Any severe injury caused by someone else acting recklessly or carelessly can have a permanent impact on your personal and professional life. These catastrophic injuries often require extended hospital stays, surgeries, therapy, and treatment. Many victims are disabled from work for months or forever, depending on their injuries and the medical care they require. Bills pile up fast, all because someone else acted carelessly.
If you or a loved one suffered life-altering harm because of another person’s actions, you have the right to seek compensation from that at-fault party. However, it can be difficult to recover payment through the legal system without the help of a seasoned personal injury attorney.
Working with our team at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers can boost your odds of successfully proving fault for your injuries and achieving a very significant financial recovery for your losses. Jon Ostroff is one of the few lawyers in America who has helped more than 30,000 Pennsylvania accident victims over the past 30 years. He has recovered well over a million dollars for many of his clients. With the help of Managing Partner Rich Godshall, Jon Ostroff has won cases in all 67 counties in the state.
For example, Jon secured a binding arbitration award on behalf of a client who struck the side of a tractor-trailer on Route 6 at nighttime. Our client sustained complex fractures to her face and a brain injury. Jon Ostroff organized her medical team, which performed an advanced surgery to reconstruct her complex facial injuries. Although our client broadsided the truck at full speed and had no memory of the crash, we won a $5.7 million award on her behalf. Speak with one of our Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyers to learn how we can help with your case.
In another challenging case, Jon recovered $10 million for a client that was catastrophically injured in a rural area of Pennsylvania. After his car ran out of gas on I-79 in southwest PA, his vehicle was stopped in the right lane of the highway on an overpass. Soon after he was in a position that blocked the entire right lane, his vehicle was slammed in the rear at highway speed by a tractor-trailer. This settlement was reached within a year of the crash. This $10 million recovery against the driver’s employer occurred after Jon was able to establish through witnesses that the truck driver was using drugs to stay awake and wasn’t properly supervised by his employer despite his poor driving record.
What Counts as a “Catastrophic” Injury?
There is no official legal definition of a “catastrophic” injury. However, courts and legal professionals generally agree that catastrophic injuries are those that leave victims with such a significant loss of physical, mental, or cognitive ability that they have no chance of ever fully recovering.
Common examples of catastrophic injuries that skilled attorneys in Pennsylvania can help you seek fair recovery for include:
Catastrophic injuries can occur under many of the same circumstances as less severe personal injuries. For example, depending on the vehicle speed and forces involved, a vehicle collision could leave someone dealing with no injuries at all, minor injuries, or a lifelong loss of bodily function. The same can be said of medical injuries caused by malpractice, slipping and tripping accidents, boat collisions, and many other types of accidents.
So long as you can prove that someone else’s failure to use reasonable care was the direct cause of the accident leading to your catastrophic injuries, you and your lawyer can hold that individual liable for your economic and non-economic losses.
Rules for Filing Severe Injury Claims in Pennsylvania
Regardless of how severe a personal injury is, there are strict deadlines that limit how long you have to take legal action and seek civil recovery. According to 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes §5524, most injury victims must begin filing suit no later than two years after their injuries occurred.
Additionally, 42 PA Con. Stat. §7102 prohibits accident victims, who are found mostly to blame for their own injuries, from seeking any compensation at all, even if someone else is still partially at fault. Overcoming these legal obstacles is usually much easier with assistance from an experienced catastrophic injury attorney.
Talk to a Pennsylvania Catastrophic Injury Attorney Today
When you’re hurt by someone else’s negligence, going forward without a lawyer can cost you. You should act immediately to protect your rights. Don’t lose the opportunity to secure evidence that may be critical to proving the other party’s fault, since it will change or disappear quickly. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, our goal is to maximize the recovery each client receives for his or her injuries. We are proud of our outstanding client service and dedication to obtaining justice. Contact us today to schedule a free case review with a Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyer.
