Los Angeles Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Put Decades of Legal Experience in Your Corner

Although minor injuries can certainly affect your quality of life, some physical traumas are graded as catastrophic injuries due to their life-changing nature. From rigorous emergency treatments to lengthy hospitalizations, catastrophically-injured victims and their families must adjust to a new way of life marred by pain, inconvenience, and long-term disabilities.

Throughout California every year, car accidents, pool mishaps, construction accidents, manufacturing incidents, and organized sports accidents result in all manner of catastrophic injuries. Catastrophic injury-causing incidents often share two common traits: A negligent or reckless act is the initiating cause, and someone other than the victim is at fault.

At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, our firm represents clients with catastrophic injuries – and no injury is too serious for us to handle. We believe that negligent or reckless parties should pay for the injuries they cause. Our attorneys commit all their legal experiences, resources, and tireless efforts to recovering multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for severely injured victims. We’ve also helped families recover damages when catastrophic injuries caused their loved ones’ wrongful deaths.

Do you believe that you have a catastrophic injury claim in Los Angeles, Southern California, or nationwide? Call Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP at (866) 634-4525or contact us online today. 

What Makes an Injury “Catastrophic”?

A catastrophic injury is unique for one key reason: a catastrophic injury forever prevents a victim from returning to their life as it was before the injury. Catastrophic injuries are truly life-changing.

Additionally, many catastrophic injuries affect the central nervous system including the brain and spinal cord. As such, catastrophic injuries can be particularly devastating given the sensitive and critical nature of the central nervous system.

Since catastrophic injuries are permanent, those who suffer from them can often no longer care for themselves or return to work. Additionally, catastrophic injury victims often face substantial medical bills from the extensive treatment and care they require.

This is why it’s so important for catastrophic injury victims whose injuries were caused by another’s negligence to work with an experienced personal injury attorney so they can recover the compensation they need to care for themselves without falling into financial ruin.

What Injuries Are Considered Catastrophic?

The term catastrophic injury encompasses a wide range of life-changing medical conditions. As mentioned previously, many injuries considered “catastrophic” affect the central nervous system, since it is likely that injuries affecting that system will be permanent. There are, however, several types of injuries that are considered catastrophic, including:

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are the result of a disruption in the normal function of the brain that can be caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury. TBIs are a serious public health problem in the United States and contribute to a significant number of deaths and cases of permanent disability annually. The side effects that TBI victims may experience from their injury include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Difficulty remembering new information
• Persistent headaches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sensitivity to noise or light
• Nervousness or anxiety
• Sleeping more or less than usual

Spinal Cord Injuries

Nearly 18,000 people sustain spinal cord injuries each year in the United States. Such injuries can have devastating consequences, including partial to complete paralysis. Often, those who suffer from spinal cord injuries require live-in care and life-long use of mobility assistance devices. Spinal cord injuries also increase the risks of other dangerous medical events including:

• Reduced blood flow and heart rate
• Blood clots
• Respiratory difficulties
• Skin injuries and sores
• Reduced bone density
• Issues with speaking or swallowing food

Severe Burn Injuries

A severe burn injury can be one of the most painful injuries to endure. Depending on the severity of the burn injury, victims may experience a loss of feeling and mobility. Devastating burn injuries often require long-term hospitalization, surgery, and inpatient care with specialized treatment.

Injuries Requiring Amputation

Approximately 185,000 people in the United States require an amputation every year. Many amputations result from traumatic injuries—such amputations are known as “traumatic amputations.” Since traumatic amputations do not take place in controlled environments, serious complications may occur and result in long-term problems, including severe bleeding and infections.

Medical expertise often saves catastrophic injury victims’ lives, but it can’t always restore them to full health, cognition, and mobility. When people sustain catastrophic injuries, their new normal must integrate daily living with ongoing care, therapeutic maintenance, family assistance, and a serious financial commitment.

