Many injuries result in substantial medical expenses, time away from work, and painful recoveries. However, some injuries have particularly severe impacts on victims and their families. These catastrophic injuries typically involve lifelong consequences that require extensive and costly care.
If someone else’s wrongful behavior left you with a catastrophic injury, you shouldn’t have to bear the financial consequences alone. A catastrophic injury lawyer from Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, can protect your rights and pursue the compensation you need at no upfront cost to you.
The NC catastrophic injury law firm of Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, has over 40 years of experience handling complex cases like yours. We also have a history of winning significant awards and settlements that provide fair compensation for our clients’ catastrophic injuries.
Contact us online or call (888) 305-4086 today to learn more about your legal options in a free consultation session.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
There are numerous different definitions of a catastrophic injury. According to North Carolina’s National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, an injury is catastrophic if it results in permanent or temporary functional disability or death. On the other hand, the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force defines a catastrophic injury as one that is life-threatening or results in death or permanent disability. Meanwhile, the federal government defines a catastrophic injury as one that permanently prevents a person from working and earning a living.
The simplest definition of a catastrophic injury is an injury that causes severe long-term consequences.
Catastrophic injury victims often require:
- Long-term medical care, including surgery and medication
- Occupational and physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Mobility devices, such as wheelchairs
- Daily help from caregivers
- Psychological support
Even though some catastrophic injury survivors eventually make full recoveries, they still typically require long-term care. Tragically, many catastrophic injury survivors never fully recover.
A few examples of common causes of life-altering injuries include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Defective product accidents
- Sports accidents
- Boating accidents
Why You Need a North Carolina Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
Catastrophic injury cases are often much more complex than other personal injury cases. There are many factors to consider when calculating catastrophic injury claim values, including:
- The costs of long-term medical treatment
- The costs of rehabilitation and therapy
- The costs of employing long-term caregivers
- The costs of mobility devices
- Loss of wages and long-term earning potential
- Loss of consortium
It’s especially challenging to calculate claim values for catastrophic injuries because they take so long to heal. If you suffer devastating injuries, your final payout should cover all your injury-related losses for the rest of your life. A settlement that pays your expenses for a few years and then leaves you without the assistance you need isn’t acceptable.
Unsurprisingly, insurance companies don’t want to pay the large settlements necessary to fully compensate a catastrophic injury victim. Instead, they prefer to deny liability or minimize your injuries so they can avoid paying what they owe. Given the large sums of money involved in many catastrophic injury claims, insurance companies typically fight much harder than they would other personal injury claims.
That makes it even more important to hire a lawyer with extensive experience handling catastrophic injury cases and dealing with insurance companies and their legal teams.
Our personal injury lawyers in North Carolina can help you by:
- Investigating the catastrophic injury accident
- Collecting witness statements
- Gathering police and medical reports
- Consulting expert witnesses
- Determining who is liable for your injuries
- Negotiating with insurance companies
- Representing you in court if the insurance company won’t settle
North Carolina has a three-year deadline for most personal injury cases, so it’s important to act quickly if you’ve suffered catastrophic injuries. Seeking legal advice immediately after a catastrophic injury gives your lawyer more time to investigate, develop a strong claim, and increase your chances of a fair payout.
Examples of Common Catastrophic Injuries
Some common examples of catastrophic injuries include:
- Spinal cord injuries that result in quadriplegia or paraplegia
- Traumatic brain injuries that lead to comas or vegetative states
- Severe burns requiring lifelong treatment and multiple surgeries
- Damage to internal organs like the heart, lungs, or liver
- Injuries requiring amputation of limbs or digits
- Injuries that result in the loss of hearing or sight
The Legal Process for Catastrophic Injury Cases in NC
The process of filing a catastrophic injury claim in North Carolina involves the following steps:
- Contacting a North Carolina catastrophic injury attorney
- Providing your attorney with any evidence that could support your claim
- Determining who is at fault for causing your catastrophic injuries
- Sending a demand letter to the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Negotiating with the insurance company to reach a settlement
- Filing a lawsuit if the other side won’t agree to a fair settlement
- Serving a complaint on the other party
- Exchanging evidence with the other side in the discovery phase
- Participating in mediation or arbitration with the other party
- Taking the case to trial if you still cannot reach a settlement
The types of compensation available for life-changing injuries commonly include:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- The cost of accessibility modifications to your home and vehicle
- Personal care costs
- The cost of assistive devices such as prosthetics or wheelchairs
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Loss of consortium, or your spouse’s ability to enjoy the benefits of marriage
How Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, Can Help
If you’ve experienced a life-changing injury in North Carolina, you deserve help from a lawyer with a deep understanding of catastrophic injury cases and the challenges they involve. Catastrophic injury cases are highly complex, and you should never attempt to handle one on your own.
Poisson, Poisson & Bower, PLLC, has been fighting for the rights of personal injury victims in North Carolina for more than four decades. We have extensive experience with catastrophic injury cases and know how to counter the tactics insurance companies use to minimize payouts. Let us deal with the insurance companies for you and take them to court if they refuse to play fair.
Experience matters when it comes to negotiating with insurance companies and winning cases. Our local knowledge and deep understanding of state laws provide significant advantages in North Carolina personal injury cases.
Contact us online or call (888) 305-4086 today for a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you.
