Any injury serious enough to need professional medical care is going to disrupt your personal and professional life in the short term, but some injuries are so severe that they’ll continue to negatively affect your life for decades. Demanding civil compensation for short-term losses is not sufficient, and getting paid for long-term forms of harm can be challenging on both legal and practical levels.
When you suffer a permanent injury because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful act, you should make talking to a Mt. Laurel catastrophic injury lawyer your top priority. Cases with stakes as high as this have no margin for legal or procedural error, and working closely with a seasoned personal injury attorney will be vital to keeping your claim on track and giving you the best possible chances of getting paid what you deserve.
Jon Ostroff represented a client who struck the side of a tractor-trailer while driving at night. Our client suffered a brain injury and severe facial fractures. She also had no memory of the accident. Despite these challenges, Jon recovered $5.7 million on our client’s behalf.
What Makes an Injury Catastrophic?
While legal professionals use the term catastrophic injury a lot, it doesn’t have a specific legal definition under state law. Labeling an injury as catastrophic doesn’t change the basic legal procedures someone has to follow in order to file suit but instead emphasizes to insurance companies and court authorities what kinds of losses the injured person will need to seek restitution for.
Generally speaking, catastrophic injuries are understood to be those that will never fully heal and cause the injured person to suffer a serious physical or cognitive disability that significantly interferes with their daily life. Examples of injuries that often meet these criteria include:
- Spinal cord damage resulting in any type of paralysis
- Serious brain damage
- High-degree burns resulting in permanent scarring and loss of feeling
- Internal organ damage leading to a loss of function
- Crushing injuries resulting in multiple bone fractures
- Any injury resulting in a limb being amputated
- Any injury causing blindness or deafness
A Mt. Laurel catastrophic accident attorney can provide crucial help with establishing how severe a particular injury is through evidence like medical reports, expert witness testimony, and your own statements about your experience.
Getting Paid for Catastrophic Losses Within Filing Time Limits
Since catastrophic injuries will last for a lifetime, it’s important to account for all the long-term harm that may not fully manifest for years or even decades to come. This can include but isn’t strictly limited to:
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Psychological and emotional suffering
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Medical expenses, including costs of things like physical therapy, assistive equipment, and in-home care
- Personal property damage from your accident, plus disability-related costs for things like home and vehicle modifications
- Lost working and earning ability
It’s important to contact a skilled lawyer and take action quickly after suffering a catastrophic injury in Mt. Laurel because state law generally gives you only two years after getting hurt to file suit against that person.
Contact a Mt. Laurel Catastrophic Injury Attorney for Assistance
Catastrophic accidents happen every day, and many of those life-altering incidents can be traced directly back to the misconduct of just one person. When you know someone else is to blame for causing your permanent and debilitating injury, they should be the one who pays financially for your losses.
Representation from a winning Mt. Laurel catastrophic injury lawyer will dramatically boost your chances of getting the favorable case result you want. Learn more by calling today and scheduling a free, no-obligation consultation.
