A catastrophic injury can have life-changing effects on a victim. These injuries typically involve severe damage to the spine or brain, and they can be disabling, long-lasting and even permanent. Victims often face limitations in the ability to perform mental and physical activities, and they can develop secondary medical problems.
When such an injury is caused by someone else’s negligent or intentional conduct, the law allows the victim to file a claim for compensation.
Types of Accidents That Cause Catastrophic Injuries
Local injury attorneys help victims who suffer life-altering injuries due to other parties’ negligent conduct. Accidents can happen in various ways, including those listed here.
- Motorcycle and auto accidents: Catastrophic injuries often result from high-speed impacts. Riders who are thrown from their motorcycles and drivers involved in side impact accidents can be at risk of spinal injuries and skull fractures that cause brain damage.
- Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: A person on a bike or on foot has no protection from vehicle impact. While bike helmets are designed to prevent severe skull fractures, they cannot help a victim avoid neck trauma or a concussion.
- Dangerous products: A fall from a poorly designed ladder or carbon monoxide poisoning from an inadequately vented generator can cause catastrophic injuries.
Regardless of the nature of an injury, a careless act that results in severe injury to another party entitles the victim to file a catastrophic injury claim.
Why Hire an Injury Lawyer?
The purpose of catastrophic injury claims is to put the victim back into the position he or she was in before the accident. In the case of a catastrophic injury, money alone can’t accomplish that goal-;but it can improve the accident victim’s quality of life. The victims of catastrophic injuries typically endure overwhelming emotional distress, suffering and pain for years, and some have to deal with pain for the rest of their lives. Monetary damages cannot eliminate that pain, but they can help a victim feel as if justice has been served.
