Charlotte Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Charlotte Catastrophic Injury Attorney

If you have suffered a long-term or permanent injury as a result of someone else’s actions, you should seek legal counsel. When you reach out to a Charlotte catastrophic injury lawyer, you can rest assured that you have a professional fighting for your rights in this difficult time. Your attorney can guide you through every step of the legal aftermath and be your advocate throughout the entire process.

Our team of experienced catastrophic injury lawyers at Bridgman Gantt Law Offices is proud to support Charlotte residents after they sustain catastrophic injuries. If you or a loved one endured a catastrophic injury as a result of another person’s recklessness, we can do everything in our power to help you pursue justice.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury?

If you are in a serious accident of any sort in Charlotte, NC, you might suffer a catastrophic injury. These injuries cause long-term, often irreversible damage to your body and are usually related to your brain or your spine. As a result, they usually have a negative impact on your quality of life and your ability to perform daily activities.

For example, if you are paralyzed after a car accident, you might not be able to walk, work, or partake in the same day-to-day routines that you did before the accident. Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries: If you experience a sudden jolt to the head, you might suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These injuries can range in severity but often result in long-term cognitive impairments.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: If your spinal cord is hurt, you might experience injuries like paralysis or bladder dysfunction. The severity of your injuries will depend on what part of your spinal cord is injured and to what extent. For instance, if your cervical spinal cord is hurt, you might experience quadriplegia, which can result in paralysis of your limbs.
• Limb Amputations: If you are in a serious accident, such as a truck accident or motorcycle crash, you might sustain damage to a limb that requires doctors to remove it. This can change your quality of life and lead to long-term physical changes.
• Facial Damage: If you endure fractures or damage to your facial nerves, you might suffer disfigurement after your accident. This can leave you facing a long road of rehabilitation and medical treatment.
• Loss of Hearing or Vision: If you endure serious physical trauma, you might no longer be able to see or hear. Depending on your situation, your vision or hearing might be able to be restored, but this is not always the case, and lengthy rehabilitation could be necessary.
• Organ Damage: Severe damages like crushing injuries and other impacts from an accident can leave organs like your heart, lungs, and kidneys with permanent problems.

How Do Catastrophic Injuries Occur?

There are many ways in which you might experience a catastrophic injury. Often, the following incidents result in permanent or long-term injuries that are classified as catastrophic:

• Vehicle Accidents: Trucks, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and other vehicles can collide and cause injuries to drivers and passengers. Sometimes, they hit pedestrians as well, often causing permanent damage.
• Marine Accidents: Accidents on and around marine vehicles can lead to catastrophic injury, especially due to the unique challenge of working near water.
• Animal Attacks: If a dog or another animal bites you, it might leave you with severe injuries.
• Construction Accidents: Working on or near a construction site can be dangerous, as these places are full of hazards. If you are working on a construction site and are injured, you are entitled to workers’ compensation.
• Medical Malpractice: Medical professionals should do no harm, but sometimes, they make mistakes that leave their patients with serious injuries. This is called medical malpractice, and in many cases, you can take legal action against them if their negligence led to your injuries.
• Slip and Falls: If you are on someone else’s property and they fail to warn you of a hazard or address a hazard they know is dangerous, you might be seriously hurt.

What to Do After You Suffer a Catastrophic Injury

If you or someone around you has suffered what appears to be a catastrophic injury, you need to call emergency services as soon as possible. You should seek medical attention as soon as possible to identify the extent of your injuries and to prevent them from worsening. When you can, you or your loved ones should consider getting in touch with an injury attorney who can assist with the legal aftermath of this tragic event.

What Are You Entitled to After a Catastrophic Injury?

Depending on the context of your catastrophic injury, you could be entitled to a financial settlement for your suffering. If you were injured at work, for example, then you are entitled to worker’s compensation. After your injury at work, you can file a worker’s compensation claim outlining the extent of your injuries to secure compensation.

It is in your interest to contact an injury attorney in Charlotte, NC after you are hurt to help you understand the legal process in the context of your case. For instance, if you are an independent contractor and are hurt at work, you are likely not entitled to worker’s compensation. Your attorney can help you determine your legal options.

If you were not at work when you were injured, but you were injured as a result of someone else’s negligence, like their impaired driving, you can file a personal injury claim. Whether or not you are entitled to a settlement will depend on the type of accident and if you were at fault in any way. Your injury attorney can help you understand your legal options based on your unique situation and be by your side every step of the way.

