What Are the Differences Between Catastrophic and Personal Injury Claims?
While traumatic injuries, irrespective of their gravity, are treated differently in the eye of the law. This would be considered a catastrophic injury if it makes you permanently disabled. Regardless of whether you consider your case a catastrophic injury or a personal injury, the potential damages you can recover will affect, as catastrophic injury usually involves higher expenses to treat yourself more intensively. Whatever it is, you should hire a personal injury attorney for help.
Personal Injury Cases
While personal injuries can be severe, they are usually temporary. If a victim has broken bones, lacerations, or bruises, he or she is most likely able to recover fully and return to their everyday work without the lasting effect of the injury. Emotional wounds, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may also include personal injuries.
Catastrophic Injury Cases
In contrast to personal injuries, catastrophic injuries affect victims for the entire lifetime and cannot recover or resume their lives before being injured. These injuries not only cause a lot of pain and have life-changing effects, but are usually costly to treat.
Examples of Catastrophic Injuries
Injury in spinal cord or paralysis
Brain injury
Limb loss and amputation
Paraplegia
Burn injury
Orthopedic injury or broken bones
Ligament or nerve damage
When an Injury Is a Catastrophic One?
Catastrophic injuries may deeply and permanently interfere with the lives of the victims and their families and why 'serious wounds' are classified under their own categories.
In general, the nature and the size of the damage to and potential for complications of the victims and their loved ones, and the need to ensure full financial compensation, is a key factor.
When a Catastrophic Injury Is Unique
Damage and Impact to the Family
By nature, catastrophic injuries result in serious physical damage. Besides economic losses, disastrously injured victims and families may face considerable non-economic losses, including physical pain and suffering, slow and painful recoveries or refurbishment, emotional distress, psychological damage and mental distress.
Long-term Impact
As shown in the above damages, victims who are seriously injured typically suffer harm that leads to longer or longer life-long consequences. They are temporary partial or total disability; loss of sensory or bodily function (i. e. vision or hearing loss), permanent disfiguration, physical or cognitive deficiencies (e.g. memory problems, impairs of mobility), permanent disfiguring of the person's sensory functions.
A personal injury lawyer knows the best way to help out the clients. Contact us at the Handley Law center to get your claim.
** Disclaimer: This blog article is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.