San Antonio Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Catastrophic injuries are life-changing injuries that affect both the victim and their families. Not only do major traffic accidents, for example, lead to major physical traumas, but accidents like this often lead to emotional and financial traumas as well. Injured victims are often forced to spend months in the hospital, miss work (or never return to work), and endure months of physical therapy only to endure a life of permanent disability. 

At Janicek Law, we know these injuries are tragic. We cannot change what happened but if the injury was caused by the negligent acts of a driver, property owner, hazardous product, physician or nursing home professional, we can help you pursue compensation and justice. A San Antonio catastrophic injury attorney will walk you through the entire legal process so that you can spend the majority of your time and energy on healing. Call 210-366-4949 today to schedule a free consultation. 

san antonio catastrophic injury lawyer

 What is a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is basically any life-threatening injury that occurs from a major accident caused by someone else’s negligence. Many catastrophic injury cases involve nervous system injuries, such as a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury. Those who suffer catastrophic injuries generally experience significant life changes and permanent disability even after they heal from their accident. 

Catastrophic injuries and the resulting disability is often just as physically, emotionally, and financially traumatic for the family members as it is for the victims because they often become full-time caretakers. Not only that, but families and loved ones are often left with crippling amounts of medical bills. That’s why many victims and their loved ones resort to filing catastrophic injury lawsuits for the sake of financial recovery.

Types of Catastrophic Injuries

The following types of injuries are considered catastrophic:

  • Traumatic brain injuries
  • Neck injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Severe burns
  • Facial and skull fractures
  • Major lacerations
  • Multiple broken bones
  • Loss of fetus
  • One or more amputations
  • Major nerve damage
  • Vision or hearing loss
  • Organ damage or failure
  • Paraplegia or quadriplegia
  • Any type of life-threatening injury that results in loss of bodily function or some level of disability

If you or a loved one has suffered any one of these injuries, be sure to contact a San Antonio traumatic brain injury attorney, San Antonio spinal cord injury attorney, San Antonio paralysis attorney, San Antonio burn injury attorney, or a San Antonio amputation attorney to learn more about your legal options.

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries

A wide variety of accidents can lead to catastrophic injuries, including:

Catastrophic injury victims who have suffered from one of the aforementioned accidents should contact a San Antonio catastrophic injury attorney. Our law firm has helped countless injured clients recover adequate compensation for their extensive medical treatment and lost wages. We can help you do the same.  

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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.
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San Antonio Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you love has suffered catastrophic injuries following a major accident, you have grounds to pursue legal action. In cases like this, severe injuries affect the victims and their families for the rest of their lives. That’s why you need to take steps to obtain the proper resources in order to cope with a life-changing event like this. A San Antonio personal injury attorney can help you do that.

Our legal team is ready to start an attorney-client relationship with you. Call 210-366-4949 today to schedule a free consultation. We always offer home or hospital visits if you are unable to travel to our office.

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