Question 1

When is an injury considered catastrophic?

Accepted Answer

" Catastrophic injury" is not a legally established classification within California state law. Instead, it is a term of art used to describe any serious injury that either affects certain vital areas of the body such as the brain, neck or spinal cord, or other parts of the body which result in long-term or permanent disability. In other words, catastrophic injuries permanently impact a victim's life.

Question 2

Are all catastrophic injuries personal injuries?

Accepted Answer

A "personal injury case" is simply a legal phrase referring to an injury or ailment that results from the negligent, reckless, or intentional behavior of others. To secure personal injury compensation in a civil claim, one must prove that the catastrophic injury meets certain elements. These elements include showing proof of negligence, duty, a breach of that duty, causation (i.e., that the negligence caused the injury), and damages, or losses suffered as a result of the injury.

Question 3

How do catastrophic personal injuries occur?

Accepted Answer

Although not all catastrophic injuries are personal injuries, those that are tended to occur in accidents or incidents, or as a result of unsafe conditions.

Traffic accidents, including those involving cars, large commercial trucks, mass transit vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians
Dangerous premises (also known as premises liability), including unsafe

Question 4

When is an injury considered catastrophic?

Accepted Answer

"Catastrophic injury" is not a legally established classification within California state law. Instead, it is a term of art used to describe any serious injury that either affects certain vital areas of the body such as the brain, neck or spinal cord, or other parts of the body which result in long-term or permanent disability. In other words, catastrophic injuries permanently impact a victim's life.

Question 5

Are all catastrophic injuries personal injuries?

Accepted Answer

A "personal injury case" is simply a legal phrase referring to an injury or ailment that results from the negligent, reckless, or intentional behavior of others. To secure personal injury compensation in a civil claim, one must prove that the catastrophic injury meets certain elements. These elements include showing proof of negligence, duty, a breach of that duty, causation (i.e., that the negligence caused the injury), and damages, or losses suffered as a result of the injury.

Question 6

How do catastrophic personal injuries occur?

Accepted Answer

Although not all catastrophic injuries are personal injuries, those that are tended to occur in accidents or incidents, or as a result of unsafe conditions.

Traffic accidents, including those involving cars, large commercial trucks, mass transit vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians
Dangerous premises (also known as premises liability), including unsafe walkways leading to slip and fall accidents and exposure to toxic compounds such as lead paint or asbestos.
Dangerous products (also called product liability cases), including those with manufacturing or design defects, those with inadequate packaging or improper, misleading, or missing directions or warnings. Severe catastrophic food poisoning can also fall into this category.
Accidents of Mentorship Protocol or Culture, such as a coach's decision to require an athlete to continue to practice against medical advice, or sexual abuse by mentors within athletic or social institutions
Work accidents, such as those involving defective products, causing injuries on construction or other labor sites
Sexual Assault, Assault, and Murder

Question 7

What care and accommodations do catastrophic injury victims require?

Accepted Answer

Survivors of catastrophic injuries often need extended or lifelong medical attention. Either during the recovery process or permanently, their care may require accessibility equipment such as wheelchairs or hospital beds, home renovations, daily professional nursing care, and an ongoing series of surgical and other medical procedures, and an extensive regimen of prescription medications.

Question 8

What damages can I collect in my catastrophic injury claim, and how are they calculated?

Accepted Answer

There are three basic categories of damages victims may be entitled to in a catastrophic personal injury case:

Economic damages – Also known as general damages, this includes direct compensation for the costs already incurred, as well as the future projected costs that result from a catastrophic injury. Economic damages are meant to account for the full range of medical fees, lost wages due to missed or inability to work, and any other related expenses. These are calculated by compiling the costs incurred to date and, often under the guidance of a forensic economist or other experts, extrapolated out to determine the total estimated lifelong costs of the injury.
Non-economic damages – Sometimes known as special damages, non-economic damages refer to costs that occur due to diminished quality of life, emotional distress, permanent disfigurement, and other forms of pain and suffering. For an injury claim, special damages will be assigned a monetary value, again, with input from medical, psychotherapeutic, and economic experts.
Punitive damages – Not all injury claims will result in punitive damages. Instead, they are only available in those cases where the responsible party was malicious, grossly negligent, or reckless, caused intentional harm or violence, committed fraud (such as covering up a product recall to avoid bad publicity), or behaved in another way in which economic punishment is necessary to prevent them, and others in the future, from doing it again. Punitive damages can be capped as a single-digit multiple of compensatory damages and can be subject to the at-fault party's ability to pay.

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