Durham Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Durham Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Personal injuries commonly occur due to car accidents, premises liability hazards, dangerous workplace environments, and medical malpractice. When these injuries are the fault of another person or party who failed to take appropriate care, that party can be held legally responsible for the financial and psychological costs of the injury. Some injuries are severe and catastrophic, requiring the care and support of a Durham catastrophic injury lawyer to obtain full compensation.

A catastrophic injury is a type of personal injury, and while many personal injuries may heal within several months or years, a catastrophic injury can impact a victim permanently. These are injuries that permanently disable or debilitate individuals for the rest of their lives. When you suffer a catastrophic injury, you may be unable to complete basic tasks and functions, care for your loved ones, or complete gainful employment.

When these severe injuries are someone else’s fault, you can hold them liable for their negligence or malice. Catastrophic injury claims must often cover more significant medical costs and financial losses. It’s important to work with an attorney who has experience with these unique types of challenges.

Protecting Catastrophic Injury Victims in Durham

Filing a civil personal injury claim for your catastrophic injury damages is much easier with experienced legal counsel by your side. At the Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd P.A., we have more than 40 years of professional experience with many personal injury claims, including catastrophic injuries.

We can help you manage the claim and approach negotiations or litigation with confidence. Our team has the resources and experience necessary to investigate your accident and determine the person, group, or entity responsible.

Our firm can hold the at-fault party liable for the damage you suffered, and you can take the time you need to rest, recover, and adjust to a new way of life. We are dedicated to helping those in Durham and nearby communities protect themselves, their families, and their financial stability. We can work closely with you to determine your needs and fight for your rights in Durham, NC.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury in Durham?

Catastrophic injuries result in lifelong complications, permanent damage, or long-term disability. Typically, if you suffer a catastrophic injury, you become reliant on the care of loved ones or attendants due to limited speech, limited movement control, and limited mobility. A catastrophic injury can require you to need aid for basic daily tasks. The physical, financial, and psychological impact that these injuries can have need to be properly compensated in a claim.

Common types of catastrophic injuries include:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: These injuries result from head trauma from car accidents, truck accidents, high falls, or accidents where something falls on a victim’s head. A traumatic brain injury can impair cognitive function, impact normal movement, and affect long-term memory.
• Amputations: Severe damage to a limb may mean that it must be amputated. This is common in crushing injury accidents. In some injuries, a limb is lost in the accident. Amputation can alter how you live your life and impact your ability to do your job. There are often emotional and psychological challenges with the loss of a limb as you work through daily tasks.
• Internal Organ Damage: High-impact injuries, crushing injuries, compression injuries, and drowning injuries can all result in different types of organ damage. Severe internal organ damage can negatively affect the function of an organ. This can prevent an individual from eating, breathing, or digesting properly.
• Multiple Fractures and Sprains: When you suffer several injuries across your body at the same time, the total result may become a catastrophic injury, even if the individual injuries are considered non-catastrophic. Multiple broken bones, fractures, and sprains can require a long time to heal and result in severe physical limitations.
• Paralysis: Injuries to the spinal cord can lead to pain, nerve damage, and even partial or total paralysis. These injuries are frequently caused by falls and motor vehicle accidents.
• Severe Burns: Explosions, fires, and certain chemicals can result in severe burns. These burns can have a long-term impact on your movement. They can also result in scarring and disfigurement, which can have emotional and psychological effects.
• Psychological Damage: Many catastrophic accidents and injuries result in long-term and disabling psychological harm. This includes anxiety, depression, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

These injuries have financial costs from surgeries, treatment, and lost income, and they also have costs to a person’s mental well-being and quality of life. An attorney is useful in accurately predicting and determining these costs. This can help you maximize the compensation that you can obtain in a personal injury claim and get you the fairest settlement to cover essential costs.

What Compensation Can You Get for a Catastrophic Injury?

If another party is found to be liable for your injuries, you have the legal right to recover full compensation for any damages suffered due to the party’s actions. These include both economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages are tangible damages with set financial costs, including:

• Medical Bills: This includes bills for past treatment, surgeries, prescriptions, doctor’s visits, physical therapy, medical equipment, and any future expected complications. If you need in-home care or movement and accessibility accommodations in your home, these costs should also be included.
• Lost Income: As you recover and receive medical care, you could miss weeks or months of work. These lost wages are compensable. Catastrophic injuries often result in long periods of recovery if you are able to return to work at all.
• Lost Earning Potential: If you are unable to return to your prior employment or find gainful employment in the fields of work that you are qualified for due to your disability and/or injury, these damages apply. Lost earning potential refers to the wages and income that you would have earned throughout your lifetime if you had not been injured.
• Property Damages: If you suffered any significant property losses in the accident, these are compensable.
• Wrongful Death Damages: If you have lost a loved one due to their catastrophic injuries, a wrongful death claim can recover certain losses. These include funeral costs, the loss of emotional and financial support, and any medical costs from before they passed.

Any other relevant financial losses that were directly caused by the accident are also compensable.

Noneconomic damages are damages without a clear amount or an objective value. These include damages such as mental distress and trauma, physical pain, loss of quality of life, and loss of consortium of your spouse. In most personal injury claims, you can claim unlimited noneconomic damages. Medical malpractice claims are the only exception. An attorney can determine how to effectively and fairly maximize your damages.

Durham Catastrophic Injury FAQs

Q: How Can a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Prove Your Claim?

A: A catastrophic personal injury lawyer can help prove your claim by investigating the accident or incident of your injury, determining who was at fault, and potentially proving that you were not at fault for your injuries. They may use evidence such as photo and video evidence, medical documentation, and eyewitness testimony.

Through their resources and a thorough investigation, an attorney can advocate for your interests in negotiation or litigation, making it more likely that your case can be successful. Additionally, you are able to rest and recover during this time as your attorney guides you through the claims process.

Q: What Compensation Can a Catastrophic Injury Attorney Help Victims Receive?

A: The compensation available in a catastrophic personal injury claim depends on the damages that a victim suffers in the accident. Any noneconomic and economic damages suffered can be fully compensated when they are the fault of another party. This compensation may include:

• Medical costs, both past and future
• In-home care costs
• Property damages
• Lost wages
• Lost future earning power
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of quality of life
• Any other relevant damages
• Wrongful death damages

Many catastrophic injury victims are unaware of the extent of the compensation that they could recover, so they do not calculate future costs, future losses, and noneconomic damages. This results in a victim accepting a claim that does not cover their costs. When you work with an attorney, they can calculate the true cost of your damages.

Q: What Is the Difference Between Catastrophic Injury and Personal Injury?

A: A catastrophic injury is a form of personal injury that is more severe and permanent, often leading to a disability. Because of this, a personal injury claim for a catastrophic injury must have higher compensation to recover higher losses.

It’s important to work with an attorney who has experience calculating the damages of a catastrophic injury claim and knows how to effectively negotiate these extreme settlements. Catastrophic personal injury claims often involve traumatic brain injuries, paralysis and other spinal cord damage, amputation, and internal organ damage.

Q: How Much Does a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Cost in North Carolina?

A: Personal injury attorneys, including catastrophic injury attorneys, typically charge on a contingency fee basis in North Carolina. This means that, rather than paying them an upfront legal cost, they take a percentage of the final settlement. This percentage may be between 30 and 45% of the final settlement. If the attorney does not win the case, you do not owe them attorney’s fees. When you select a personal injury attorney, discuss fees with them beforehand.

Find Durham Catastrophic Injury Claim Representation

It’s essential that you have legal support after a catastrophic injury. Contact the Law Offices of Wade E. Byrd P.A. today to learn how we can help you with your case.