In instances where someone’s negligence leads to life altering and catastrophic injuries it’s important to have experienced lawyers with a history of successful litigation. The Advocates Injury Attorneys are well equipped to handle the most serious accident claims and will fight to get the maximum compensation available.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident that left you with catastrophic injuries, you may be entitled to financial compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney with The Advocates can help you understand your legal rights. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
Catastrophic injuries are injuries that result in permanent disability or disfigurement, a decreased quality of life, or a reduced life expectancy. Catastrophic injuries often require lifelong medical care. They are often accompanied by chronic pain and additional medical issues associated with the original injury.
Some victims of catastrophic injuries lose the ability to perform the same work, leisure activities, and daily tasks that they used to. They may experience a loss of independence due to their physical or mental trauma.
Common Catastrophic Injuries
Many types of injuries can be catastrophic if they are very severe. However, there are a few injuries that most commonly lead to disability, disfigurement, and chronic pain and suffering.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines a traumatic brain injury as any injury that affects how the brain works. Blows to the head, serious falls, and gunshots are all common causes of TBIs.
TBIs are one of the most common causes of death and disability in the United States. In fact, the U.S. saw an average of 190 TBI-related deaths per day in 2021.
Severe traumatic brain injuries can have lifelong effects on their victims. Some common symptoms of TBIs include:
- Inability to think clearly
- Loss of fine motor skills
- Weakness in arms and legs
- Hearing and vision problems
- Memory issues
- Personality changes
- Mental health issues, such as depression
Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury refers to any damage to the spinal cord–this can be the result of an injury, disease, or degenerative disorder. Spinal cord injuries can affect a person’s quality of life in a number of ways.
The higher an injury occurs on the spine, the more extensive the negative effects are likely to be. This is because the spinal nerves above the site of the injury continue to work normally, while those below the injury site will be impacted.
Common effects of spinal cord injuries include:
- Paralysis
- Respiratory issues
- Loss of bowel and bladder function
- Loss of reproductive organ function
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- Pressure sores
Motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries.
Burn Injury
Worldwide, it’s estimated that 180,000 people die as the result of burns each year. In the United States alone, around 40,000 people are hospitalized for burn injuries annually. Medical bills for treating burns cost Americans hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Potential effects of burn trauma include:
- Nerve damage
- Cardiovascular issues
- Scarring
- Severe infection
- Amputation
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Depression
Amputation
Approximately 45% of incidences of limb loss are caused by trauma of some kind. This trauma may be caused by a motor vehicle accident, burn injury, falling object, workplace accident, firework-involved incident, or other serious accident. Around 185,000 amputations occur in the United States each year.
People living with limb loss often experience serious physical, mental, and emotional effects after their amputation. These may include:
- Infection
- Phantom limb pain
- Mobility issues
- Depression, anxiety, and grief
Wrongful Death
There are more than 200,000 unintentional injury deaths in the United States each year. The leading causes of these accidental deaths are slip-and-fall injuries, motor vehicle accidents, poisoning, medical malpractice, and firearm injuries.
Accidental deaths impact dozens or hundreds of people. People who have lost a loved one to wrongful death frequently experience:
- Grief and depression
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of financial support
- Debt from medical bills and funeral expenses
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries
Truck Accidents
Accidents with semi-trucks have the potential for complete devastation. The sheer mass of these trucks make them deadly machines in the event of a crash. In fact, more than 4,000 people were killed in semi-truck accidents in 2020 alone.
Truck drivers can be injured or killed in accidents, of course, but often the most serious injuries are suffered by people outside the truck. This includes people in passenger cars, motorcyclists, and bystanders.
Serious Car Accidents
Car accidents are horrifyingly common in the United States–they are in the top 3 leading causes of death for Americans in every age group. Even more upsetting, many motor vehicle accidents are entirely preventable.
Some common causes of car accidents include:
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Road rage
- Speeding
Pedestrian Accidents
More than 7,000 pedestrians were killed in accidents with motor vehicles in 2020 in the United States. An additional 104,000 were treated for non-fatal pedestrian injuries in emergency rooms.
Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable in the event of an accident, given that they have far less protection than people in motor vehicles.
Alcohol is a factor in nearly half of all pedestrian accidents.
Bicycle Accidents
Nearly 130,000 bicyclists are injured in accidents each year in the U.S. Risk factors for bicycle accidents include:
- Age: Adults aged 55-69 are most at risk for fatal bicycle accidents
- Gender: Bicycle death rates for men are six times higher than those for women
- Location: Bicycle accidents are most likely to occur in urban areas
- Alcohol consumption: About one-third of fatal bicycle accidents involve alcohol
Bicycle accidents are the leading cause of sports-related head injuries in adults.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists are more likely to be injured or killed in an accident than occupants of other motor vehicles. Motorcycle accidents led to more than 5,500 deaths in 2020 alone.
Head injuries are the most common fatal injury in motorcycle accidents.
Common causes of motorcycle accidents include:
- Other drivers failing to see the motorcycle
- Failure to yield the right-of-way
- Failure to allow a motorcycle full use of a lane
- Failure to give motorcycles a safe following distance
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
Not all accidents require the help of an attorney. In the case of catastrophic injuries, however, it is a good idea to contact one. Catastrophic accidents often lead to exorbitant medical bills, extreme pain and suffering, and seriously diminished quality of life. An attorney can help you obtain fair compensation for these damages and more.
Will Insurance Companies Compensate Me Fairly for My Injuries?
Insurance companies often say they cover accidents and injuries, but in practice, this isn’t always the case. Insurance providers have a number of tricks they use to avoid offering fair settlements to injury victims. They may try to diminish the severity of your injuries or deny liability altogether.
If you attempt to negotiate a settlement without the help of an attorney, you may be leaving money on the table. It will also likely be a stressful experience, especially when you are recovering from a serious accident.
What Happens if the Insurance Company Won’t Settle?
With the help of an accident lawyer, most injury cases are settled before litigation. However, if the at-fault party’s insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, you will need to take them to court. A personal injury attorney can help you build a strong case that can get you the compensation you are owed.
The Advocates Are Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers
The Advocates have been representing injury victims for more than 30 years. We have helped thousands of people reclaim the damages they suffered after their accident, and we can help you too.
Our team is made up of skilled negotiators and fierce litigators that know how to get you the settlement you deserve. We will do everything in our power to get you on the road to physical, emotional, and financial recovery.
Additionally, our years of experience mean that we’ve seen it all–we know the difficulties you are facing after your accident. Because we know that every injury case is unique, we will provide personalized care that meets your individual needs.
If you need help finding medical care or repairs for property damage, we can recommend excellent providers in your area. If you can’t make it into our office, we’ll come to your home or place of work. With an Advocate, you are never alone, and you are never “just another case number.”
The advocates are awesome. I have been to the office many times and am always greeted with a smile. They work so hard day in and day out to get all my needs met. There is no other law firm I would trust more than The Advocates. Seattle’s finest law firm, I highly recommend.
Katie Burns
Call Today for a Free Consultation
Find out if you have a case today. Consultations are always 100% free, so you risk nothing by reaching out. Call our office, use the chat function at the bottom of your screen, or fill out our contact form. You’ll be connected directly with an attorney who can help you understand your options.
After a catastrophic injury, you deserve a legal team who puts your best interests first. You deserve an Advocate.