California Personal Injury Blog

Definition: A catastrophic injury is a permanent or long-lasting debilitating injury that damages at least one body system, typically the central nervous system. Such injuries can result in the loss of movement, sensation, cognitive functions, or the ability to communicate. Catastrophic injuries are often severe enough to prevent someone from performing gainful work in the long-term.

Examples: Examples of catastrophic injuries include brain injury or other serious head trauma, spinal cord injury, loss of a limb, eye injury, foot injury, multiple bone fractures, and severe burns. If the catastrophic injury causes a disruption of the central nervous system, other bodily systems may become severely damaged as well, such as the respiratory system (which is used for breathing), the circulatory system (which pumps and channels blood), and the urinary system (which includes the kidneys and is used for balancing fluids).

Causes: Catastrophic injuries can occur as a result of many different events or causes: car accidents, the use of defective products, negligence, assaults or batteries, environmental or natural disasters, civil rights violations, wrongful death, medical malpractice, or workplace injuries.

Treatment: Because of the nature of catastrophic injuries, treatment is often expensive, complex, and long-term. The victim of a catastrophic injury may face hospitalization, immediate medical attention, surgeries, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and counseling. Often, unforeseen consequences of the catastrophic injury happen much later after the occurrence of the injury.

Compensation for Catastrophic Injuries:

If you have been a victim of a catastrophic injury, you can obtain the compensation that you deserve. You should, with the help of an experienced Orange County catastrophic injury lawyer, seek legal redress in the form of compensation for the injuries as well as future expenses that arise directly as a result of the injuries, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and the inability to work. Make sure to find an Orange County catastrophic injury lawyer with the expertise and experience in the field of personal injury claims that is pertinent to you. These fields include automobile accidents, products liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and employer liability.

An Orange County catastrophic injury lawyer can help you every step of the way and act as your strongest advocate: he or she can make sure there’s a proper plan in place for your treatment and rehabilitation, gather the information necessary to properly make your case, effectively argue your case before the trial court, or reach a  fair settlement with those who are responsible for your catastrophic injury.

If you are claiming damages based on the fact that your injury will be permanent, your Orange County catastrophic injury attorney will arrange for a medical expert to testify at your trial. The average layperson has little knowledge about the future effects of an injury, so courts usually feel that only medical experts can say with any certainty whether the effects of your catastrophic injury are likely to continue.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, especially when the injury involves a loss of a part of the body. Expert testimony would not be needed to say that a hand cut off at the wrist or a missing eye is a permanent injury.

One court decision that discusses whether or not expert testimony is needed to establish an injury’s permanence is Shawnee-Tecumseh Traction Co. v. Griggs, which says in part, “If the injury is objective, and it is plainly apparent from the very nature of the injury that the injured person must of necessity undergo pain and suffering in the future, then most certainly the plaintiff would not be required to prove a fact so plainly evident… Where the injury is subjective, and of such a nature that laymen cannot, with reasonable certainty, know whether or not there will be future pain and suffering, there must be offered ecidency by expert witnesses, learned in human anatomy.”

Though most courts agree with this general principle, there is some difference between courts in terms of what injuries they consider to be permanent using the “plainly apparent” standard. Among the injuries they have disagreed over are a sprained ankle, a weak arm, nervousness, and pain from a fractured shoulder.

The best way to find out if expert testimony will be needed in your case is to consult with an experienced Orange County catastrophic injury attorney who will be up-to-date on the latest case law. To schedule a free consultation with Samer Habbas, please call (888) 848-5084.

If you wish to recover damages on the basis of your injury’s permanence, your Orange County catastrophic injury lawyer will need to present evidence that the injury is actually permanent. This burden of proof falls on the plaintiff.

In some cases (the loss of a limb, for example), the permanent nature of the injury is obvious. Sometimes, however, it is not so clear whether or not you will eventually recover from your injuries. Courts recognize that you can’t predict with 100 percent certainty that something will or will not happen in the future, so while they will want some proof that shows your injury is reasonably likely to continue, they won’t hold you to an impossible standard.

The evidence must be more than speculative—it is not enough just to show that your injury might possibly be permanent. However, the evidence does not need to be overwhelming or to prove your injury’s permanence with absolute certainty. Testimony that you have not been able to return to your job, coupled with a doctor’s testimony that the injury is permanent will meet your evidentiary burden. The exact standard varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but most courts require you to show either a “reasonable probability” or a “reasonable certainty” that the injury is permanent. An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer will be able to tell you the standard that is applicable to your case.

The defense will likely present a conflicting medical expert to testify that the injury is not permanent. In this case, the question of whether or not the injury is permanent will be one for the jury. In making this determination, they will consider all evidence in the case, not just the medical evidence.

If you have been permanently injured due to another person’s negligence or deliberate act, financial help may be available. Please contact Orange County catastrophic injury lawyer Samer Habbas at (888) 848-5084 to schedule a free consultation.