Frequently Asked Questions about Catastrophic Injuries

Q: What is a “catastrophic” injury?

A: Injuries are often called “catastrophic” when the physical injuries to a person are especially severe, and require extensive medical treatment. Often, the injuries may cause damage to a person’s central nervous system, which may affect other bodily systems or functions. Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Brain injuries
• Amputations
• Burns over a large portion of the body
• Loss of an eye
• Injuries to the nerves in the chest, shoulder, and arm (brachial plexus)
• Multiple fractures

In addition, many people who suffer catastrophic injuries also suffer depression or other emotional problems because of the limitations put on them by their injuries.

Q: Are catastrophic injuries permanent?

A: Not all catastrophic injuries are permanent. Those injuries that are not permanent will usually take a very long time-months, or even years-to reach a full recovery. In some cases, especially those involving children, the actual extent of the injury may not be known until much time has passed after the accident. Emotional injuries may also be a problem for a long time after the physical injuries have healed. The affects of a catastrophic injury may linger for a long period of time.

Q: What may cause a catastrophic injury?

A: Catastrophic injuries may be caused by almost any type of accident. Common types of accidents that cause catastrophic injuries include

• Motor vehicle collisions
• Construction accidents
• Fires
• Sports injuries
• Farm machinery accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Defective products

Almost any accident can be the cause of a catastrophic injury. It is the misfortune of the victim that decides if an injury is catastrophic.

Q: What kind of compensation may I receive for my injuries?

A: An injured person may receive compensation, or damages, for:

• Medical expenses
• Future medical expenses
• Expenses to care for the injured person
• Lost income
• Loss of income in the future
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium, or spousal relations

In some cases, an injured person may be able to collect punitive damages, which are meant to punish a person who acted badly. Punitive damages, if any, would be in addition to the damages listed.

If you read reports of verdicts or settlements in catastrophic injury cases, you may be struck by the large amounts of money involved. Remember that this money is meant to pay for many different, and expensive, things: extra medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering. A catastrophic injury takes away part of a person’s life, and money damages are the law’s way of paying for that loss.

The unfortunate fact is that tragedy can strike any one of us without warning – and sometimes, the only way to make it right is to sue.

Our founding fathers thought this right was so important, they included it as  the Seventh Amendment in our bill of rights in the Constitution of the United States.  Our right to bring a civil lawsuit is  a civil right, just like freedom of the press, of speech and of religion.

And all too frequently, a lawsuit is our only recourse when we or a loved one is seriously injured.

That’s where it can get tricky.  Because in the real world of law, you need someone who’s better than just good to take on big companies, government or insurers and get justice.

No matter how negligent the behavior that resulted in your injury, there is no such thing as a slam dunk case nowadays.

And it’s not just about getting a settlement – it’s about getting the right settlement.  The right money and the right approach to compensate for pain and suffering, to provide for continuing medical care or monitoring, to force a clean-up of dangerous  toxic mold in your home – whatever it is that your particular situation demands.

Getting your case ready for trial – fitting it out with the right approach and legal theory, digging out the facts of what happened to you or your loved one, lining up the proper expert to give powerful, precise testimony about your injury and how it happened – these are the tools a seasoned pro like Greg Yates brings to your case, no matter how big or  small.

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Another thing a great lawyer can do that a merely good lawyer can’t is prepare and present a case so thoroughly, so carefully, so convincingly that no experts are necessary.

Take the case of musician Vaetta Reese. Reese was getting out of her car at a parking space when another car backed up, trapping Reese, whose head was pinioned between her driver’s side door and the door frame.

Reese was unconscious for 20 minutes and was helicoptered to the John Muir Medical Center  in Walnut Creek.  Her spine had been fractured and her upper body crushed,  including much of the left side of her skull.

Greg Yates got a settlement of almost $1 million for the 57-year-old musician by convincing the court beyond a shadow of a doubt that the driver of the other car was  entirely at fault.  The pay-out  was structured so that Reese, who suffered some brain damage in the accident, and lost part of her memory,  could afford continuing medical care – with more than $700,000 left over to provide some compensation for the anguish and agony caused by a reckless driver.