How Much is My Catastrophic Injury Case Worth?

Getting into a personal injury accident can have a huge impact on one’s life. With massive medical debt, lost wages, and more, it may seem impossible to return from an especially catastrophic injury or incident. However, with a good catastrophic injury attorney on your team, you’ll be able to get the compensation that you deserve for your damages.

What is a Catastrophic Injury?

Injuries from motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, and more can cause injuries that range from mild to catastrophic. Catastrophic injuries are qualified by having long-term life-altering effects. They usually result in high medical bills, a change to one’s quality of life. They also often require long-term care, such as multiple surgeries, continuous physical therapy, and more.

Catastrophic injuries include:

• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Amputation
• Loss of sight or hearing
• Paralysis or disability
• Severe scarring or disfigurement
• Severe burn injuries
• And more

How do Catastrophic Injuries Occur?

There are many different types of personal injury accidents that can result in catastrophic injuries, such as motor vehicle accidents and slip and fall accidents. Motor vehicle accidents include:

• Car accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Large truck accidents

Motor vehicle accidents occur because of another person’s negligent driving. In 2019 there were 33,244 fatal motor vehicle crashes that resulted in 36,096 fatalities. On top of that, approximately 2 million drivers are injured in car accidents each year that experience permanent injuries.

The most common causes of motor vehicle accidents are distracted driving, speeding, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Other causes include aggressive driving, inexperienced driving, poor vehicle maintenance, or drivers who don’t adapt to changing weather conditions, such as heavy rain.

Slip and fall accidents are another major cause of catastrophic injuries. Slip and fall accidents can occur anywhere, including private and commercial property. Slips and falls occur in the workplace (such as construction sites), in apartment buildings, or restaurants, grocery stores, or other businesses.

Slip and fall accidents account for most emergency room visits, at about 8 million visits each year. Slip, and falls can cause brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, and more. They most commonly occur because of hazards such as:

• Poor lighting
• Broken steps or floorboards
• Puddles, spills, and clutter
• Missing or broken handrails
• Potholes
• And more

How Much do Major Injuries Cost?

Whether you have health insurance or not, injuries can be incredibly expensive. While some minor injuries can still wrack up quite the medical debt, catastrophic injuries are known for their high price tag. After your accident, your medical debt may be a huge point of stress in your life. Our talented attorneys will help to make sure it’s not something you have to worry about.

The costs of these major injuries come from various different types of treatment. Many catastrophic injury patients require life-long or long-term treatment, so medical debt can continue to build up over the years.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries can be very expensive, ranging from $85,000 to $3 million over the course of one’s life. The unemployment rating two years after diagnosis for the average adult with a traumatic brain injury is 60%, meaning that victims are not only left with huge medical debt but more than half of them lose their jobs or are left unable to work.

Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries are also expensive, running victims an average of $350,000 to $1 million in the first year and $40,000 to $185,000 in subsequent years. The more severe the spinal cord injury is, the higher the cost will be. For example, people with High Tetraplegia will spend much more on their injuries than people with Low Tetraplegia or Paraplegia. But, in reality, all of these injuries are incredibly expensive.

Amputations

There are two different types of amputation cases. In some cases, the amputation occurs at the scene of the accident because of crushing. In others, amputation may be deemed medically necessary. Both are expensive and require longtime treatment and care.

The cost of having a limb amputated by a surgeon ranges from $20,000 to $60,000. That doesn’t include the cost of follow-up care, physical therapy, and more throughout the patient’s life. On top of that, prosthetics and wheelchairs are incredibly expensive, and patients can expect to spend around the same amount of money on their prosthetic as they did on the surgery.

Our Attorneys Can Get You the Highest Settlement

If you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury because of a motor vehicle accident or slip and fall accident, our team of talented attorneys will work with you to determine the worth of your catastrophic injury case, helping you to get the most compensation possible for your damages.

We’ll be on your side for the length of your catastrophic injury lawsuit, answering any questions you may have along the way. We’ll work our hardest to get you the highest settlement while allowing you to focus on resting, relaxing, and adjusting to your changed life.

For more information or to schedule a free case evaluation for your personal injury claim, please contact us online or at 727-571-1333.