Kenneth City Catastrophic Injury Attorney
Seeing progress is the only thing that helps some injury victims through a difficult recovery process. Unfortunately, for those with catastrophic injuries, there is no end in sight. Catastrophic injuries are especially severe. The financial, physical, and emotional impacts can change the course of a person’s entire life for the worst.
If you’ve sustained a significant injury, the attorneys of Jones Law Group in Kenneth City can help you to hold the at-fault party accountable for all the ways you’ve suffered. We are dedicated to getting our clients the highest compensation available so that they can move forward. Contact us for a free consultation to learn about your legal options.
What is a catastrophic injury?
A catastrophic injury causes a significant, permanent consequence. That could be a mental impairment or a physically disabling condition. Many catastrophic injuries require life-long treatment to manage pain and prevent the condition from doing further damage. The cost of treatment is extremely expensive. Even minor expenses, for instance, the cost of gas to get to doctors’ appointments, can add up to a small fortune over time. These expenses are all the more burdensome when a catastrophic injury leaves you unable to earn a living. With a cognitive impairment, you might not be able to problem-solve, organize, and plan like you once did in your line of work. If your job involves heavy labor, a physical injury can quickly put an end to your career. Receiving compensation for your catastrophic injury is critical to keeping your life afloat.
Types of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries tend to affect the most vulnerable parts of the body that we rely on the most. They limit what we’re able to accomplish, and they’re a major source of grief and stress.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The most severe spinal cord injuries cause paralysis from the neck down or the waist down. Catastrophic injury victims don’t have to become paralyzed to suffer extensive, long-lasting effects. Spinal cord damage can lead to a wide range of devastating limitations such as the loss of bladder control, loss of sexual function, and organ failure.
Back & Neck Injuries
When your back or neck sustains a serious injury, your muscles, nerves, and bones may never fully recover. Back pain is the reason for over 260 million lost work days every year, while neck pain is one of the top five causes of disability.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries sometimes happen due to errors made during a delivery. However, there are more that happen because of a failure to diagnose a condition during pregnancy. For instance, many birth injuries including broken bones, swelling, and nerve damage happen when a baby is too large to fit through the birth canal. This happens even though modern technology makes it possible to predict birth weight.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries deteriorate a person’s decision-making abilities, emotional capacity, and ability to process information. As a result, a TBI can significantly limit your job prospects and hinder your relationships. Unpredictable mood swings could alarm your friends and family. TBIs are especially difficult for children in their school years.
Burn Injuries
Unsightly burn injuries do more than diminish your self esteem. The most severe burns damage the nerves. They can also reach all the way down to the bone. As a result, you can lose function in your arms, legs, or any other body part where a burn affects.
Permanent Scarring and Disfigurement
Even if it’s just cosmetic, permanent scarring and disfigurement take a major toll on a catastrophic injury victim. These injuries can rob you of your confidence to dress the way you like and to engage socially. Sadly, they can also affect other people’s image of you, which can ultimately impact your relationships and professional opportunities.
Disability and Permanent Impairments
Crush Injuries
Crush injuries develop when all or part of the body is damaged by the weight or impact of a heavy object. An injury victim may become trapped under something like a vehicle or debris in a workplace accident.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries
Accidents that lead to catastrophic injuries can happen just about anywhere. More often than not, these accidents could be prevented by proper safety precautions.
Car accidents
When car accidents lead to catastrophic injuries, they’re typically caused by some form of negligence. Speeding, drunk driving, and distracted driving are just some of the reckless behaviors that result in these injuries.
Workplace accidents
Workplace accidents happen frequently due to unsafe work environments. They occur because of a lack of training, disorganized workspaces, insufficient safety equipment, and other precautions that management fails to take.
Truck accidents
The majority of truck accidents happen because of negligence. The two leading causes of commercial truck accidents are prescription drug use and speeding. The sheer size of commercial trucks make catastrophic injuries almost inescapable.
Bicycle accidents
Cyclists are injured by drivers who speed, ignore traffic signals, and succumb to distractions like texting. They can be thrown from their bikes, run over, and crushed between two cars.
Falls from height
Falls from heights like roofs, ladders, and other raised platforms can happen in residential locations, but they’re more common in the workplace. They’re the number one cause of fatalities in the construction industry.
Sport and recreational activities
Catastrophic injuries that result from sport and recreational activities may seem to stem from bad luck rather than negligence. However, there is often an authority like a coach or educational institution that fails to provide adequate supervision.
Construction accidents
Construction is inherently more dangerous than other fields, but that doesn’t mean accidents can’t be prevented. Management that doesn’t take reasonable measures like employee training, hazard-free workspaces, and proper hiring practices is usually to blame when an accident happens.
Medical mistakes
Medical mistakes like incorrect dosages, botched surgeries, and misagnoses cost patients their health, money, and sometimes their lives.
Defective medical devices or drugs
Patients depend on medical devices and drugs to keep them healthy, but faulty products do just the opposite. Defective pacemakers, metal implants, mislabeled prescriptions, and improperly tested drugs are a few of the errors that make patients even sicker.
What can I receive compensation for after a catastrophic injury?
After a catastrophic injury, there are multiple types of compensation you can receive. Learning about the available forms of compensation can help you to identify the losses you’ve experienced, which in turn can help your attorney get you the best value for your personal injury claim.
Medical Bills
Medical bills for hospitalizations, surgeries, prescriptions, rehabilitation, and other treatments quickly accumulate when you have a catastrophic injury. You will also tend to your injuries well after your personal injury case has concluded. That’s why it’s crucial to have a lawyer who will project your future medical expenses when pursuing compensation on your behalf.
Lost Wages
Catastrophic injuries make members of the workforce take off weeks, months, or years to receive treatment and rest. Some injury victims are never able to return to work. Your catastrophic injury could cost you your current wages as well as your potential raises and career advancements.
Property Damage
The cost to repair or replace your property can be included in your catastrophic injury claim. For example, in the event of a car accident, you may have to purchase a new car or replace the materials you were transporting. Or, after a premise liability accident, your landlord may be liable for damaged furniture and other household items.
Pain and Suffering
Your pain and suffering do not directly cause financial setbacks. However, pain and suffering greatly affect the quality of your life after a catastrophic accident. The physical aches, stress about finances, and sadness over losing your abilities are just a few of the hardships associated with catastrophic injuries. As a result, you can collect compensation for pain and suffering.
Permanent Loss and Disability
A significant and permanent loss of an important body function greatly affects your lifestyle. For example, if you’ve partially or fully lost your vision, you’ll experience professional and personal effects. You won’t be able to drive, enjoy your favorite TV shows, or watch your grandchildren grow up.
Contact an Experienced Kenneth City Catastrophic Injury Law Firm
If you’re suffering from a catastrophic injury because of someone else, the attorneys of Jones Law Group in Kenneth City can help. We will take a comprehensive approach so that you can get the compensation you will need in the long term. For a free initial case evaluation, call us at 727-571-1333 or contact us online.