California Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is an injury that causes permanent, life-changing impacts and long-term consequences. These injuries may also put injured victims out of work, leading to lost wages and missed earning opportunities. Catastrophic injuries often affect family members, some of whom must become full-time caregivers. Common types of catastrophic injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries, 
• Concussions,
• Severe head and skull fractures or injuries, 
• Broken bones, 
• Spinal cord injuries, 
• Loss of limb or amputation,
• Scarring or disfigurement, 
• Loss of bodily function, 
• Vision damage, 
• Hearing damage, 
• Third-degree burns, and
• Injuries requiring long-term medical care.

While advances in medical treatment allow more catastrophic injury victims to be saved than in the past, these treatments can’t always restore victims to full health and mobility. Victims are often left coping with ongoing medical treatments, therapeutic care, and financial hardship for the rest of their lives. 

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries 

Many different accidents can cause catastrophic or permanent injuries. The most common causes of catastrophic injuries include:

• Car accidents,
• Truck accidents, 
• Motorcycle accidents,
• Construction worksite accidents, 
• Workplace accidents, 
• Product defects, 
• Medical malpractice, 
• Bicycle accidents,
• Pedestrian accidents, 
• Premises liability accidents, 
• Dog bites, 
• Slip-and-fall accidents, 
• Sports injuries, and
• Acts of violence.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about 838 per 10,000 people suffered accident injuries in 2018. If someone else’s negligence caused your injury, you might have grounds to file a catastrophic injury claim in California. 

How Can a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Help Me?

An experienced catastrophic injury attorney can assist with your catastrophic injury case by providing you with various advantages throughout the claim process.

1. Investigate Your Claim. Your attorney investigates your claim and looks for evidence to support your demand for compensation. 
2. Experts. Attorneys can contact expert witnesses who can provide testimony to support your compensation claim. Even if your case does not go to trial, expert witnesses can assist at the settlement table by providing information about the severity of your injuries and what your long-term prognosis is. 
3. Negotiate. Experienced attorneys are skilled negotiators and can work diligently to settle your claim without having to go to trial, so you can get the compensation you need faster. 
4. Trial. California catastrophic injury attorneys prepare your case for trial when negotiations fail. 

Catastrophic injuries can result in large claims for recovery. Contact a catastrophic injury lawyer today so that you don’t risk losing out on the compensation you deserve. 

What Can I Recover? 

Obtaining the financial support you need after a catastrophic injury is vital to provide for your care and the care of your family for the foreseeable future. Catastrophic injuries can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care. Securing compensation allows your family to move forward after an injury and can also give you closure by holding the responsible party accountable. 

California divides compensatory damages into economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages include financial costs directly related to your injury and include the following losses: 

• Medical expenses—past and future medical expenses related to the treatments required for your catastrophic injury;
• Lost wages—those suffering from catastrophic injuries may be unable to work the same job they did before their injury; 
• Loss of future earnings—a long-term catastrophic injury may make it impossible for victims to have the same future earning potential they did before their injury; and
• Property damage—if a catastrophic injury also damaged your property, your economic damages award may also include these losses. 

Keep copies of all your expenses, including invoices, pay stubs, bills, and other tangible evidence to help support your claim for economic damages. 

Noneconomic damages include non-monetary losses related to the psychological and emotional effects of your injury and consist of the following: 

• Pain and suffering—a catastrophic injury may result in serious physical pain that may last a lifetime; 
• Emotional distress—those suffering from a catastrophic injury that changes every facet of their life often have difficulty emotionally adjusting to this new normal; 
• Loss of consortium—catastrophic injury often impacts a victim’s family dynamic, including their relationship with their spouse; and 
• Loss of enjoyment of life—injured victims may find the inability to do the activities they could do before their injury impacts their overall quality of their life.

Noneconomic damages are particularly challenging to quantify due to their subjective nature. For example, how does one value the inability to play soccer with their child or hold hands with their spouse the way they used to? Noneconomic damages acknowledge that the repercussions of a catastrophic injury go beyond financial expenses and involve emotional losses. It’s crucial to speak to California catastrophic injury lawyers to recover the noneconomic damages you are entitled to.

Contact Us

At Silva Injury Law, we treat you like family. We stand with our clients and are with you at every step in your recovery process. Our philosophy is that our duty goes beyond achieving significant monetary awards on your behalf. We also promote our client’s healing through compassionate advocacy. If you suffered a catastrophic injury due to an accident, you might feel overwhelmed by mounting medical expenses, loss of work, and emotional stresses due to the impact your injury has on your family. You may be struggling with the physical effects of your injury. We provide our clients with the answers and support they need. Contact our office today to schedule a free in-person or remote consultation so you can learn more about how we can help you.