While some personal injury accidents may result in minor scrapes or bruises, others can have life-altering consequences. Some injuries cause permanent disabilities, life-threatening conditions, and serious impairments that affect every aspect of personal injury victims’ lives. In addition to the adverse effects on the victim’s health and quality of life, catastrophic injuries can also impose a significant emotional and financial toll.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident someone else caused, you could be owed considerable compensation for your catastrophic injuries. A skilled personal injury lawyer can help you pursue the compensation you deserve. An experienced Long Beach catastrophic injury attorney from Belal Hamideh Law, P.C. can discuss your legal rights and options during a free consultation.
Why You Need a Lawyer After a Catastrophic Injury
Catastrophic injuries can have a profound impact on your life. You may be facing exorbitant medical expenses, loss of income, physical challenges, and an uncertain future. This entire experience can be overwhelming.
Adding a complex legal case on top of all of this can be way too much for one person to bear. Fortunately, you don’t have to. An experienced catastrophic injury attorney can manage your legal claim and fight for the financial compensation you need to cover your medical expenses, lost income, and other long-term needs.
Catastrophic injuries can affect the rest of your life, so it’s essential to work with an experienced accident lawyer who can anticipate future needs and account for them in your personal injury claim. When you hire an experienced attorney, they can help by:
- Investigating the accident, identifying all at-fault parties, and exploring all legal pathways for compensation
- Explaining the various types of damages and benefits you may be entitled to
- Protecting you from insurance adjusters by handling communications and settlement negotiations with insurance companies
- Building your personal injury case with compelling evidence, such as accident reports, business records, reports from accident reconstruction experts, and video evidence
- Handling complex documentation and legal filings
- Protecting your legal rights through every phase of your case
You can learn more about how a personal injury attorney can help during a free consultation.
Why You Should Choose Belal Hamideh for Your Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
Early legal intervention from a qualified lawyer can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. Belal Hamideh Law, P.C. offers clients the following:
- Experience: The personal injury attorneys at Belal Hamideh Law, P.C. have over 30 years of combined legal experience handling personal injury claims and negotiations with insurers. We’ve handled more than 2,000 personal injury and workers’ compensation cases, so you know you are in capable hands.
- Personal attention: At our personal injury law firm, you work directly with your attorney from start to finish. Our lawyers care about our clients. We can even connect you with qualified medical professionals who can provide medical care on a lien basis, so you don’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket. Our attorneys prioritize strong communication with clients. If your attorney isn’t in the office, they return your call within 24 hours.
- Knowledge: Our attorneys have an in-depth knowledge of California personal injury and workers’ compensation laws. We can explain how the law applies to your case and outline the benefits you may be eligible to receive due to your injuries.
- Aggressive negotiation: Belal Hamideh has a 99% success rate, which precedes us when we are at the negotiating table. We fight for maximum compensation for our clients and are prepared to take cases to trial when insurance companies fail to offer a fair settlement.
- Compassionate support: Our personal injury attorneys offer compassionate support through every stage of your case. We consider your long-term needs and diligently work to obtain the compensation you will need to cover them.
- Strong reputation: Our attorneys and personal injury law firm have been recognized as 10 Best Personal Injury Attorneys for Client Satisfaction by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys, Top 40 Under 40, Rising Star by Super Lawyers, and Five-Star Rated on Google and Avvo, acumens that demonstrate our strong reputation in the legal community.
We welcome you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. We can discuss how we can help and your legal options for holding the negligent party responsible for your catastrophic injuries.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
Different entities use different definitions for catastrophic injuries. Most differentiate catastrophic injuries as those that result in a significant impact on the victim, often leading to permanent disability, impairment, or disfigurement.
According to the California Lawyers Association, California workers’ compensation judges conduct a fact-driven inquiry to determine whether a particular injury is considered catastrophic. These judges consider various factors when making this classification, such as:
- The intensity and seriousness of medical treatment the victim receives that is reasonably necessary to cure or relieve the effects of the injury
- The ultimate outcome when the injury is permanent and stationary.
- The severity of the physical injury and its impact on the victim’s ability to perform activities of daily living
- Whether the physical injury is closely analogous to a severe head injury, paralysis, loss of limb, or severe burn
- Whether the injury is an incurable and progressive disease
Some injuries that may be considered catastrophic could include the following:
- Amputation injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries, including partial or complete paralysis
- Complex fractures
- Severe burns
- Scarring or disfiguring injuries
- Internal injuries
If you have suffered any of these injuries in an accident caused by someone else, contact our catastrophic injury attorneys today.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries can occur for various reasons, with some of the most common being:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Other motor vehicle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Airplane accidents
- Cruise accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Dog bites
- Construction accidents
- Accidents caused by defective products
- Nursing home abuse
If you or a loved one was catastrophically injured in any of these accidents, contact our accident lawyers for legal assistance.
Long-Term Effects of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries often result in permanent or long-lasting adverse effects on victims and their families. Some of the potential complications and drawbacks that catastrophic injuries can cause include the following:
- Permanent disability
- Permanent loss of function
- Sexual dysfunction
- Loss of bowel or bladder function
- The constant need for care
- The need to make home and vehicle renovations to accommodate disabilities
- The possible need for round-the-clock care, in-home care, or institutionalized care
- The need for prosthetics, mobility devices, or medical equipment
- Job loss
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement
- Psychological trauma
These injuries can result in profound impacts on your and your family’s lives, for which you deserve to be fairly compensated.
Financial Compensation You Can Recover After a Catastrophic Injury
Under California law, all parties are responsible for acting in a reasonable way that avoids injuring others. When they violate this legal responsibility, victims in accident and injury cases can pursue compensation for the damages they have sustained, which may include:
- Medical expenses: California Civil Jury Instructions state that accident victims are entitled to be paid for their reasonable medical expenses. If you have already paid for your medical care, you are entitled to reimbursement. If you can reasonably anticipate medical care in the future, such as long-term rehabilitation, surgery, specialized equipment, or future medical bills, you can include those projected losses in your personal injury claim.
- Lost income: Catastrophic injuries often cause short- and long-term losses of income. You can seek compensation for the income you’ve already lost, as well as future anticipated income losses you can reasonably project. We may hire a vocational expert to prove the value of your lost earning capacity if you are unable to return to work and include these losses in your demand for compensation.
- Property damage: You can also seek compensation for your damaged personal property to repair or replace it.
- Out-of-pocket expenses: You may incur various out-of-pocket costs, such as travel expenses for medical appointments that you deserve to be reimbursed for.
- Pain and suffering: Catastrophic injuries can cause extensive physical and emotional pain and suffering, stress, mental distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.
How Much Does a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Cost?
Long Beach personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency-fee basis, so you don’t pay attorney fees upfront or on an hourly basis. Instead, your personal injury lawyer receives a percentage of the compensation they recover on your behalf. If there is no financial recovery, there is no fee.
We can discuss our fee structure during your free, no-obligation consultation.
Legal Filing Deadline for Catastrophic Injury Cases
The statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits in California is two years. However, if your claim is against the government, you only have six months from the denial of the governmental claim to file the case in Superior Court. If you don’t file your case within the applicable deadline, you can forfeit your right to recover compensation through the civil court system.
Contact Us Today for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the legal team at Belal Hamideh Law, P.C. can help. We can investigate your case, establish legal liability, engage in insurance settlements, and assist you throughout the legal process. Contact us to schedule your free consultation today.