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injuries can result from a variety of traumatic circumstances. Such situations may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Auto and truck accidents
• Bicycle and motorcycle accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Sports accidents
• Violence and assaults
• Severe infections

Determining Fault for Catastrophic Injuries in California

California’s comparative negligence doctrine recognizes that when an accident is caused by someone’s negligence, liability is often shared by more than one person or entity for the same injury event. (In contrast, a strict liability standard applies to product defect cases, meaning that in most cases, anyone in the chain of creation and distribution is responsible when a product causes injury, regardless of whether negligence is shown.)

Several parties may share liability depending on the source of the injury. Of course, the potential for sharing liability also allows opposing parties to claim that the victim contributed to the injuries. At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, we prepare our cases diligently to defend against these sorts of claims. If the negligent party is trying to shift blame for your injuries to you, give us a call.

Investigation & Evidence in CA Catastrophic Injury Cases

At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, our in-house investigators have worked hard to help us maintain professional investigative standards. In past cases, our investigation team has helped us to obtain:

• Witness statements: Witness statements can prove critical in catastrophic injury cases. As with most people, however, a witness may forget details as time passes. Our investigators have worked hard to quickly obtain eyewitness testimony to corroborate our clients’ versions of the events that led to their injuries.
• Site investigations: Whether a truck accident, product malfunction, construction site injury, or other event caused our client’s injuries, when appropriate, our investigators have visited the location of accident scenes, producing photographs, descriptions, and diagrams to help us better present our cases.
• Truck activity recording devices: Commercial truck drivers present such high risks on the highway that they are legally required to document their activities via paper logs, black boxes, or Congressionally-mandated Electronic Logging Devices.
• Equipment maintenance records: Manufacturers often maintain maintenance logs for the machines on their production floors, especially the older equipment.
• Product retrieval: Our investigators have retrieved defective products for nondestructive testing. We have stored defective products in an evidence warehouse where we have conducted demonstrations for judges, juries, and opposing counsel that proved how those products injured our clients.

Unique Needs for Catastrophic Injury Cases

Life Care Planning

If you have been seriously injured by another person’s negligence, the Los Angeles attorneys of Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, will aggressively pursue financial compensation for the full extent of the damages you have suffered. But how do we quantify those damages? How do you put a number on the lifetime costs of a permanent disability like a brain or spinal cord injury?

That is where life care planning comes in. Our law firm sometimes works with certified life care planning specialists to assess your current and future needs for medical treatment, from office visits to surgeries to prescription medications.

That life care plan will project your needs for the following:

• Rehabilitation therapies (including speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation.)
• Assistive technologies
• Adaptive and prosthetic devices
• Transportation costs
• Home accessibility modifications

In cases where a life care plan is appropriate, once the life care plan is complete, we work with economists to project the lifetime costs of those needs. We consider all costs related to your injury, including pain and suffering, wage loss and loss of future earning potential.

Vocational Rehabilitation

If you have sustained a brain injury or spinal cord injury, you know how profoundly your life has changed. While medical treatments and rehabilitation therapies cannot give you your old life back, they can help give you the skills you need to adjust to your new circumstances.

When representing people who have suffered life-altering injuries, our attorneys will consider the need for vocational rehabilitation as well as medical treatment and other therapies, like physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Vocational rehabilitation specialists can help you explore potential areas of employment, learn new job skills, and provide the support you may need to obtain and keep employment.

Treatment Options for Catastrophic Injury Victims in CA

It’s vital that catastrophic injury victims receive high-quality medical treatment and rehabilitative care so they have the best chance of regaining what they had lost in their accident.

Below are some common treatments for those who have suffered devastating injuries.

