After being injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you have the right to claim compensation regardless of how extensive the injuries are. However, the extent of compensation received in a personal injury claim is determined by the impact of the injuries – both in terms of medical expenses and quality of life. At the most serious end of the spectrum is “catastrophic injury”, so let’s take a look at what this involves.
What Makes an Injury “Catastrophic”?
If you search for a true definition online, there won’t be one in law or medicine. Instead, “catastrophic injury” is an umbrella term describing trauma involving extensive medical treatment or long-lasting implications.
Loss or Impairment of Bodily Functions
Certain injuries to the liver, bowels, intestines, lungs, stomach, and other major organs can lead to a complete loss or impairment of bodily functions. For example, bladder conditions can lead to incontinence, which has a knock-on effect on daily life. As well as the physical side of such catastrophic injuries, there are often mental health conditions alongside.
Traumatic Amputation
During serious accidents ranging from slips and falls to auto collisions, injuries can lead to loss of limbs. The loss of any body part, whether it’s a finger/toe or a full leg/arm, will have a detrimental and lasting impact on a person’s quality of life.
Spinal Cord or Brain Damage
Spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injuries often result in permanent changes, which means they’re often included under catastrophic injuries. The long-lasting impacts of such injuries are so expansive, but commonly include paralysis, visual impairments, loss of cognition, and permanent brain damage.
Permanent Disfigurement or Scarring
Most serious wounds will heal over time and allow full bodily functions to resume, but they may leave behind permanent disfigurement or scarring. Even though a person may be healthy and able-bodied, being scarred can cause depression, anxiety, and a loss of self-confidence.
Long-Term Rehabilitation Requirements
Depending on the extent of an injury, the road to recovery can be long, arduous, and expensive, which can lead to an injury being classified as catastrophic. While recovering, many victims are left without work, which only adds to the stress.
If full rehabilitation isn’t possible, a person is considered to have a permanent disability. In cases like this, catastrophic injury is the only feasible classification.
Long-lasting Psychological or Emotional Trauma
The impact of injuries doesn’t always have to be physical. Going through such an ordeal often leaves people with psychological and emotional trauma that may last a lifetime. Regardless of the reason, if an accident leads to permanent changes to the quality of life, it’s catastrophic.
Significant Medical Expenses
Not all catastrophic injuries have to cause long-lasting issues, which is why it can be tricky to argue that certain injuries are catastrophic. For example, when initial and ongoing treatment for injuries involves substantially high medical costs, the financial impact can stay with a victim for a lifetime.
Catastrophic injuries like those listed above have a long-lasting impact, and they deserve to be compensated fairly.
If you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury, visit Scarlett Law Group at 536 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133.
Or call now for a free consultation on (415) 352-6264.