)
What Is A Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury is usually caused as the result of an unplanned trauma with serious, long-term effects. The definition is derived from the term catastrophe which means a disastrous event that leads to great and sudden damage or suffering.
With sufficient time, bruises and broken bones heal. However, in the case of catastrophic injuries, permanent damage is caused to major areas of the body such as the spinal cord, brain or eyes, as well as other vital parts of the body.
The damage never completely goes away and leaves victims with a lifetime of disabilities, adding stress on family and loved ones who need to provide financial, physical, and emotional support to the victim throughout his or her lifetime.
Victims that suffer from a catastrophic injury typically require costly medical care throughout their lifetimes, usually including repeated reconstructive surgeries along with physical and occupational therapy.
Selecting an attorney with experience in handling catastrophic injuries can make all the difference. These cases are typically complex and expensive, and takes a law firm willing to risk an enormous amount of time and money to build and prove your catastrophic injury case.
The attorneys at Gold & Gold have the experience in managing all the different moving parts of a catastrophic injury case.
This includes working with multiple medical experts from different specialties to ensure that the complete medical injury picture is developed and understood, as well as working with multiple rehabilitation experts to ensure that a client’s future life care needs are appropriately developed, understood and priced out so that we can obtain a fair amount of compensation to pay for our client’s medical, rehabilitation and physical needs over their lifetime.
There may also be claims on behalf of the family which may compensate a spouse or children for the support they now have to provide their loved one who was catastrophically and permanently injured.
If you or a loved has experienced a catastrophic injury due to someone else’s negligence, contact our Florida catastrophic injury law office of Gold and Gold.
What Causes Catastrophic Injuries?
Any type of incident can result in a catastrophic injury. The multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements displayed throughout our website document our ability to handle catastrophic injury cases resulting from a wide variety of incidents. With that being said, some types of incidents result in more catastrophic injury and death than others. For example, as of 2016, medical malpractice is recognized as the third (3rd) leading cause of death across America, claiming more than 250,000 lives per year. The victims of medical malpractice that do survive are often left with life altering injuries.
Defective drugs and defective products typically result in catastrophic injury to a large number of individuals. For example, Gold & Gold was one of several law firms to represent a group of 11 patients who were administered a defective pharmaceutical product which caused permanent blindness.
A U.S. automaker, General Motors, is no stranger to mechanical problems and product recalls over the years. The company dealt with a tragedy caused by an ignition switch problem that has led to the confirmed deaths of 119 people. Under certain circumstances, a key in the ignition of certain GM model vehicles could be bumped out of place even while the car is running, leading the engine to shut off and the power steering to fail. More than 2.6 million vehicles were recalled in 2014 in order to address the problem.
The attorneys at Gold & Gold litigated and successfully resolved an automobile defect claim, where our client’s vehicle spontaneously burst into flames causing severe burns across 27% of our client’s body.
Auto accidents are among the most common causes of catastrophic injuries, causing more than 32,000 deaths and 2 million injuries each year. Car accident injuries can range in severity that include: head, neck, and brain injuries, back injuries, limbs, and paralysis. Psychological and emotional distress may also result from traumatic accidents.
Catastrophic injuries can occur in almost any situation, but commonly are associated with the following kinds of accidents:
- Auto accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- Sports injuries
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Swimming pool drownings
Catastrophic injuries are likely to have serious, long-term effects that include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Dismemberment
- Permanent internal organ damage
- Severe burns
- Injuries to the eyes
- Paralyzing injuries
Catastrophic Injury Claims
At the law offices of Gold and Gold, we work relentlessly on behalf of Florida catastrophic injury victims to recover maximum benefits through injury claims and lawsuits. Our team of experienced catastrophic injury lawyers has an in-depth understanding of the law relating to catastrophic injury claims and the needs of the victims.
While recovering from a catastrophic injury can last a long time, your right to file a claim does not. It is critically important that an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident begin as soon as possible. This ensures the catastrophic injury lawsuit is filed within the limitation period set by the state with jurisdiction, and all necessary steps to preserve your claims can be taken.
If you or a loved one are suffering financial hardship due to your catastrophic injury, please contact our catastrophic injury attorney at Gold & Gold to find out how we can get you the compensation you truly deserve.