San Antonio Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Personal Injury Case vs. Catastrophic Injury Case

Catastrophic injury cases fall under the large umbrella of personal injury law. But what’s the difference between personal injury cases and catastrophic injury cases? How do you know which type of claim to file in order to receive justice? When you schedule a free consultation with our San Antonio personal injury attorneys, we intently listen to your story and help you determine the best course of legal action. 

Case Value

There are two main differences between personal injury claims and catastrophic injury claims: case value and how long it takes to recover from an accident. 

Generally speaking, personal injury claims have lower case values than catastrophic injury claims. This is because a personal injury claim is generally filed by someone who has suffered more minor injuries. When we say minor injuries, we don’t mean little knee scrapes and minor bruises. We’re referring to injuries that are severe enough to warrant a few medical treatments, but not severe enough to cause life-long disability and damage. 

For example, many car accident victims suffer injuries like concussions, whiplash, and a broken rib. These injuries certainly warrant a trip to the emergency room and often prevent people from immediately returning to work. However, people who suffer these injuries generally make a full recovery within a few months with no long-lasting disability. If their traffic accident was caused by a negligent driver, they certainly have grounds to file a personal injury claim in order to recover compensation for their medical bills and lost wages.

Case value is determined by damages such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, emotional distress, and more. Because the person in the previous traffic accident example only needed a few medical treatments and a few weeks off work in order to recover, their case value would be significantly less than a catastrophic injury victim who has to spend months in the hospital, and therefore, months missing work. 

How Long it Takes to Recover

The other biggest difference between personal injury cases and catastrophic injury cases is the time it takes to recover from an accident. People in regular personal injury cases generally make a full recovery within a few weeks to a few months. 

Meanwhile, those who have sustained catastrophic injuries take months or years to recover. Tragically, some catastrophic injury victims never fully recover. Some spend the rest of their lives in a bed or a wheelchair. They’re never able to go back to work, take care of their families, take a walk, or even go to the bathroom without help. 

If your situation sounds similar to the catastrophic injury examples listed above, you have grounds to take legal action. Contact a San Antonio catastrophic injury attorney at Janicek Law today.

What To Do if Catastrophic Injuries Lead to Wrongful Death

Sometimes, catastrophic injuries are so severe that they lead to death. If another person’s negligence caused the injuries which later caused death, you should consider filing a wrongful death claim on behalf of your loved one. Wrongful death cases are basically catastrophic injury cases for the deceased. These cases can achieve the same goal: justice for the injured or deceased person and financial recovery for the damages suffered.

Not only does the legal team at Janicek Law have decades of combined experience in litigating catastrophic injury cases, but we also have what it takes to litigate wrongful death cases. No matter the catastrophe, our law firm will fight for your rights and justice. Contact San Antonio wrongful death attorneys to learn more.

Damages for Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injury victims can potentially recover financial compensation for the following damages:

• Past medical expenses
• Future medical expenses
• Past and future rehabilitative expenses
• Past and future lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity if the injury leads to partial disability and prevents victims from fulfilling all of their previous job duties
• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Counseling costs associated with treatment for emotional issues such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Excessive scarring and disfigurement
• Costs associated with necessary medical equipment such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, etc.
• Caregiving costs
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of daily life
• Funeral and burial costs if the catastrophic injuries resulted in wrongful death

If you’re wondering: what is loss of consortium worth in my catastrophic injury claim? Be sure to schedule a free consultation with a San Antonio emotional distress lawyer to learn more about economic and non-economic damages you could recover.

Catastrophic injuries caused by someone else’s negligence could also result in punitive damages. Negligent parties are sometimes required to pay punitive damages to the victim(s), not so much to further compensate them, but to suffer further punishment for their negligence.

How a San Antonio Catastrophic Injury Attorney Can Help You

Our San Antonio, TX law firm fully understands how physically, emotionally, and financially traumatic catastrophic injuries are not only to the victims, but to their families as well. That’s why every San Antonio catastrophic injury attorney at Janicek Law is so passionate about helping victims and their families:

• Thoroughly investigate the accident or negligent act in question.
• Gather sufficient evidence to prove the other party’s negligence in the accident.
• Hire the best medical experts to examine medical records and calculate past/future medical expenses.
• Handle communications and settlement values with the insurance company following a major accident.
• Fight for fair compensation for all damages associated with the accident.