• Surgery: Surgery may be a viable option for those strong enough to undergo such a procedure. Severe burn injury victims, for example, may undergo surgical procedures to have dead skin removed or to reconstruct damaged features.
• Therapy: There are many different types of therapies that can benefit catastrophic injury victims physically and emotionally. Physical therapy, for example, is commonly used for those who have experienced devastating brain injuries or amputations. Cognitive or occupational therapy, on the other hand, can be beneficial for those who need help adjusting their speech or self-care abilities after a brain injury or another traumatic event.
• Medication: Many catastrophic injury victims will need to take medications in order to manage the symptoms that accompany such an injury, such as seizures, personality changes, mood disorders, and more.

We know that a catastrophic injury can be physically, emotionally, and financially devastating, and we’re here to make the legal process as efficient for you as possible. We’re passionate about protecting plaintiffs’ rights, and we have recovered billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

If you or someone you love suffered a catastrophic injury caused by another’s conduct, our Los Angeles trial attorneys can help you recover the compensation you deserve for your damages, including high-quality medical treatment.

How to Recover Compensation After a Catastrophic Injury

Catastrophic injury victims can easily fall into financial ruin due to the extensive medical treatment they require, as well as their inability to return to work and support themselves.

The damages you may be able to recover through a personal injury lawsuit include:

• Past and future medical bills
• Past and future lost wages
• Pain and suffering

The Lifetime Costs of a Catastrophic Injury

The lifetime costs of a catastrophic injury can be insurmountable for some. Catastrophic injuries are often permanent in nature, which means that those who suffer from them typically require long-term, high-quality medical treatment and rehabilitative care in order to make strides in their recovery.

There are several different elements that add up to make a catastrophic injury so expensive, including the following:

Medical Bills

There is no denying that a catastrophic injury victim may require lifelong care. Such care may differ greatly depending on the type of injury sustained—whether that be a brain injury, a burn injury, an injury requiring amputation, or something else. The common denominator between all of these injuries is that the victims who suffer from them will likely need treatment for the rest of their lives. Such extensive medical treatment can quickly overwhelm a victim and their family financially.

Lost Wages

Since catastrophic injuries are often permanent in nature, most victims will never be able to return to work or support themselves. Or, if they’re able to work, they’re not able to return to their normal job and can only do a job that involves less physical or mental work, and pays less. So, not only do catastrophic injury victims face monumental medical bills, but they also are robbed of the income to pay them.

Live-in Care

Some catastrophic injury victims require 24/7 care and, as such, need to have someone living with them to provide medical care. Others require help with activities of daily living (ADLs) for periods of time during the day or at night. This person could be a family member who is put out of work to do so, or a medical professional who must be paid for their services.

All of these expenses can easily cost a catastrophic injury victim and their family more than they could ever afford on their own.

Given this high financial toll, it’s vital that a catastrophic injury victim and their family retain experienced legal representation so they have a better chance of recovering the compensation they need and deserve to pay for such expenses.

At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, our Los Angeles trial attorneys are passionate about protecting plaintiffs’ rights and helping them move forward after a tragedy. We have a strong track record of success in obtaining significant verdicts and settlements for our clients, and we’re here to do the same for you.

We Give Our Clients the Attention They Deserve

While many firms will agree to handle a catastrophic case, few have the experience and resources to produce consistently successful outcomes. That’s why our team handles the complex catastrophic cases that other, less-experienced firms struggle to handle.

At Greene Broillet & Wheeler, LLP, our Los Angeles catastrophic injury attorneys prepare our clients’ cases from day one as though trial were inevitable. When the opposing party is reasonable, prudent, and fair, we have no problem negotiating a settlement. But if we cannot reach an appropriate settlement for our client’s case, we do not flinch at proceeding to trial and positioning our case for the best results possible.

We dedicate our law practice to injured people who have sustained severe brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other catastrophic injuries due to someone else’s negligence or reckless conduct. We not only represent catastrophic injury victims; we also provide our skills and resources to other personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles and Southern California.

To get started with a catastrophic injury claim in Los Angeles, CA, contact us at (866) 634-4525 today.