A catastrophic injury is one that changes the life of the victim forever. These types of injuries are serious and life-altering. They can result in the inability to walk, work and do basic activities without help. When an individual is involved in an accident that has such a tremendous impact, he or she has the legal right to claim compensations not only for the sustained physical injuries but also for the emotional impact caused by the accident.
Our Los Angeles personal injury attorneysknow how terrible a catastrophic injury can be both for the victim and his or her family. This is why our team of experts is qualified to handle any case involving accidents that have led to traumatic injuries. There are many accidents that can cause a catastrophic injury, however, the most common causes of these types of lesions are car accidents or even slip and fall accidents.
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Causes and legal actions, presented by our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys
Catastrophic injuries can not only alter the career of the victim, but also his or her personal life. Because this types of injuries are not only harmful to the body, but also have a tremendous emotional impact, victims, and their caregivers need time to adjust to the life after the traumatic event.
Catastrophic injuries occur without warning. They can happen in a car accident or a simple bicycle accident. Various types of workers are exposed every day to a dangerous environment. Construction accidents in California are yet another example of catastrophic injuries. This type of traumatic injuries includes paralysis and paraplegia, spinal cord injuries, amputations, burn injuries, permanent disfigurement, etc.
An important step in any catastrophic personal injury claim is to determine the actual cost of the medical treatment and the support treatment received by the victim. Because the types of extreme injuries classified as catastrophic ones imply very large medical costs, the victim will have to determine the true value of the claim. This is done after the initial emergency procedures and once the victim has had time to discuss with a doctor and/or therapist who was able to inform him about the future costs of treatment and recovery.
Whatever the reason for the accident, our personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles can help you obtain the legal compensation for your loss of income or the medical bills resulted as a consequence of the accident.
If, in addition to a catastrophic injury, the victim is also subjected to medical negligence during emergency medical treatment, our medical malpractice lawyer in Los Angeles can answer your questions. Such a personal injury lawsuit has a statute of limitations of one year or three years, depending on the moment when the medical negligence injury was discovered.
You can watch a video about catastrophic injuries to find out more about these types of accidents:
Compensation for catastrophic injuries in Los Angeles
The type of available compensation for victims of catastrophic injuries is monetary. The list below contains the four main types of damages these victims can claim:
- Medical bills: for the initial medical treatment right after the accident and for the subsequent treatments; because these types of injuries will require extensive care and the costs of the future medical expenses will be larger than for other types of accidents, this type of compensation will be substantial.
- Lost wages: the victim who suffered from an amputation or who is paralyzed after an accident will not be able to work, either partially or totally; this is why the claim for lost wages and future lost wages is also an important one;
- Damages: when the victim also had damages to his/her property or assets in the accident, these can also be claimed.
- Pain and suffering: this is a distinct type of compensation that can be also monetized, although it is advisable to seek the help of a lawyer to understand how to calculate the highly life-altering impact of a catastrophic injury.
While the costs for medical treatments are easy to calculate, the costs associated with the traumatic emotional impact are harder to claim and insurance companies, as well as defendants, will usually try to minimize their value. A personal injury attorney in Los Angeles can help you claim non-economic damages, in addition to the economic ones you would have requested.
Our lawyers in L.A. can help you put a case together, negotiate with the other party and they will represent you in a trial. We will be reliable advocates for your case so that you can receive just compensation for a life-altering event.
Proving the physical extent of the injury
Severe injuries to the spine, spinal cord or brain require extensive medical care and treatment. The victim of a personal injury case who has suffered these types of injuries can decide to take legal action against the party at fault after he has recovered from the surgeries and the first phase of the treatment. Deciding to wait a little longer can be a good thing in most cases because the physician will be better able to assess the value of the medical expenses and also those of the future medical care.
When proving a catastrophic injury you should use all of the medical records related to your case and ask for monetary compensation for all of the medical procedures and treatments needed not only to treat the injury but also afterward during the recovery period.
Victims of catastrophic injuries can remain debilitated for life. In this case, they can ask for a certain amount of money as compensation for the daily struggles of having their lives changed. Claiming the compensations for long-term medical treatment can be done with help from one of the Los Angeles personal injury attorneys.
Proving the emotional extent of the injury
Injuries that cause permanent disability impact much more than the victim’s body. Those who suffer severe injuries will need to adjust to a new way of life, oftentimes more limited than what they were used to. Claiming compensations for non-economic damages like pain and suffering or loss of the enjoyment of life is harder to quantify but not impossible.
When deciding to prove a catastrophic injury, plaintiffs should remember that several limitations apply on personal injury claims in California.
One of our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys can answer your questions regarding the compensation limits and the manner in which you can prove that a severe injury has altered your life.
Do not hesitate to reach out to us for other types of cases as well. A birth injury is not considered a catastrophic injury, however, to the parent, it can surely feel this way. Unfortunately, depending on the severity of the injury to the child, the newborn’s development can be greatly affected. Our birth injury attorneys in Los Angeles can help you claim rightful compensation if this happened to your child.
Please contact our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys, if you want to know more about catastrophic injuries and other types of accidents.
We also have different teams of:
– truck accident attorneys in Los Angeles,
– brain injury attorneys in Los Angeles,
– slip and fall lawyers in Los Angeles,