Catastrophic injuries arise unexpectedly, often due to an accident, and cause almost permanent physical damage. Youth sports and games are the leading causes of catastrophic injuries. In the United States alone, around 7.8 million students participate in high school sports events. Because of youth sports injuries, it is estimated that over 2.6 million emergency medical visits happen every year.
As per the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury report, about 77.7% of catastrophic injuries from 2014 to 2020 happened in football, followed by track and field (men – 3.8% and women – 1.5%) and baseball (3%). In comparison to any collegiate sport, Football has a high number of catastrophic injuries. Seeking the help of catastrophic injury lawyers to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf to help you get as much compensation as possible is the best action you can take following a catastrophic injury.
What is a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury can be defined as a fatal injury that leads to permanent disability or a severe injury that leads to a momentary disability with recovery chances. Examples of such catastrophic injuries are brain bleeding, spinal cord damage, skull fractures, cardiac arrest, exertional sickling, multiple compound fractures, internal organ injuries, second or third-degree burns, permanent hearing or vision loss, and many more.
In simple words, a permanent or long-lasting injury that negatively impacts your ability to work and quality of life can be categorized as catastrophic. Some common causes of catastrophic injuries include sports and recreational activities, vehicle accidents, falls, workplace accidents, medical errors, construction accidents, wrong medical appliances, etc.
What is the Total Compensation One Can Receive for a Catastrophic Injury?
Suppose you are a victim of a severe catastrophic injury due to the negligence of other parties. In that case, you will get proper compensation from the individual or company responsible for your condition.
When hiring attorneys for a catastrophic injury compensation claim, check their experience, work portfolio, professional credibility, lawyer fees, etc. The total compensation one can recover for a catastrophic injury varies depending on the type of injury and how the attorney calculates the overall value.
As there are several catastrophic injuries, the skilled attorney will evaluate numerous factors when deciding the final compensation value. Such factors include:
● Medical expenses (money for the current and future treatment due to the injury)
● Income loss (money for the job that you might still be working for if there was no injury)
● Pain and discomfort caused by the injury
● Loss of enjoyment in your life due to injury
● Emotional grief because of accident and injuries
● Psychological treatment in case of extreme trauma
Catastrophic injuries are generally distinguished by losing something, such as losing a body part or losing the sense of eyesight and hearing. Due to these types of losses, the compensation for the victim will be high. Other things like the pain and distress associated with the injury and ongoing treatment will also add more compensation.
Personal injury lawyers can help you get anywhere between USD 5 to 80 million for severe catastrophic injuries and deaths due to the landlord’s negligence, medical malpractice, vehicle accident, product liability, legal malpractice, construction accident, etc.
Bottom Line
The catastrophic injuries will severely affect how you live and your capacity to work, permanently or temporarily, for a while. The victims suffer physical damage along with psychological damage due to trauma. To get the maximum compensation for your catastrophic injury, hiring professional personal injury lawyers with enough experience is vital.
