From one day to another, there’s no way to predict when you might be the unfortunate victim of a severe accident and need a catastrophic injury lawyer in San Francisco. If you’re fortunate, you’ll escape with only minor harm; unfortunately, some victims can suffer catastrophic injuries that significantly alter their lives and the lives of their families.
Grievous damage or suffering resulting from a catastrophic injury can significantly decrease your mobility, independence, earning potential, and mental functioning. Many often seek compensation for the blow to their quality of life, but the stress of the situation can make taking the correct legal actions difficult.
Below, we’ve provided a comprehensive guide to the various legalities of a catastrophic injury, hopefully helping you navigate your current legal situation far easier.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
Before opening a suit, it’s essential to understand how the law defines a catastrophic injury.
There are several classes that your injury can fall into depending on specific criteria, which determines the type of lawsuit you can present in court. To file a catastrophic personal injury lawsuit, generally, your injury must either:
- Permanently put you out of the work field.
- Noticeably alter your personality.
- Cause chronic, debilitating pain.
- Immobilize you completely or prevent you from doing routine activities that you could before without assistance.
After a catastrophic accident, the types of injuries most likely to meet these criteria are:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries – The brain is the most complex organ in the body. Harm to it can result in various mental, emotional, and physical alterations that make it difficult for the victim to keep the lifestyle they had before. Often these changes are permanent and require numerous accommodations to be made to adjust properly.
- Spinal Injuries – The spine allows signals from the brain to reach the rest of the body, enabling a full range of motion. When it’s damaged, it’s possible for the signal to specific body parts to be interrupted, severely reducing or eliminating mobility.
- Serious Burns – Along with permanent disfiguration, a severe enough burn can debilitate the victim with persistent pain or limit mobility and sensation in certain parts of the body by burning away necessary nerve endings.
- Sensation Loss – A catastrophic injury can mean that a victim wholly or partially loses one of their senses. Losing any of them requires a significant adjustment period where the victim will have to figure out how to interact with the world without them.
What to Do After Suffering a Catastrophic Injury
A catastrophic injury typically comes with a significant monetary cost to acquire the treatment and equipment necessary to mitigate the impact on your life. In addition to potentially debilitating pain, loss of mobility, and reduced cognitive performance, an injury of this severity can harm all aspects of your life.
Fortunately, there are several actionable steps that one can take to try and reduce the devastating effects sudden trauma can have on one’s quality of life. However, it can be challenging for victims to keep these relatively simple processes in mind in the stressful aftermath of a severe incident.
Here are some of the most important things you should do to avoid unnecessary physical, mental, or financial pain.
Get Medical Care
Before doing anything else, getting qualified medical care is the most important thing to do in the aftermath of a catastrophic injury. A professional trauma nurse will be able to treat your wounds and mitigate the damage as much as possible. Failing to do so can lead to worse health outcomes or even death.
After receiving treatment, the next step is recovery at a licensed rehabilitation center. The specialists there can help your body retain as much functionality as possible.
Acquire Evidence
If the accident that injured you occurred through the actions or negligence of a second party, then you may be due compensation.
However, making a solid case against them requires retaining evidence that corroborates your claims. Things like ripped clothing, photos of your totaled vehicle, license plate numbers, or anything else that you think could bolster your testimony are helpful.
Of course, winning the case will require more than just evidence, even if you believe it perfectly supports your claims. Someone will also need to present your side of events during the legal process.
Hire a Catastrophic Personal Injury Lawyer
Going to a catastrophic injury lawyer in San Francisco affords you the professional representation necessary to navigate future legal proceedings. If your suit is against a company, for example, hiring a catastrophic injury attorney grants you, and any evidence you have, protection against possible tampering or coercion.
They will work with you every step of the way to help you avoid further mental or emotional strain during the proceedings.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?
As mentioned above, catastrophic injury attorneys are legal professionals who know the ins and outs of catastrophic injury law. A good firm will have years of experience dealing with grievous injuries of varying severity; they will have a working knowledge of the amount of care the victim will need and the financial strain acquiring care will put on them.
A catastrophic injury lawyer in San Francisco provides their clients fair representation and ensures that they receive a just chance at mitigating the stress of their situation.
Reliable Catastrophic Injury Lawyer – San Francisco
Shea & Shea is a catastrophic injury law firm offering experienced legal representation to all clients who’ve had their life upturned by tragic circumstances. Our lawyers understand how stressful navigating complicated legal procedures can be amidst the chaos of hospital bills, vehicle repairs, and grieving.
We offer our legal services to help clients navigate the legal web of catastrophic injury and mitigate the physical, mental, and emotional toll it puts them under. Our team of knowledgeable attorneys will work around the clock to have your case heard and fairly judged.
If you believe a second party is at fault for an unforeseen and severe incident, then the longer you wait to build a case, the harder it will be to prove your testimony. If you’re in need of representation from a dedicated and knowledgeable catastrophic injury lawyer in San Francisco, call Shea & Shea at 408-716-1589 and schedule your consultation today.
Catastrophic Injury Lawyer San Diego | Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Santa Clara