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What Happens When There’s Been A Catastrophic Injury In Your Family

What Happens When There's Been A Catastrophic Injury In Your Family

A catastrophic injury is a kind of severe injury, which results in debilitation or long-term disability. It may also be defined as an injury that prevents anyone from performing their work permanently.

In most cases, catastrophic injuries involve loss of capacity or deformity, whether mental or physical, which may result in spinal cord injury, brain damage, loss of limb, and traumatic brain injury.

If one of your family members suffered from a catastrophic injury, there can be huge changes to your lives since medical treatment can be expensive, which may affect your monthly income. That is the reason why it’s important that you should know what you should do to get the compensation that you and your family deserve. Just like getting wrongful death claims, the need for a legal expert is essential.

Below are the impacts of a catastrophic injury in your family:

Financial Consequences

The consequences of any catastrophic injury can be life-changing. It won’t only make you suffer from a permanent injury, but also you have to deal with the associated costs of medical services. You have to pay for additional medical aids, devices, and care for the rest of your life. For example, if you’re suffering from an amputation, you will need prosthetics. On the other hand, if you are fully or partially paralyzed, you’ll need home care services.

Because of the costs associated with a catastrophic injury, you and your family will need to adjust to the financial changes. Your lucrative future may melt away, and you’ll need to rely on government benefits.

Psychological Consequences

It’s normal to experience psychological and emotional ramifications after any catastrophic injury. For example, you can suffer from sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, and some mental health issues. Even if it’s hard to deal with any mental health problem, it’ll require treatments just as your physical injuries.

Due to the severity of the catastrophic injury, dealing with the impacts moving forward may be challenging. This is especially when there are some things that the victim can’t do anymore after the injury. In such situations, special help might be required.

Changes to Your Living Condition

If a catastrophic injury affects your body control, it will require you to alter your home or vehicle to accommodate some aids like wheelchairs. This means an increased cost for the renovations in your home or help from a caretaker or nurse.

Long-Term Medical Care

Oftentimes, catastrophic injuries can lead to damages that may require a victim to undergo lifetime medication, multiple surgeries, rehabilitation, and some long-term kinds of medical care. It does not only mean getting from and to the hospital but also regularly spending time for treatments and evaluations.

What You Should Do After a Catastrophic Injury?

You have to seek compensation if your injury was caused by the negligence of another person. Your compensation will be based on your non-economic and economic injuries. In some situations, your first attempt to get compensation can be through an insurance claim. If you’re in a car crash, you have to file a third-party claim against the auto insurance policy of the other driver. If you are injured at your workplace, you have to file a claim against your employer’s liability insurance policy or hire a lawyer for a worker’s comp appeal.

With catastrophic injury compensation, you can obtain compensation for your pain and suffering, loss of income, medical costs, disability, loss of consortium, and so on.

For you to succeed in obtaining your compensation for your catastrophic injury, you must look for a reliable lawyer who is capable of securing jury verdicts and large settlements and can think outside the box to find additional insurance policies and defendants that can help cover the damages associated with your catastrophic injury case.

Before you hire a lawyer, make sure to keep track of all your expenses you incur related to your injury. Having records of your medical expenses and other documentation necessary for your case will help you and your lawyer big time. The records will not just be your evidence, but also they can be useful in providing your lawyer with important information to calculate the damages. If you can’t keep records because of your injury, you can just ask your family member to help you.

Bottom Line

A catastrophic accident or injury has a lifelong impact on you and your family. It will not just impact your financial life, but also it can affect you emotionally and physically. If your injuries were someone else’s fault, don’t hesitate to look for legal assistance to get compensation and for you to get the justice you deserve. At present, there are numerous lawyers you can rely on when it comes to catastrophic injury cases. All you have to do is to choose the most reputable one to get the results you want for your case.