Catastrophic injuries change the lives of the victim and their family. These injuries happen suddenly but have lifelong impacts like permanent disabilities, unemployment, and many other losses. The physical, emotional, and mental recovery can take years and result in extensive medical bills.
Facing your new reality is challenging, and you will need a Smyrna catastrophic injury lawyer who can review your case and recover compensation for past and future medical expenses. Contact John Foy & Associates to discuss your catastrophic injury and potential legal remedies.
Explaining Catastrophic Injuries
Several injuries earn the name catastrophic, and the most common are head and brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputation, burn injuries, and paralysis. Each injury has challenges, and medical intervention is necessary to reach maximum medical improvement.
Brain And Head Injuries
A traumatic brain injury stems from a sudden blow or jolt to the skull. These injuries happen during motor vehicle accidents, falls, assaults, and sports injuries. There are physical and psychological ramifications, and the emotional toll these injuries cause is lifelong.
TBIs are broad, and they cover concussions to permanent brain damage. Symptoms include:
- Dizziness
- Migraines
- Light sensitivity
- Confusion
- Fatigue
- Visual difficulties
- Seizures
- Post-traumatic epilepsy
- Memory and thought impairments
You will experience some improvement over the years, but mental difficulties will persist. Some lasting effects of these injuries include:
- Sleep disturbances
- Attention and concentration deficits
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Aggression
- Inability to manage time
- Irritability
Chronic pain and more lead to these emotional changes. The longer you experience these mood disorders, the worse your physical condition. Treatment will need to adjust to these ailments, and you need a team of specialists to address old and new symptoms.
Paralysis
The inability to move a body part or loss of feeling are common signs of paralysis. You can suffer complete or partial paralysis of a limb or region. There are different types of paralysis, and you need an accurate diagnosis; paraplegia affects the lower half of the body, while quadriplegia affects both arms and legs.
Paralysis injuries result from medical malpractice, pedestrian accidents, car accidents, and more. There is no fix to get your movement back, but medical treatment can allow you to manage pain and find alternative ways to accomplish tasks.
Amputation
Losing a limb changes your entire life. Construction, car, and trucking accidents are notorious for leading to amputation injuries. These injuries require lifelong medical care like an in-home nurse, medication, and home modifications.
Spinal Cord Injury
The spinal cord is susceptible to injuries and has many discs and vertebrae that can affect your mobility. Car accidents, sports injuries, and workplace accidents lead to these injuries. When you suffer a spinal cord injury, you will lose movement, suffer nerve conditions and live with chronic pain.
A catastrophic injury attorney in Smyrna, GA, can help you recover compensation.
Burn Injuries
Burns happen when there is an explosion or a fire, most often after a car accident, workplace incident, or defective product. Victims will suffer lifelong pain, risk of infections, and disfigurement.
You can suffer first, second, or a third-degree burn. The more severe the burn, the more challenging recovery will be. A first-degree burn affects the outer layer of the skin, and it can typically heal with little to no medical intervention.
Second-degree burns damage the inner layer of skin, and blisters can develop. Medical treatment options will depend on how deep the burn is, and you might require skin grafting. You will suffer permanent scarring.
Third-degree burns are the most severe, and they always require medical intervention. Third-degree burns damage the inner and outer layers of the skin and require skin grafting. In all burn injuries, you will suffer permanent scarring to varying degrees.
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How to Pursue a Claim for Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries can heal to some degree, but you will never be the same again. If you suffer a catastrophic injury, you must speak to our catastrophic injury lawyers immediately and begin a legal claim. We must move fast to investigate the incident, collect evidence, and build our case.
Catastrophic injury cases are much different than other personal injury cases because the medical expenses and conditions are lifelong. These cases result in an award of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, dependent on the severity and future expectancy. The insurance company does not want to pay such a high claim, and they will fight you tooth and nail.
Once you speak with a Smryna catastrophic injury attorney, we will investigate who is legally liable for your case. Eyewitness statements, records recovery, and more are necessary during these initial phases. Many of these claims result in litigation motions because insurance companies want to avoid paying a heavy settlement.
If there are any disputes regarding liability or how the accident occurs, that is another indication that you will require extensive legal action. Even in litigation, there are many times when we can resolve the matter before going to trial. Discovery will be the longest aspect of these claims, and a mediation date is set once that phase is near completion.
Damages You Can Recover
You can recover two categories of damages in a catastrophic injury claim. Economic damages cover:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical expenses
- Loss of employment or business opportunities
- Domestic services
For future costs, a life care planner can review your circumstances to calculate your needs regarding future care, employment, and home adjustments. Future expenses to consider include:
- Prosthetic limbs
- Home healthcare workers
- Domestic health services
- Future medical treatment and surgery
- Physical therapy
- Adaptive devices
- Therapy and counseling
- Home adaptations
- Transportation assistance
There are also non-economic damages which are intangible losses like mental anguish, disability, disfigurement, loss of consortium, and more. When you combine all these costs, your demand will be substantial, but it will never be enough to get you back to your pre-accident state.
John Foy & Associates Can Help After an Injury Occurs
When you need a catastrophic injury lawyer in Smyrna, GA, look no further than John Foy & Associates. We value our clients and know how challenging learning to live with a lifelong ailment is. After a catastrophic injury, get the strong arm representation from John Foy & Associates.
Call our office, or submit our contact form to schedule a consultation with a Smyrna catastrophic injury lawyer today.
404-400-4000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form