Catastrophic injuries are often the kind that make it difficult to live your life as you would hope or plan for. Some individuals with catastrophic injuries may be unable to bring in an income, making it impossible to pay bills, or even afford food for their families.

Beyond the physical pain, victims may be forced to sacrifice long-held dreams and often face a drastic reduction in freedom and independence.

It’s no exaggeration when we say dealing with a catastrophic injury can be both emotionally and financially devastating. And unfortunately, such an injury is almost always personally devastating as well.

Even if you have health insurance to cover it, medical expenses like surgeries and hospitalization costs coupled with rehabilitation costs can quickly skyrocket into the thousands of dollars, in some cases, tens of thousands. And, that’s not where the financial woes end either. You’ll probably need to take time off work to rehabilitate. In some extreme cases, that time could be indefinite where one cannot immediately work even when efforts are made.

If you or a loved one experienced an injury so severe that it caused life-changing damage, you have rights. You can take legal action with law firm Wells Trumbull to hold the party responsible for their actions and receive the compensation you deserve.

A dedicated personal injury attorney in Washington is your best bet in a case like this because they know how to mount a strong case and get results. Contact Wells Trumbull, a Seattle catastrophic injury attorney today at (360) 435-1663.

What Classifies as Catastrophic Injuries?

Catastrophic injuries refer to a severe or potentially fatal injury that results in the victim experiencing permanent physical impairment. Such injuries may be unable to be treated by surgery will prevent the victim from enjoying everyday activities.

More often than not, catastrophic injuries require the victim to take time off work or stop working altogether, leading to a loss of income that could prove impossible for many individuals. Catastrophic injuries can include burn injuries, broken bones, mental illness, car accidents, and industrial accidents.

Catastrophic injuries are more likely to impact the families of those injured than any other type of serious injury. Family members may need to act as caregivers for someone who has become physically disabled and cannot fully take care of themselves due to physical injuries or disabilities.

A disability can also drastically reduce or eliminate the income earned by the victim, which will affect the household’s ability to pay bills and manage on a limited budget.

Furthermore, it may be impossible for the injured person to carry out their usual household duties, meaning that someone else must step in and do them.

Finally, severe injuries can have a devastating effect on a victim’s emotional wellbeing. The victim may suffer depression, anxiety, mental anguish, lost quality of life, humiliation, inconvenience, post-traumatic stress disorder, and many other examples of emotional distress due to their permanent injuries.

The victim’s family could also experience noneconomic damages, such as losing the injured person’s affection, care, parental guidance, and spousal consortium. More significant emotional damages can translate into higher damage awards for catastrophic injury claims.

Common Types of Serious Injuries

Catastrophic injuries refer to injuries that result in permanent disability: these may be damages that not only hinder your ability to do your job, interact with loved ones or pursue various activities. A catastrophic injury can change your life forever.

A catastrophic injury may include, but is not limited to:

Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury can ruin your memory, make it hard to control your emotions, leave accident victims unable to focus and concentrate on tasks, destroy your personality, and hinder creative processes like problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Even minor traumatic brain injury can lead to lingering symptoms more than a year after the initial accident. More serious injuries may lead to lifelong deficits and emotional suffering.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are costly to treat – some can even cost more than $1 million in the first year alone! Not only that, but they often lead to an inability to live without assistance because of the disability caused by irreparable damage to the nervous system. But although incomplete spinal cord injuries may show some signs of recovery over time, paralysis resulting from complete spinal cord injury means there is no hope of recovery or returning to your normal state of function.

Amputation

In the unfortunate situation that an accident leaves a person severed by crushed injuries or limb amputations, it may be permanent. People who have lost limbs may have a long road ahead of them as they learn to function without it. People with missing limbs may also have ongoing costs due to the need to replace lost limbs with state-of-the-art prosthetics annually. While prosthetic devices can make life easier for many people despite their losses, these devices cannot fully restore lost function.

Facial Injuries

Facial injuries often lead to immense scarring that can have an adverse psychological impact on the victim. A worsened appearance from serious facial scars may make it harder for a person to regain an everyday social life, which can be a daunting challenge after an accident. Scar repair surgery is expensive and may increase the financial burdens of accident victims. Plastic surgery is rarely successful in treating facial trauma victims, increasing the personal injury claims against the at-fault party.

