People always think that their injuries are the worst I have ever seen. Luckily, many people who are initially in tremendous pain and are seriously inconvenienced by their injuries go on to heal and live completely healthy lives. Those are not “catastrophic injuries” a term reserved for the most extreme, debilitating, and expensive types of accidents. I have written the following blog post to help people understand the common types of catastrophic injuries, and the sort of compensation injured parties receive.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation. Barrett Law has the experience to help you. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.
What Makes a Catastrophic Injury “Catastrophic”?
Accidents result in many types of serious injuries—broken bones, tissue damage, head injuries—that all have a significant impact on the injured person’s life. What separates one of these severe injuries from a “catastrophic injury”? While there is no bright line dividing serious injuries from catastrophic ones, generally, catastrophic injuries are so severe that they result in long-term disability or debilitation for the injured party. They also have a significant impact on an injured party’s life, including the lives of loved ones. Catastrophic injuries usually involve physical deformity, the loss of some physical capacity, or the loss of mental capacity. A partial list of catastrophic injuries includes brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries, paralysis, and spinal cord injuries, and loss of a limb or limbs. Many of these injuries require personal care for much of the day, every day, a massive expense. Others may not need personal care, but permanently diminish the injured party’s ability to earn an income and enjoy life.
Just suffering a catastrophic injury does automatically qualify you for a settlement, however. The person who caused your injury must have been negligent towards you, and that negligence must have been the cause of your injury. Imagine a car that changes lanes correctly on a busy highway at night. As it changes lanes, it hits the front wheel of your motorcycle, which had a broken headlight. You fall off your motorcycle and, because you were not wearing a helmet, sustained a traumatic brain injury. While you have suffered a catastrophic injury, you will likely not recover any compensation because it will be difficult to show that the motorist that hit you was negligent. On the other hand, imagine that the car driver was drunk at the time of the accident and that your motorcycle headlight was operational—that driver likely violated his duty to act reasonably towards you. As a result, it is likely that you could recover compensation from the second driver, as he was negligent towards you.
If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury, and the person who caused your injury was negligent, you are likely due your fair share of compensation for all medical costs, lost wages, future medical costs, mobility devices such as a wheelchair or scooter, ongoing personal attendant, counseling and psychiatric care, compensation for diminishment in the enjoyment of life, compensation for loss of ability to have an intimate relationship.
What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured?
If you or a loved suffered a catastrophic injury because of another party’s negligence, you should be compensated for medical costs, counseling, and other expenses. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, taking pictures of the accident site, attaining expert opinions, and dealing with the defendant’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that only a personal injury attorney can handle for you.
Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577. The seasoned Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney is ready to assist you now!