What are Catastrophic Injuries in Personal Injury Cases? Knowing How to Pursue Compensation for Them
Catastrophic injuries have profound and long-lasting effects on your life. They usually lead to long-term or permanent disabilities that can change your ability to carry out everyday activities, enjoy life, and work as before. Such injuries include spinal cord injuries, serious burns, traumatic brain injuries, and amputations. They require extensive medical treatment, rehab, and even lifelong care. Also, the need for extended care brings about substantial medical expenses and the need to modify living environments to accommodate your new needs.
In addition, catastrophic injuries have serious financial and legal implications, usually resulting in legal action to get cover for medical costs, pain and suffering compensation, and lost income. Their defining characteristic isn’t only the seriousness when the accident happened but the enduring impacts on your quality of life like your physical health, financial stability, and emotional well-being. If you have suffered a catastrophic injury in an accident due to the negligence of another party, you need an attorney from a reputable Atlanta personal injury law firm to help you build a strong case against this party.
What are Permanent Injuries
Permanent injuries are those that do not go away. They leave long-lasting impacts on you. If you have a permanent injury, this means that you will not fully get better, regardless of the treatment or rehabilitation you go through. The following are the characteristics of a permanent injury:
- It is forever. A permanent injury causes irreparable damage or changes to a specific part of your body or brain, making it unusable.
- It changes your life. A permanent injury might make it hard for you to do daily things, work, or enjoy hobbies you used to enjoy. You may require ongoing care or assistance from other people to manage your daily life.
- It leaves you losing abilities. Because of a permanent injury, you may not be able to move a body part well, experience constant pain, or have a problem thinking or remembering things.
Examples of Permanent Injuries
Permanent injuries that can be sustained in an accident include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries or TBIs. These injuries can affect your brain’s function, making it difficult for you to think, control your actions, or remember things. A serious TBI may result in you needing help with everyday activities forever.
- Spinal cord injuries. These catastrophic injuries can lead to paralysis, which means that you cannot move or feel body parts. Depending on your injury, you may not be able to walk again and may require constant care. Serious burns. These injuries can leave scars, alter the look and sensation of your skin, and make it hard to move around. They may require surgeries and long-term therapy.
- Amputations. If you lose an arm or leg, your life will change. You will struggle to carry out even simple things and may need to use prosthetics.
- Chronic pain conditions. Certain injuries can lead to long-term pain such as chronic back pain and fibromyalgia, which makes everyday life difficult and usually requires ongoing treatment for pain.
- Hearing or vision loss. Losing your hearing or vision impacts the way you interact with your surroundings and can make it difficult or mingle.
- Organ damage. If your injury damages major organs such as your lungs or heart, you can suffer from long-term health issues. You may need regular medical care and face daily limitations.
How an Attorney Can Help
If a personal injury attorney takes on your case, they find insurance coverage that can cover your damages. They look into all possible sources. As they determine the amount of money you need or prove fault and liability, they track down sufficient insurance money that can be used to pay for your damages. Such detective work is crucial in ensuring you get the compensation you need.