Loss of Hearing or Sight

The loss of a sense can result from explosions, severe head trauma, or damage to the eyes or ears. People who have suffered these injuries frequently lose their independence and battle to learn to live without the senses they once had. Catastrophic injury cases like this will need a personal injury lawyer to help navigate medical bills, lost wages, insurance companies, and future medical expenses. These types of life-altering injuries deserve a legal team like Wells Trumbull.

Birth Injury

Birth injuries can be devastating, but there is one thing that parents of newborns need to understand, and that’s their legal rights. In most cases, birth injuries will result in lifelong defects, including cerebral palsy to a loss of mobility and independence. You need a law firm to pursue compensation, especially if it is a case of medical malpractice.

Examples of Catastrophic Injury Cases

Some injuries may be so severe that they change a person’s life forever, leading to long-term disabilities, disfigurement, or emotional trauma. Some catastrophic injuries can put a heavy toll on an individual’s life and their ability to move forward in the future, especially when not given sufficient support at such a difficult time.

Unfortunate incidents can happen anywhere, mainly when people are negligent or reckless. Wells Trumbull and their Seattle catastrophic injury attorneys have fought many personal injury cases with courage, compassion, and candor.

Here are some instances that could become catastrophic injury cases:

Construction Accidents

Construction work is an inherently risky business. Any personal injury attorney will tell you that contractors and developers must provide a safe work environment for their employees. The builders who neglect this duty to provide a safe work environment can be held responsible for injury accidents.

Medical Malpractice

If you believe that you suffered a personal injury due to medical malpractice, you have a right to seek compensation for your injuries. Even with the most up-to-date medical devices & training, the world of medical care is still subject to human error. From doctors to nurses to any other professionals on the team, each provider is responsible for giving you the best care they can. If you have been injured by medical malpractice, it’s essential to consult with a Wells Trumbull attorney and get legal advice.

Animal Attack

Dog bites can cause scars on the victims. Not to mention they can produce emotional scarring in some people too. They can also cause serious personal injury and other economic damages. The team of catastrophic injury attorneys at Wells Trumbull has the ability and expertise to give victims the best representation during every step of their case, making sure they get what is owed to them promptly.

Wrongful Death

Losing a loved one is among the most devastating and heart-wrenching experiences a person can go through. If a loved one has passed away due to an accident or wrongful death, a family member may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, this is a complex area of law, and it is vital to work with an experienced attorney from Wells Trumbull. A wrongful death attorney can help protect the legacy of a deceased loved one and ensure you receive compensation for your losses.

Drunk Driver Accident

Did you know that drunk drivers are responsible for one-third of all traffic fatalities? Even though you could be the safest driver on the road, there is no way to avoid an accident with a drunk person behind the wheel. If you have a potential car accident case involving a drunk driver, you might feel angry, sad, frustrated, and even hopeless. It’s also normal to feel stressed and anxious about medical bills and lost income while you’re recovering from your injuries. The injury attorneys of Wells Trumbull will compassionately help you navigate your personal injury lawsuit.

“Catastrophic injury” is a legal term for a severe and life-altering injury that often requires extensive medical treatment, long-term care and causes significant financial and emotional trauma. You need the Seattle catastrophic injury lawyers of Well|Trumbull to become your dedicated advocate, fighting for your rights.

What Happens After a Catastrophic Injury?

Catastrophic injuries can leave you feeling uncertain. When people think of a catastrophic injury, they associate them with significant events like car accidents and workplace accidents, but minor traumatic brain injuries can be just as serious!

Even if you feel fine after the accident, sudden side effects of pain and tingling may continue that can interfere with your life later on down the line if not taken care of properly. Be sure to follow the proper steps following any traumatic event so that relief comes soon rather than regrets.

Whether a head-on collision with another vehicle or a seemingly benign fall, getting hurt is never fun, even if the injury isn’t severe enough to warrant an immediate trip to the hospital, you will want to visit your doctor as soon as possible for quality treatment options.

