There are many kinds of catastrophic injuries, but one common theme is the devastation a catastrophic injury brings to those injured and their families.
Whether it’s a car accident, a fall from a height, a severe burn, or some other devastating accident, catastrophic injuries occur as the result of a trauma that leaves long-term, permanent damage to major areas of the body, such as the spinal cord, brain, eyes, or other vital body parts.
These injuries typically result in tremendous pain and suffering, an inability for the victim to perform gainful employment and, as a result, an inability to support themselves or their family.
In many cases, the cause of catastrophic injury is not so simple. Many times, these types of injuries occur as a result of general negligence, medical malpractice, pharmaceutical negligence or a defective product.
When it comes to catastrophic injury cases, it takes the right attorney to understand the complexities of the case and secure the compensation the victim and his or her family deserve.
Years ago, Gold & Gold represented a woman who suffered a stroke and timely made it to the hospital to receive life-saving care. In that case, our client had surgery to stop her stroke and patch up her internal bleeding. Unfortunately, the surgical equipment used failed mid-surgery, because it had been negligently maintained.
Our client emerged from surgery in a persistent vegetative state, trapped inside her own body, and what would have been a typical malpractice case became an intricate catastrophic injury case.
Without evidence of the negligence that caused this, many families would have had no recourse when the defendants blamed the victim’s vegetative state on her stroke and/or another undiagnosed issue. As you can see, catastrophic injury litigation is unique because it involves a multitude of issues and many moving parts.
Due to these complexities, many attorneys will not take on cases like this, but the team at Gold & Gold can help you.
At Gold & Gold, we understand that each catastrophic injury case has its own nuances and recognize what is at stake for the victims. Most clients who suffer a catastrophic injury require customized medical care and treatment over a lifetime or for a significant period of time into the future.
These intricacies are exactly what our team is trained to handle. During a catastrophic injury case, our team works with practitioners from different specialties to understand the financial, medical and lifestyle impacts of the injury to the victim and their family.
For example, we work with industry experts to create a future care plan that meets the specific needs of the injured client and their family, which can include things like:
Financial planning and/or the creation of a special needs trust to protect the settlement funds that will go to paying for future care
Oftentimes, a catastrophic injury results in the inability to work. Families can become financially devastated when the primary wage earner can no longer earn a living for the family, but through litigation, we are able to help make families more financially secure.
In these situations, we work with employment experts and Certified Public Accountants to assess the loss of earning capacity and the financial harm caused to a family who has lost and will continue to lose a significant amount of earnings.
At the same time, our lawyers work with medical experts and treating physicians to learn and master the particular injuries that our client suffers from to help ensure we secure an outcome that best benefits the victim and their family.
For example, to properly advocate on behalf of victims in a traumatic brain injury case, we work with neurologists, neuroradiologists, neurodevelopmental & rehab physicians, registered nurses and others. Each one of these moving parts can be critical to obtaining fair compensation for our catastrophically injured clients.
In the case of our stroke victim, our team poured in thousands of hours and retained some of the best experts and medical professionals available. This ultimately paid off in a big way for our client, allowing us to secure compensation that simplified her life and provided for her future care.
Litigating catastrophic injury cases like this one is complex and expensive; it is high stakes litigation that requires a law firm with the skill, financial wherewithal and commitment to see each case through to resolution.
If you or a loved one are suffering financial hardship due to a catastrophic injury, please contact a catastrophic injury attorney at Gold & Gold to find out how we can get you the compensation you truly deserve.