Dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic work injuries can prove incredibly traumatic. Not only do you have to deal with the physical challenges that come along with those injuries, including ongoing medical treatments, but you may also find that your medical bills continue to grow, often much more than anticipated.
If you have suffered a catastrophic work injury in Atlanta due to another party’s negligence, working with a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta can help you get the support you need to answer critical questions about your rights and, if needed, move forward with a personal injury claim.
You Can File a Catastrophic Workplace Injury Lawsuit Today
Catastrophic work injuries include those that are permanently disabling or disfiguring: those that lead to permanent, or very long-term, consequences in your life. They may include:
- Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
- Concussion, coma, and head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Loss of one of the senses (usually sight or hearing)
- Amputation
- Permanent disfigurement
- Third-degree burns and skin scarring
- Lacerations leading to sepsis
- Oregon puncture and internal bleeding
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How do Catastrophic Work Injuries Happen?
Often, catastrophic injuries involve substantial changes to the patient’s everyday life, including the ability to work, participate in your preferred hobbies, and even take care of yourself. Catastrophic injuries can occur from a variety of potential scenarios, including
- Car accidents – If a negligent driver is distracted, drunk, drowsy, aggressive, or otherwise operates in their vehicle in an unsafe manner, they may be responsible for your catastrophic work injuries. However, dangerous road conditions, inclement weather, and defective motor vehicle parts may also contribute to your collision.
- Premises liability accidents – No matter what type of work you do, you show up at someone else’s property to get the job done. If the property owner fails to maintain the integrity of the premises, and you subsequently suffer catastrophic work injuries, you may have the right to compensation for your damages.
- Product liability incidents – Employees across all industries rely on equipment and materials to perform their responsibilities. If these products become defective or malfunction when used as intended, the product designers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and suppliers could all share liability.
- Construction accidents – Construction injuries could be caused in a variety of ways on a construction site. Some of the most common types of construction accidents include crushings, fires, explosions, ground, and trench collapses, building collapses, electrocution, being hit by falling objects, and slips and falls.
These are only a few of the more common ways catastrophic work injuries occur. If you have suffered a catastrophic work injury in another type of accident while at work, you may still have grounds for compensation. Do not hesitate to contact our Atlanta catastrophic work injury lawyers to find out which legal options are available to you.
We Can Gather Data Discussing Your Catastrophic Workplace Injuries
Catastrophic work injuries may involve a calamity of errors that result in severe injuries, or they can result in the negligence of a single outside party. Sometimes, you may have the right to claim compensation for multiple parties, which can help increase the compensation you ultimately recover for your injuries.
Regardless of whether you have the right to compensation from more than one party or a single party, you need evidence to help establish your right to compensation. A catastrophic work injury lawyer can help collect that essential evidence, providing you with the foundation you need to file your claim.
We Use Evidence to Establish Liability in Your Catastrophic Work Injury Case
To file a catastrophic work injury claim in Atlanta, you will need to establish who caused your accident and your injuries. The liable party in a catastrophic work injury incident is usually someone who:
- Bore a duty of care to you at the time of the accident. Generally, the party liable for a catastrophic work injury includes someone who should have exercised some type of precaution to protect against others getting hurt, but who failed to exercise those precautions.
- Violated that duty of care in some way. The liable party must exercise a lack of safety or care in a way that causes an accident.
- Contributed directly to your accident because of that lack of care.
Each of these three criteria must be in place in order for you to have grounds for a catastrophic work injury claim following your accident. Your lawyer can help you establish that the liable party should have exercised care to protect you, failed to exercise that care, and ultimately led to your accident because of the overall lack of care applied to your specific circumstances.
Present Your Evidence within Georgia’s Statute of Limitations
The evidence used to prove liability in a catastrophic work injury claim must be compelling. This is because the burden of proof is based on a preponderance of the evidence. Some of the types of evidence that could be used to establish fault in your case could include:
- Photos of your catastrophic injuries
- Statements from your work colleagues
- Other witness statements
- Employee records
- Company records
- Police and accident reports
- Medical records
It is important to get started on your case as soon as possible after your catastrophic work injury. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Georgia is just two years under Georgia law.
If your lawsuit is not filed before the statute of limitations expires you will no longer have the opportunity to present your case before a judge and jury in the Atlanta civil courts.
Catastrophic Work Injury Lawsuits and Workers’ Compensation
If another party caused your catastrophic injuries, you may have the right to recover compensation for both the financial losses associated with your injury and the non-financial challenges you might face. Compensation through a civil lawsuit for catastrophic injuries in Atlanta may include:
- Compensation for the medical bills you faced after your accident, including future anticipated medical bills, particularly in the case of injuries that will require substantial, ongoing treatment
- Compensation for any wages you lost because of your injuries, as catastrophic injuries may keep you out of work for a long period of time
- Compensation for lost earning potential, when your catastrophic injuries have a permanent impact on your ability to complete your former job tasks
- Compensation for the pain and suffering you have faced
A catastrophic work injury attorney in Atlanta can help you add up all the financial and non-financial losses you have sustained as a direct result of your catastrophic injuries and calculate them as part of your claim.
Each claim looks a little different, and a lawyer cannot guarantee the compensation you will ultimately recover for your injuries. However, a lawyer can make sure you fully understand your rights and the compensation you should expect.
Workers Compensation Benefits in Atlanta
After suffering a work-related injury, you may be entitled to worker’s compensation benefits under Georgia worker’s compensation laws. Here, the vast majority of employers are required to provide their employees with protection via worker’s compensation insurance coverage.
If you suffer catastrophic work injuries you may be entitled to specific types and amounts of benefits, such as:
- Total coverage of your medical expenses
- Disability benefits that replace a portion of your last income
- Death benefits for surviving family members of the deceased
- Vocational rehabilitation benefits when your injuries prevent you from returning to your line of work
Discuss a Catastrophic Workplace Injury with John Foy’s Attorneys
If you suffered catastrophic injuries due to the negligence of another party, do not try to handle your claim on your own. Instead, contact an experienced Atlanta catastrophic work injury attorney at John Foy & Associates to learn more about your rights, including your right to compensation.
Our firm is proudly offering Atlanta work injury victims no-cost, risk-free consultations. Claim yours when you call our office or complete our quick contact form.
404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form