Understanding Catastrophic Personal Injury Claims
Severe or catastrophic injuries have a deep impact on the victim’s life.
Severe injuries resulting from any number of accidents can affect the health, lifestyle, earning capacity, and much more of a victim. Hence, it is only natural for them or their family to seek rightful compensation for their losses.
Personal injury laws aim to protect you or a loved one if they get involved in an accident caused by the negligence of others. You have the full right to file a personal injury claim against the person/s responsible for your injuries.
While personal injury claims have relatively clear and absolute definitions and parameters, catastrophic personal injury claims have a few parameters but no absolute definitions. This ambiguity can make understanding these claims difficult.
To give you a better understanding, we’ll explain what is considered a catastrophic personal injury, how some factors affect claims, and the added challenges involved with these claims.
But before we begin, always remember to consult personal injury lawyers like those at The Law Offices of Bernstein|Polsky for personal injury and catastrophic personal injury claims in Boca Raton, FL.
Understanding Catastrophic Personal Injury Claims
Here are some key details that will give you a better understating of catastrophic personal injury claims.
What Constitutes as a Catastrophic Personal Injury?
As mentioned, there are no clear definitions of what constitutes a ‘catastrophic’ personal injury. However, within personal injury laws, certain injuries are likely to be considered and categorized as catastrophic. They include:
- Severe head or brain injuries like traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Severe spine injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, especially those that result in any form of permanent paralysis
- Injuries that result in severe burns (typically third-degree burns)
- Injuries that result in the loss of limb/s
- Injuries that result in disfigurement or defacement
- Injuries that result in considerable scarring
- Injuries that result in a long-term or permanent disability
- Injuries that result in the long-term or permanent inability of the victim to earn a living
- Injuries that result in intensive medical treatments and/or long-term care
These injuries give some clarity as to what qualifies as a catastrophic personal injury. Victims who experience one of the mentioned injuries due to another person’s negligence should immediately consult The Law Offices of Bernstein|Polsky in Boca Raton, FL.
A qualified and experienced catastrophic personal injury lawyer can help you file your claims and get you the compensation you deserve.
Some Factors That May Qualify As Catastrophic
Some factors may qualify your claim as a catastrophic personal injury claim. These factors depend on who you are and how the injury impacts your life.
Suppose you are a single parent and an auto accident causes an injury that prevents you from taking care of your children or work to provide for them, you have a strong case. Your injury may not be a significantly catastrophic one, but its impact on your life might be.
This impact makes your injury a catastrophic personal injury, which gets you a higher payout for your claims.
Added Challenges Regarding Catastrophic Personal Injury Claims
Naturally, the ‘damages’ incurred from catastrophic personal injuries are far more severe than typical personal injuries, which means the compensation for these damages is far greater as well.
However, the evidence and facts needed to prove these damages to the courts and insurance companies also require greater complexity and details. One of the biggest challenges arises from the fact that, after the accident, you may only be at the early stages of a long-term recovery process.
Your lawyer must have the medical knowledge and expertise to provide ample evidence, doctor’s testimonies, and credible arguments to prove the extent of your injuries, long-term medical treatments, and other damages.
Moreover, establishing non-economic and subjective damages, like your emotional distress or ‘pain and suffering,’ requires expertise as well.
We Can Help
Catastrophic personal injury claims are highly complicated, but hopefully, you now understand what they mean, what affects them, and what the challenges are.
Regardless of any challenges, you should always get the compensation you deserve because personal injuries have a deep impact on the quality of your life. We all only have one life, and if someone is responsible for disrupting it, you have the full right to hold them accountable.
Suppose you or a loved one has experienced an accident in Boca Raton that resulted in personal injury. In that case, whether this injury was catastrophic or not, you should immediately consult The Law Offices of Bernstein|Polsky.
The faster you act, the higher your chances of recovering damages.
If you want to learn more about understanding catastrophic personal injury claims, or if you seek professional consultation in Boca Raton, please visit our website today.