When your health is stabilized, it’s time to seek help from an experienced catastrophic injury attorney and get a free case evaluation. Contact the catastrophic injury lawyers in Seattle at (360) 435-1663 for a free consultation.

Your injury lawyer will gather all the details of the case, including:

Testimonies from eyewitnesses
Footage from cameras near the incident
Police reports
Medical records
Phone & Text records

In many cases, your catastrophic injury lawyer will retain all this information to recreate the accident and gather the details necessary to support your injury claim. This attention to detail can help identify liable party/parties, seek just compensation, and pursue legal action.

The importance of this type of approach cannot be underestimated and is one component that distinguishes the experienced Seattle catastrophic injury lawyers at Wells Trumbull from the other firms out there.

Damages for Catastrophic Injuries

It is crucial to have everything you need in a catastrophic injury claim following a life-altering incident. Our Seattle catastrophic injury attorneys at Wells Trumbull can help you file a personal injury lawsuit and seek compensation.

A solid personal injury case will assure you get fair compensation to cover the medical bills, lost wages, property repairs, punitive damages, and other expenses caused by an accident.

Receiving money for your injuries could help you pay for the medical bills or other costs linked to your accident. It’ll also hold the person who hurt you liable for the pain and suffering experienced.

You can also look to the future with greater peace of mind! Your monetary award can cover not only your current needs but also any lifelong changes.

If you or a family member suffered a catastrophic injury because of someone else’s negligence, here are some of the damages your catastrophic injury lawyers can seek:

1) CURRENT AND FUTURE MEDICAL BILLS

Depending on the extent of injury, one could lose their life savings and livelihood because of an accident. If you were to be injured in some way that holds down your health and prevents you from working, you might lose everything if not careful. The total cost of a catastrophic injury could exceed $1 million over a victim’s life just for medical care.

2) LOST INCOME AND FUTURE EARNINGS

You could potentially recover wage losses you have already incurred from missing time at work, as well household income, if a disability prevents you from going back to your job. In these situations, financial recovery is more than just compensation – it is a crucial source of funding for a lifetime of projected expenses.

3) PAIN AND SUFFERING

The pain and suffering you feel after a catastrophic injury can be immense. The pain comes directly from the physical injury, and the emotional suffering one can experience from a personal injury. When seeking advisement from catastrophic injury attorneys, you will want to ensure that the law firm is sensitive to your life-changing injuries.

4) PROPERTY DAMAGES

After an accident that has caused you to suffer a catastrophic injury, the last thing that you need to worry about is the compensation you can recover for property damage. But, this kind of property damage may be an essential part of a personal injury claim.

5) OTHER EXPENSES

If you are injured in an accident, you will likely have to pay out of pocket for certain expenses associated with your injury. These can include travel expenses, food & lodging, court & legal fees, lost property, and more. One way to compensate for these expenses is to list them as part of your personal injury lawsuit.

Some will instead take a settlement if they have a long-term injury, while others prefer trial. Though these decisions ultimately depend on the injury victim, Wells Trumbull will be there to support you either way!

In catastrophic injury cases, damages can often be significant. Insurers usually don’t adjust fair settlement rates for the victims of severe or catastrophic injuries. Insurance companies tend to offer insubstantial amounts, which cause a tremendous financial burden on the victim and their family.

Before accepting a settlement from an insurance company, it is a good idea to have a Seattle catastrophic injury attorney from Wells Trumbull review the offer.

Wells Trumbull Free Case Evaluation for Your Catastrophic Injury Case

Catastrophic injuries are seldom out of the news; you can’t log onto social media without seeing at least one article about people who were hurt because of someone else’s negligence. An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer will be able to help you pay for this life-altering event; this includes medical bills, lost earnings, emotional distress, future earnings, and pain and suffering.

Wells| Trumbull’s personal injury law firm is committed to ensuring that every client is treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Our team will provide you with the experience, strategy, and commitment that protect your rights and claims.

Call us today at (360) 435-1663 or fill out our online intake form to schedule your free consultation with a Seattle catastrophic injury lawyer to begin the process of recovering compensation.

Seattle Catastrophic Injury Lawyer