulting from personal injury accidents can have life-altering consequences, leaving you in a fight for your life in the blink of an eye. If you or someone in your family has suffered a catastrophic injury or death at the hands of another party’s negligence, you need to find yourself an ally who can help you navigate the legal complexities of a catastrophic injury case before it’s too late.

You cannot trust that the insurance companies, or other parties involved, will do the right thing. If you want to receive the compensation you deserve and give your family the space to heal the best it can, you need to hire a catastrophic injury attorney to fight for you.

What is a catastrophic injury? And are there legal distinctions between being injured in an accident and being catastrophically injured? The catastrophic injury lawyers at Grimes & Fertitta are here to walk you through everything that you need to know about catastrophic injury lawsuits.

If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury because of someone else’s negligence, call the catastrophic injury lawyers at Grimes & Fertitta at (713) 224-7644 for a free case evaluation.

What is considered a catastrophic injury?

“Catastrophic injury” is a term used in the legal world to describe an injury that has profound and life-altering consequences for the victim. Specifically, as stated in 42 USCS § 3796, the catastrophic injury legal definition says that a catastrophic injury is any injury that has “direct and proximate consequences” that “permanently prevent an individual from performing any gainful work.”

These injuries typically result from accidents, and they can affect almost every aspect of a person’s life, devastating their physical, emotional, and financial well-being. Catastrophic injuries often necessitate long-term medical care and can lead to permanent disabilities or even death.

Catastrophic injuries encompass a wide range of conditions, but they all share one common thread: their severe impact on the victim’s life. To provide a clearer understanding, let’s take a look at some common catastrophic injury examples.

Catastrophic injury examples

Because the statutory definition is left so broad, catastrophic injuries can come in many shapes and sizes. Some of the most common forms of catastrophic injuries include:

1. Paralysis. Partial or complete paralysis can permanently affect a person’s mobility and independence.
2. Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs). Severe head injuries can result in traumatic brain injuries, causing cognitive impairments and long-term neurological issues.
3. Spinal Cord Injuries. Damage to the spinal cord can lead to paralysis and a range of other life-altering complications.
4. Amputations. In some cases, catastrophic accidents may necessitate the amputation of limbs, forever changing a person’s daily life and capabilities.
5. Severe Burns. Catastrophic injuries can cause extensive burns, requiring ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation.
6. Organ Damage. Internal injuries, such as damage to vital organs, can be categorized as catastrophic, often leading to significant health challenges.

Catastrophic injury causes

There are as many possible causes for catastrophic injuries as there are types of catastrophic injuries that one can sustain. Some common causes for catastrophic injuries that are caused by the negligence of another party include:

1. Car accidents and truck accidents. Car and truck accidents can lead to catastrophic injuries when they involve high speeds, heavy impact, or multiple vehicles.
2. Workplace injuries. Workplace injuries stemming from falls from great heights or malfunctions of heavy machinery can cause serious, if not fatal, injuries.
3. Industrial accidents. In industrial settings, catastrophic injuries may result from explosions, machinery malfunctions, or chemical exposure. These accidents can cause debilitating injuries that require extensive medical care and rehabilitation.
4. Defective products or drug injuries. Injuries from drugs or defective products can cause permanent damage to vital organs and even death.

 

Whether you’re looking for a Houston truck accident lawyer or an industrial accident attorney to take your case, make sure that they have experience taking high-stakes catastrophic injury cases to court and winning. 

Why hire a catastrophic injury lawyer for your catastrophic injury lawsuit

In the middle of the fallout from a serious injury, the last thing that you want to be doing is dealing with a personal injury claim or lawsuit. What you need now more than ever is to be resting and spending time with those closest to you, not taking phone calls or showing up for litigation.

An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer can help you by:

• Investigating your claim and gathering evidence to support it.
• Navigating the legal complexities of the claim and lawsuit processes, since both might be in play.
• Speaking with representatives from the insurance company as well as any lawyers involved in the lawsuit, so that you can focus on healing.
• Making sure that you get a fair settlement by calculating the true cost of your catastrophic injuries, including emotional distress, lack of income, etc.

Before hiring any attorney, you should make sure that they have a history of taking cases like yours, as well as a reputation for success in those cases. The Houston personal injury attorneys at Grimes & Fertitta have experience taking high-stakes cases involving catastrophic injuries to court and winning them, for clients just like you going through one of the toughest times of their lives.

Call the catastrophic injury lawyers from Grimes & Fertitta today

So, what is a catastrophic injury? A life-altering injury that leaves victims unable to perform the same functions that they could before suffering the injury. While these injuries are always tragic, you may have an opportunity to fight back. There is no turning back the clock, but there may be justice to be won with the right catastrophic injury lawyer by your side.

The attorneys at Grimes & Fertitta used to work for the insurance companies. They know exactly how big companies attempt to nickel and dime victims during the most vulnerable times in their lives. Don’t accept anything from anyone until you’ve had a chance to talk with a trusted attorney who can make sure that you get what you really deserve.

Whether you’re looking for a Houston car accident lawyer or a work injury lawyer in Houston, the team at Grimes & Fertitta is here to fight for you.  Call Grimes & Fertitta today at (713) 224-7644 or contact us online for a free consultation.

More Helpful Articles by Grimes & Fertitta: 

• How To Tell if You Have Internal Injuries From a Car Accident
• How to Find Lawyers Who Sue Insurance Companies
• What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
• What To Do After a Slip and Fall Accident
• What To Do After Suffering Lifting Injuries at Work