If you suffered your catastrophic injury at work or in another place and became disabled as a result, you might be able to file a disability claim. Your attorney can also help you with this process and with addressing any complications or denials you encounter.

Your financial settlement from a personal injury or a workers’ compensation claim can cover expenses like the following:

• Current and Future Medical Bills: If you suffered a severe injury in an accident, you could be entitled to a financial settlement that covers the medical bills that you already had to pay and that you will have to pay in the future for your rehabilitative care.
• Lost Wages and Lost Earnings: If you had to miss work to receive medical care, you are entitled to compensation that makes up for lost income. In the event of a catastrophic injury, you might not be able to return to your job, in which case you might be entitled to further compensation.
• Non-Economic Damages: The state of North Carolina also recognizes that there are other serious impacts of an accident that cannot be quantified. For instance, you are likely to experience emotional distress, permanent disability, the loss of social relationships, a way of life, and more.

While no amount of money can make up for these things, they do represent a potential portion of your financial settlement in the wake of an accident, and they have no economic cap as economic damages do. These damages cannot be covered by a workers’ compensation claim, but they may be compensated with a personal injury claim.

How Can Your Injury Lawyer Assist You?

Filing an injury claim, a workers’ compensation claim, or a claim for disability income is not always easy. The process requires a great deal of paperwork and time, as you will need to prove that your injury qualifies as a catastrophic injury and that you are seeking compensation for recovery or for the management of your new physical state. This can be a difficult process to go through alone, but your attorney can assist you with:

• Estimating the Damages: In some accidents, it is easy to calculate the cost of what was lost, but when it comes to catastrophic injuries, estimating how much rehabilitative care you will need to pay for in the future, your emotional damages, and more can be difficult to do by yourself. Your attorney can draw on their many years of experience in making such calculations in personal injury cases and assist you with the process.
• Investigating the Accident: If you suffered a catastrophic injury at the scene of an accident, then it is unlikely you were able to take photos or videos or collect other evidence that could be of use in filing your claim. Your attorney can seek out such pieces of evidence for you so you do not have to worry about not finding evidence from the scene.

If you file a personal injury claim after an accident, there is another factor you need to consider, which is fault. When it comes to workers’ compensation, North Carolina is a no-fault state, but with vehicle accidents, fault is an important component. Who was at fault and who contributed to the accident will play a role in who receives compensation.

If you are facing challenges with your claims process, receive a denial, or are being accused of causing an accident you did not, you should reach out to a lawyer for assistance. The right injury attorney will have years of experience advocating for clients like you during claims battles and will know what it takes to maximize compensation and stand up for your rights during this time.

For instance, your lawyer can help you secure effective evidence that backs up your claim, communicate and negotiate with insurance companies, and represent you in court if your case goes to trial.

Charlotte Catastrophic Injury FAQs

Q: What Classifies as a Catastrophic Injury?

A: A catastrophic injury is any injury that is severe enough to cause long-term or permanent damage. These injuries typically have a severe negative impact on a victim’s quality of life. For instance, if you suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a car accident, you might not have the same brain function that you did previously. If you sustained a spinal cord injury, you may be unable to walk again. Such injuries require intensive medical treatments and often cause permanent damage.

Q: What Is a Catastrophic Injury According to the American Medical Association?

A: According to the American Medical Association, a catastrophic injury is an injury that occurs to a person’s brain, spine, or spinal cord. These injuries are classified as severe and typically result in irreversible or long-term damage and thus require ongoing medical care. If such injuries are caused by another party or suffered at work, victims can seek compensation.

Q: How Do You Treat a Catastrophic Injury?

A: If you suffer a catastrophic injury, you should immediately call for medical attention if you are able to do so. You should go or be taken to the emergency room as soon as possible so that medical professionals can assess your injuries. Most catastrophic injuries require long-term, ongoing medical care. Depending on the extent of your injury, you might need one or several surgeries, physical therapy, and other treatments.

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

A: A catastrophic injury is a serious type of personal injury. The term personal injury is used to discuss injuries that you suffer as a result of someone else’s negligence, after which you can seek compensation. For example, if you were hurt by a driver who was intoxicated, you can file a personal injury claim to receive a financial settlement. If the injury you suffered in the accident is classified as a catastrophic injury, then you will likely receive substantial financial support for your long-term care.

Contact a Reliable Charlotte Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

With over thirty years of experience standing up for our clients, our team at Bridgman Gantt Law Offices is well-versed in personal injury law. We proudly stand up for our clients and work tirelessly to ensure they receive the settlement they deserve after enduring pain and suffering. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you, please reach out to our team for a free consultation about your case today.