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Being involved in a catastrophic car accident can be life-altering. It’s important that you receive fair compensation for your injuries, as it’s often the case that continuing to work is no longer an option or the type of work you can do changes.
The pain and suffering that accident victims experience can be caused by serious injuries that lead to limitations, disfigurement, and permanent disability.
Catastrophic crashes are devastating and debilitating. Ensure that you find a catastrophic injury attorney who will ensure that your settlement is what it should be.
While there are variations to the legal definition of a catastrophic injury, it applies to severe injuries that heavily affect or reduce the quality of life.
Catastrophic injury cases may include:
Lawyers who specialize in catastrophic injury cases will know the statute of limitations for your state, what compensation you may be eligible to receive, and whether you might also have a medical malpractice case for treatment of your injuries.
Catastrophic car accidents occur most often when there is heavy traffic, safety violations, unsafe road conditions, and high speeds. The results may not be fatalities, but devastating due to paralysis, loss of limb, and other severe injuries.
Some facts about catastrophic car accidents are:
If you or a loved one were in a car accident that caused catastrophic injuries and you were not one of the liable parties, you are most likely to benefit from working with a catastrophic car accident lawyer.
It’s helpful if you can prove that you have damages from injuries that were caused by the auto accident. It gets trickier when the evidence is scant.
If you have extensive injuries and your insurance company doesn’t want to pay for medical treatment, you can seek legal advice from a personal injury lawyer.
The type of car accident you’re in factors into the types of injuries you’re most likely to experience, the cost of your medical expenses, and the likelihood that a personal injury attorney will take your case.
Head-on collisions can cause significant damage to your face, head, neck, and spine from the moment of impact if you stay in the vehicle.
If you’re thrown from the vehicle, you can receive even more horrific damage to your body, including lacerations from the windshield, broken bones, road rash, and more.
Side-impact collisions can be T-bone accidents, which frequently result in crush injuries. You can be struck on the side opposite any passengers, which can be less severe.
You can be struck at an angle and turned around or pushed into oncoming traffic, leading to additional collisions and even greater injuries.
Rear-end collision cases cause you to jerk in your seat or sometimes be ejected from your vehicle.
In a rollover accident, you are flung around the inside of your vehicle as the car rotates around you. Even if you’re wearing a seatbelt, the level of jarring you experience can cause irreparable damage to your body.
In multiple vehicle accidents, you can be struck from multiple sides by oncoming traffic. You can also be struck from only one direction but repeatedly, as in a multi-car pileup that begins with one rear-end collision.
Injury victims in motor vehicle accidents can sustain a range of injuries, but some occur more frequently in catastrophic accidents, though the level of impairment to accident victims can vary.
Some of the most common injuries are to the:
Injuries in catastrophic accidents tend to be more severe than those in other types of car crashes.
There are two main types of lawsuits you can file after a catastrophic car crash: personal injury or wrongful death.
With a personal injury lawsuit, you can file for your own injuries or those of a loved one. This can include seeking compensation for economic damages like medical care, medical equipment, and lost income from the negligent party.
Non-economic damages can include pain and suffering as well as reduction in quality of life experiences.
Wrongful death lawsuits are usually filed by next of kin when a family member is killed in a car crash or later succumbs to their injuries.
A lawyer who specializes in catastrophic car accident cases has many tools and skills at their disposal to argue for you to receive fair compensation.
These include the following.
To build your case, a lawyer will often have an investigator on their team who can find evidence to support your case. They will also research prior cases and any evidence they can access.
If possible, it’s helpful to obtain any video or pictures taken at the scene. Your attorney will also need medical records for treatment at the scene and hospital as well as any follow-up doctor visits and physical therapy.
They may also try to get witness statements from bystanders and first responders and police reports from any law enforcement officials who responded to the scene.
The distance between what happened and what can be proven is where cases are made and verdicts are handed down. Any evidence collected can help to prove that you were not at fault, who was at fault, and what damages the accident caused.
Catastrophic car accidents often occur because of negligence and proving that is vital to your case. The courts should not hold you responsible for the accident if someone else caused it, and your lawyer should build a case to help prove to the courts that your injuries were not your fault.
Experts can be key participants in proving your case. For example, medical experts who can examine your injuries and explain how they were caused by the accident and how they will affect you long-term are invaluable.
Other experts may be brought in as your attorney determines necessary.
Putting a price on your quality of life can be challenging, but it’s important to have that conversation with your attorney.
Discuss what a reasonable amount would be to compensate you for how you must live your life moving forward after a catastrophic car accident has completely changed your world.
There are so many reasons to work with a catastrophic car accident lawyer. They know what precedents have been set in previous catastrophic injury cases.
They have the resources of a reputable law firm. They’re experienced in the legal process regarding these types of cases. They can translate the legalese for you, helping you to understand what your case means in legal terms and how that affects the outcome.
They will know what paperwork must be done and when to submit it. With all of this, you’re more likely to get a fair settlement than if you try to seek compensation on your own.
Finding appropriate legal representation and feeling comfortable in the attorney-client relationship can be tricky. They’re supposed to help you fight for compensation that will determine how you can live the rest of your life.
It’s important that you can trust your chosen personal injury law firm with your life because that’s essentially what you’re doing — putting your life in their hands.
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Published: 20 March 2024
American Bar Association (ABA). “Personal Injury.” Retrieved from: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/injury/.
American Bar Association (ABA). “Personal Injury Claims.” Retrieved from: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/personalinjury.
American College of Surgeons. “Ending the Confusion: Economic, Non-Economic, and Punitive Damages.” Retrieved from: https://www.facs.org/advocacy/federal-legislation/liability/guide-to-liability-reform/ending-the-confusion/
Cornell Law School. “personal injury.” Retrieved from: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/personal_injury.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Fatality Facts 2021: Large trucks.” Retrieved from: https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/large-trucks.
National Library of Medicine. “On matters of causation in personal injury cases: Considerations in forensic examination.” Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5042245/.
National Library of Medicine. “Road traffic accidental injuries and deaths: A neglected global health issue.” Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10154805/.
National Safety Council: Injury Facts. “Motor Vehicle: Overview.” Retrieved from: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/overview/introduction/.
National Safety Council: Injury Facts. “Motor Vehicle: Type of Crash.” Retrieved from: https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/overview/type-of-crash/.
World Health Organization. “Road traffic injuries.” Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
