Accidents have the potential to cause life-altering consequences for the person who has been injured. Whether it was a defective product, a drunk driver, or any other cause of harm, when you suffer an injury due to the negligence of another, you have the right to be compensated for your losses, both economic and non-economic. This compensation becomes even more important when we discuss the unique area of representation that occurs during a catastrophic injury case.
What is a Catastrophic Injury?
When someone suffers a catastrophic injury, this means that they suffered an injury that has rendered them unable to carry out the tasks required for daily functions. Often this means that they have suffered a spinal cord injury or neurological damage, or perhaps even severe burns to most of their body. A person who has been catastrophically injured will likely need nursing care and assistance for the rest of their life. Unfortunately, not everyone has the financial resources available for this type of care, which is why compensation in this type of a personal injury case is critical.
Economic and Non-economic Damages in a Catastrophic Injury Case
Handling a catastrophic injury case requires a lot of time, commitment, and resources because the outcome of the case will be a critical factor in determining the quality of life for the victim for the rest of his or her life. Therefore, it’s essential that the attorney or attorneys handling the case are dedicated to providing the best representation and experts to fight for the victim. Because these cases often involve dealing with the emotional aftereffects of severe injury and trauma, it’s also essential that any lawyer hired for the case has the capacity for empathy toward the victim and his or her family.
Catastrophic injury cases come in two parts that must be proven by the plaintiff: economic damages and non-economic damages. The first aspect of economic damages looks at the cost of the victim’s life care plan. This could include medical bills, nursing care, and the current earnings and loss of earning potential of the victim. Economic damages are the costs that will be associated with the needs of the client for the remainder of his or her life. In order to prove economic damages, you must bring in an expert in the form of a treating doctor or one who understands catastrophic injuries to prove how quality care will lead to a longer life. It’s important that this expert fully understands the benefit to life expectancy of quality long-term care because the defense will bring in an expert who will try to diminish the life expectancy of the client to bring down the cost of the economic damages.
Non-economic damages include the pain and suffering that occur when someone is so severely injured that he or she has lost the ability to function normally and take care of daily living tasks. These damages may be more difficult to prove, so it’s important that the victim’s attorney really get a feel for the suffering caused by the injury to communicate that to the court. This may require the lawyer to visit the victim at home and speak to his or her family. The lawyer must be empathic and listen to how dramatically life has changed for the victim to truly get an understand of how his or her life has changed.
The victim’s attorney is responsible for making sure that the victim will recover any financial losses that may have been incurred as a result of the injury caused by someone else’s negligence, including future financial earnings that will be lost due to severe disability. The victim’s attorney must also fight for the non-economic losses of the victim, as severe life-changing injuries can cause a significant strain on mental and emotional health.
Experienced Catastrophic Personal Injury Attorneys
At Panter, Panter, and Sampedro, we take catastrophic injury cases extremely seriously. Our expertise, extreme care, and due diligence is all proven by the claims we have won for our catastrophically injured clients. If you or someone you know has been catastrophically injured, it’s important to hire an attorney who will take the time to care about your case and provide the best experts to help you recover all damages. Contact our office for a complimentary consultation regarding your specific situation. We can be reached at 305-662-6178.
