If you have recently sustained a catastrophic injury, you probably have many questions about the best options for your treatment and whether it is necessary to pursue a legal claim.
A catastrophic injury is a term typically used to describe a medical condition so severe in nature that you may be suffering from permanent damages. In the majority of cases, a catastrophic injury as described by a doctor refers to damage to the spinal cord or the brain.
These injuries can have significant long term and short term impacts on the basic capabilities of an individual. If you have sustained an injury that is serious enough to be debilitating over the course of the rest of your life or has left behind a deformity, you have sustained a catastrophic injury.
If someone else is responsible for the catastrophic injury you have sustained, you may eligible to pursue compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit. You may be legally compensated for the life altering harm caused by another person.
The more severe the injury you’ve sustained, the higher your medical costs. You may have had to go through the process of rehabilitation or multiple surgeries.
You may even need consistent medication or need to use a medical device permanently. The emotional damage associated with the accident may also be tied to the compensation that your personal injury attorney fights for in court.
A catastrophic injury can have a major impact on the rest of your life. It can make it impossible to work and it can make day to day living extremely difficult without supportive devices or other people.
Consulting with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after you’ve sustained a catastrophic injury is strongly recommended so that you have a clear expectation of what you need to know going forward in order to protect yourself.
The different types of catastrophic injury
There a many different types of what is considered a catastrophic injury. We put together a list of those different injuries which you can read below.
- Birth Injuries
- Amputations
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Loss of Sight or Hearing
- Eye Injuries
- Facial Injuries
- Nerve Damage
- Paralysis
- Brain Injuries
- Neurological Injuries
- Blunt Force or Crushing Injuries
Seemingly catastrophic injury can be caused by many things. Car wrecks, accidents in the work place, and even boat wrecks are your usual causes of catastrophic injury. These type of accidents in particular are the most at fault for the majority of these instances. However, there are other ways that you could end up with a catastrophic injury.
The causes of catastrophic injury
Like we stated before there are a few other ways you could be catastrophically injured. Severity of the accident or instance is always the prime narrative among these injuries. Below is a list of notable cause of catastrophic injuries.
- Car Wrecks
- Truck or Semi Collisions
- Pedestrian Related Accidents
- Sports Accidents
- Boat Accidents
- Motorcycle or ATV Wrecks
- Jet Ski or Water Ski Accidents
- Bicycle or Skating Accidents
- Trampoline Accidents
- Fires And Explosives
- Assault or Other Violent Crime
- Horseback Riding Accidents
- Falls, Slips, or Trips
- Medical Malpractice
- Defective Products
- Work Related Accidents
Injuries of the neck and spinal cord
As we mentioned before, car wrecks, trampoline accidents, and falling from high places could lead to catastrophic injuries. Spinal cord and neck injuries are very common in a lot of the aforementioned accidents.
Some of these spinal cord injuries can even lead to loss of limb or Paraplegia. In some cases, even quadriplegia can be a result from a spinal cord or neck injury.
These types of injury are often a long-term process for some cases, and requires consistent physical treatment onward. Some people even have to seek therapy for emotional trauma dealt by these injuries during or after rehabilitation.
Severe brain injuries Long-term effects from catastrophic injuries
Another type of injury related to the nervous system is traumatic brain injury or TBI. Brain injuries come from a multitude of different things.
While you may think it is more likely you would sustain this type of injury from something like a car wreck or a fall, you actually have a higher chance of brain injury as a pedestrian on a walk or bicycling the neighborhood. This is usually the case in collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists with automobiles.
In an instant, the severity of the injury could affect you for a long term period, if not for life. Some of these injuries can cause emotional or cognitive problems, resulting in some of the most traumatic cases where the victim cannot remember sensitive things.
They could forget their spouse’s name or their existence as a whole. The victim may even lose their ability to do ordinary day-to-day things like bathing, brushing their teeth or hair, or even things like eating and drinking.
Thus, they must learn how to do all of these activities again. Families may have it harder than most when caring for a victim because of hard emotional problems or even memory loss sustained from the injury.
Catastrophic Injury comes in many forms, and there are numerous causes for the various forms of these injuries. What is for certain is how it affects the lives of catastrophic injury victims.
Whether it is disfigurement, paralysis, disability to work, chronic pain, or emotional ailments, there is always a lifelong impact on the victim’s life. Often times they will have to endure things like therapy, emotional counseling, physical therapy, or any other form rehabilitation.
If your catastrophic injury is a result of someone else’s negligence, hiring a lawyer can help you get the compensation you or loved one deserves.
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In Mississippi and Alabama, you need to be able to trust your personal injury lawyer. There’s a lot at stake for your future and you should be kept informed about how your case is unfolding. You need a legal team dedicated to fighting for client rights.
Pepper & Odom Law Firm
601-202-1111
Pepper & Odom law firm’s attorneys are available to help injury victims get their life back on track. Connect with us today at 601-202-1111.