Catastrophic Injuries Explained: Causes, Challenges, and How Lawyers Can Help

Generally, a catastrophic injury is a life-threatening and life-altering injury. A head injury is a good example. These wounds kill more than 70,000 Americans every year. Many of these deaths are brain injury-induced suicides. Furthermore, brain injuries are permanent. Dead brain cells never regenerate. Therefore, these victims must go through life with only partial brain function.

A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer cannot alter time and spare victims from catastrophic injuries. After a catastrophic injury, the best that anyone can do is move forward. The compensation Catastrophic Injury Lawyers in Los Angeles obtain helps victims do just that.

What Causes Catastrophic Injuries?

We mentioned head injuries above. Catastrophic head injuries usually include sTBIs (severe traumatic brain injuries) and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Vehicle collisions are the most common causes of both types of injuries. Car crashes combine all three kinds of brain injury causes.

A trauma impact could cause a brain injury. When an airbag deploys during a high-speed collision, it’s like running into a brick wall at 60mph with only a balloon for protection. No airbag can possibly absorb all that force.

Car crash noise could also cause head injuries. Many witnesses say that car wrecks sound like explosions. Such sudden loud noises create shock waves that disrupt brain functions. Many Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffered noise-related head injuries during deployment. Because they had no visible injuries and they told medics they “felt fine,” their head injuries were usually untreated. When they came home, their injuries were out of control.

The motion of a wreck causes most sTBIs. Extreme motion causes the brain to slam against the inside of the skull. That impact causes brain bleeding and swelling.

PTSD is a specific kind of brain injury. Extreme stress changes the brain’s chemical composition. Symptoms of this change include:

• Anger
• Depression
• Hypervigilance
• Flashbacks
• Nightmares

Many veterans struggle with PTSD not because they “can’t take it,” but because severe combat stress causes an inside-out brain injury.

A severe car crash is tantamount to being shot at. Both events are life threatening. The brain simply cannot cope with such an extreme stress level.

Other catastrophic injuries include spinal cord injuries, severe burns, collapsed lungs, and some broken bones, like a broken pelvis. Learn more about the most common types of catastrophic injuries here.

Catastrophic Injury Medical Treatment

A car crash or other injury victim never wears a nametag that says “Hello… I Have a Head Injury.” In fact, head injuries and other catastrophic injuries are difficult to diagnose.

Adrenaline usually masks pain. Concussed athletes on adrenaline generally tell their coaches they feel fine and want to go right back in the game. Accident shock masks pain as well. Since catastrophic injury victims don’t seem hurt or ask for help, medical providers usually don’t offer help.

As a result, catastrophic injuries get worse. These delays increase the cost of medical treatment across the board. Since doctors must be more aggressive, physical therapy is longer and more difficult.

A Catastrophic Accident Attorney connects catastrophic injury victims with doctors who know how to properly diagnose and treat injury-related conditions. These doctors usually charge nothing upfront.

As a bonus, attorneys negotiate with medical providers and obtain lower fees. For example, Dr. Jones might agree to give a victim a 30 percent discount. Lower final medical bills may mean that victims get to keep more of their settlement money, under California’s complex collateral source rule.

Paying for Treatment and Proving Negligence

Medical bills, discounted or otherwise, must be paid eventually. To obtain compensation, a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer must normally prove negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not. Car crashes illustrate these principles.

Under California law, most drivers have a duty of reasonable care to avoid accidents when possible. Failure to avoid an accident, usually due to aggressive driving or driver impairment, breaches the duty of care.

Evidence in a car crash claim usually includes witness statements, the official police accident report, and medical bills. Electronic evidence, like a car’s onboard computer, often supplements basic evidence.

If a tortfeasor breaks a safety law, like the DUI law, the tortfeasor could be liable for damages as a matter of law (negligence per se).

Speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer today!

Hidden catastrophic injuries require special handling. For a free consultation with an experienced Catastrophic Accident Lawyer in California, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.

Credit: Photo by Midjourney