From trauma to emotional damage, a catastrophic injury can dramatically change your life. Experiencing a catastrophic injury can leave you needing major adjustments in your life on top of steep medical costs and even in-home assistance. Often, these catastrophic injuries ultimately lead to a decrease in quality of life.

If you or a family member have experienced a catastrophic injury, it’s best to understand your options as well as the best legal approach for your situation. It can be difficult and overwhelming to understand the steps you should take following such an event, so this page will present the necessary information to those finding themselves affected by a catastrophic injury. This page will run through what to do after a catastrophic accident and advise the next steps, such as finding a catastrophic injury law firm.

What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is generally determined by the level of damage and permanence of the injury.

Catastrophic injuries are severe and can result in long-lasting disabilities and exorbitant medical expenses. The side effects of these injuries are often permanent, leaving individuals to leave the workplace or require assistance and/or care from others.

A catastrophic personal injury generally falls under one of three categories:

Physical injuries that cause permanent limitations, including amputations or loss of limb function
Traumatic brain injuries that result in physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and/or behavioral symptoms
Spinal cord injuries that permanently affect an individual’s mobility

Catastrophic injuries will typically affect the spinal cord, brain, and skull. Some injuries that usually qualify as catastrophic injuries include:

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI): A traumatic brain injury will affect how the brain works. These injuries are typically long-lasting or even permanent.
Spinal cord injuries: Spinal cord injuries can cause loss of muscle function and sensation in the body, among other permanent damage. These injuries may leave an individual requiring rehabilitative care, including breathing assistance and physical therapy.
Severe burns: Severe burns may lead to loss of physical abilities, including limited mobility, loss of limbs, and permanent tissue damage.
Loss of vision or hearing: The impairment of vision or hearing can result in a heavy burden that affects an individual’s everyday life. The loss of these essential senses can drastically change a person’s life and career.

While a catastrophic injury doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the above injuries, an injury will most likely be considered a catastrophic injury if one of the following occurs:

You are permanently no longer able to work.
Your personality or mental state is altered.
You are left with life-long physical pain.
You have limited mobility or loss of function.

What to Do if You Have Suffered a Catastrophic Injury

The long-term side effects caused by a catastrophic injury will vary. These may include immobility, depression, and extreme pain. With such emotional and economic hardship, it is advisable to take action immediately following any serious accident to prevent any additional damage or suffering.

There are a few things you should prioritize following an accident. Taking these steps will ensure that you do not have to endure avoidable pain and damage.

Prioritize Medical Care

Considering the severity of a catastrophic injury, seeking medical care should be a top priority. Victims of catastrophic injuries should look to qualified trauma centers for medical care and rehabilitation. Immediately following an accident, seeking medical care is the first step to recovery and better health.

Keep a Record of Evidence

Many catastrophic injuries happen due to another individual’s actions or negligence. Wherever possible, it’s important to remember details of the accident that led to the injury. Retaining as many details as possible related to how your injury occurred will help in the future as additional evidence, which will be useful for building your case and testimony.

Contact a Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Working with a lawyer knowledgeable in injury law is essential in ensuring that you follow the next best steps after falling victim to a catastrophic injury. A catastrophic personal injury lawyer will be able to provide advice for the best legal approach in your specific situation. In addition, contacting an injury lawyer will help you understand your options and what actions you should be prioritizing after experiencing a catastrophic injury.

These injuries are often accompanied by heavy medical bills and other recovery costs. By working with a professional catastrophic injury lawyer, you can be sure that you are taking the most advisable legal action in your situation.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?

A catastrophic injury lawyer will have extensive experience working with people who have suffered from personal injuries. These lawyers are knowledgeable in catastrophic injury law and will be able to provide legal services to injury cases of varying severity. In addition, these lawyers have worked on several cases for companies and individuals responsible for other injuries.

Attorneys for injury and accident cases work hard to ensure that victims are represented accurately in every case. They are experienced, knowledgeable, and work in your best interest throughout the entire process. The law firm should have proven experience in similar injury cases to ensure your lawyers can understand your cases.

Find a Professional Catastrophic Injury Lawyer – San Diego

At Shea & Shea, our team of experienced and knowledgeable catastrophic injury attorneys offers legal services to victims and families that have experienced a catastrophic injury. We have extensive experience working with victims in a wide range of injury cases.

Our legal team has successfully represented thousands of clients that have been affected by a catastrophic injury. Whether you, a friend, or a family member have experienced a catastrophic injury, our legal team has an in-depth understanding of catastrophic injury law to represent victims in injury cases accurately.

Working with a knowledgeable and experienced law firm like Shea & Shea can help bring justice to you and your family. If you or a family member have experienced a catastrophic injury, contact our catastrophic injury lawyers in San Diego.

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