Catastrophic Injury Consequences
Every day, people are at risk to suffer severe injuries through being involved in a number of different kinds of accidents that can occur with zero warning. Car accidents, slip and fall accidents, construction site accidents, etc. can all inflict severe injuries and have a tendency of occurring at the absolute worst times. It is because of these injuries that many people find themselves in very dire circumstances with regard to their finances, career, mental state, and general quality of life. Accident injuries can affect someone’s life significantly but there are cases where people suffer especially severe injuries known as catastrophic injuries that can have an even greater impact on an accident victim’s life.
What is a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury can be described as an injury that causes permanent damage that can impair a person’s quality of life in some way. Usually, this takes the form of permanent damage to one of a person’s organs that either impair’s that either greatly impairs that organ’s functions or ruins its ability to function altogether. Catastrophic injuries will require extensive treatment, extensive recovery time, and generally leave a victim extensively scarred. Common examples of a catastrophic injury include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal injuries
- Amputations
- Third-degree burns
Florida Personal Injury Claims for Catastrophic Injuries
People that sustain these catastrophic injuries in accidents do not need to suffer in silence. Those that have suffered a severe injury in an accident caused by another party’s negligence may be able to take legal action to have the damages they suffered compensated. A personal injury claim is a part of civil law that allows those that have wrongfully suffered an injury because of someone else’s negligence an opportunity to seek an agreement to cover the damages they sustained.
Personal injury claims are filed, usually but not always, with the insurance of the at-fault party’s insurance so that both parties can negotiate a fair settlement that can be reached out of court. Should a settlement not be reached, then a claimant might seek to file a formal lawsuit against the party liable for their injuries. A lawsuit is usually much more complex since it formally goes through the full court process which can include a potentially lengthy trial with an outcome that may not be very predictable.
When it comes to catastrophic injuries, the chance of a settlement not being reached and a lawsuit being filed is higher than with a normal claim. This is because catastrophic injuries generally have a high value. Insurance companies are not in the business of handing out payments out of the goodness of their hearts. They have to make a profit somehow and cases involving these injuries can cost them greatly so they will do everything they can to either reduce the value of one of these claims or deny it.
Damages Caused by Catastrophic Injuries
Medical Expenses
Those that suffer catastrophic injuries have to undergo extensive treatments to not just heal their wounds but save their lives as well. A catastrophic injury will at the very least come with a very high chance of life-threatening complications if it isn’t a mortal threat to begin with. Due to this severity, the treatment of catastrophic injuries requires more time, resources, and skill than a normal injury. That means more cost as well.
For example, if someone suffers a penetrating brain injury as a result of a truck accident, they will have to be ambulance from the crash site to a hospital. Then they will need emergency surgery to try and save their life which requires expert surgeons, support staff, drugs, equipment, facilities, etc. Then after successful surgery, a patient needs to recover from their injury for a long period of time. That means they will need a bed and room to stay in, food, more drugs, round the clock care and monitoring via nurses and expensive equipment, and regular checkups. After someone gets out of the hospital, their injury may have been treated but they will still have to contend with symptoms and disability caused by their injury which requires therapy and yet more drugs to address. This all adds up to massive medical bills that can utterly drain a person’s finances.
Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Potential
When people are injured catastrophically, the time that they spend getting their injuries treated and recovering can be exceptionally long. All this time is spent not making money through wages earned via their job which can make the financial damages suffered because of an injury even worse. On top of this, catastrophic injuries often affect a person’s ability to work because of disabilities they may develop. They either can have a reduced ability to perform their job or they may be unable to work altogether. These damages are usually a major part of catastrophic injury claims.
Pain and Suffering
Catastrophic injuries can cause excruciating pain. People can suffer immensely because of injuries like burns, severe trauma, and internal damage which deserves compensation despite pain not being tangible. Pain and suffering also includes mental anguish which is the psychological pain that comes with physical injuries. People that suffer catastrophic injuries can develop PTSD, depression, anxiety, and a number of other debilitating mental issues as a result of their injury’s effects on their lives.
Hire an Experienced Clearwater Personal Injury Attorney
Serious accidents that result in severe or catastrophic injuries disrupt the lives of injured individuals and their families, sometimes forever. Injured individuals experience pain related to their injuries and recovery, which often results in significant missed time from work. Lost wages compound the financial burden of mounting medical expenses not covered by your insurance. Hiring the best Clearwater personal injury attorney gives accident injury victims the best odds of a positive outcome in their cases, allowing them to focus on recovery and rehabilitation.
The experienced personal injury lawyers at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA Accident Injury Lawyers have settled and litigated numerous cases for clients, resulting in the recovery of millions of dollars in damages. Our attorneys have been named as Super Lawyers, have outstanding avvo.com ratings, and have been designated as Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend. We understand the challenges that you face after sustaining an injury caused by another party, and we are here to guide you through this challenging time in your life. If you live in the Clearwater area, call Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA Accident Injury Lawyers at (833) 552-7274 (833-55-CRASH), or contact us online. In addition to Clearwater, we also serve clients from our St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and New Port Richey offices.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 451-6900
https://www.dolmanlaw.com/florida-personal-injury-lawyer/
