Serious / Catastrophic Injuries

Serious or catastrophic injuries can change your life and your family's lifestyle forever. Such injuries include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, amputation and limb loss, third degree burns, disfigurement, paralysis or quadriplegia, and loss of function. Often the long-term implications of such injuries are only fully evident years after an accident, but they are nearly always permanent and may mean that the accident victim needs lifelong care, and can no longer work or interact with his or her family as he or she once did. Choosing the right attorney to represent you in your effort to recover compensation from the person or entity responsible for your serious injuries is a crucial decision. Let our experienced Los Angeles catastrophic injury lawyers fight for the compensation you deserve.

Some of the most common reason for catastrophic injuries are motor vehicle accidents (particularly involving trucks or motorcycles), construction accidents, and falls from heights. Proving the other party's liability may not be as challenging as proving the extent of the injury. This is because it can be difficult even for your doctors to say with certainty whether you'll be able to work at some point in the future or interact with your family in the same way.

It is often necessary to retain multiple experts for these cases, which can become complex. Your attorney may retain an expert economist to evaluate what you could have expected to earn before you were seriously injured. This may include an analysis of promotions that you were expected to earn. While your own treating physician may have some expertise regarding your injuries, it may be necessary to retain a medical expert to attest to the severity of your injuries. Your Los Angeles catastrophic injury attorney may also need to retain a vocational rehabilitation expert.

For example, if you are an apprentice on a construction site who never went to college and you suffer a ten-foot fall onto concrete due to the negligence of another subcontractor and you are left unable to walk, you may need to do another sedentary job that pays less. It may be necessary for you to be retrained to do office work or another task that doesn't involve physical labor.

In the worst catastrophic injury cases, you may need to recover the cost of future nursing care. For example, someone who is in a terrible accident and is left unable to care for herself may need a day nurse while her husband or wife is at work. This can be expensive. Many insurers faced with this type of devastation will still try to claim that a day nurse is unnecessary. That is why it is crucial to retain a catastrophic injury lawyer in Los Angeles who has experience working with experts and presenting complex issues to a jury.

In California you are entitled to both special damages and general damages if you can prove your personal injury case. Special damages are those tangible out-of-pocket costs that can be documented such as medical bills, vocational rehabilitation, physical therapists or nursing care. General damages are intangible compensatory damages that the jury believes naturally flow from the accident that occurred, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish and loss of consortium. In some catastrophic injury cases, punitive damages may also be appropriate. Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are only awarded in cases where a defendant's conduct is egregious.

When your life is changed by catastrophic injuries caused by someone's carelessness or recklessness, you are entitled to compensation. In many cases, representation by a skillful injury lawyer can make a huge difference to the amount of damages that are recovered. Let our experienced attorneys fight for the damages to which you're entitled. We represent those injured in San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, and Temecula. Contact us at (866) 422-7222 or via our online form for a free, no-obligation consultation.