In daily life and business, people may come across unexpected harm or meet potentially hazardous incidents and situations that can obstruct personal and work life balances that could stop them in their tracks. An injury or accident— that is unanticipated, sudden, long-lasting, and hazardous, can jeopardize a person’s life and liberty by affecting the ability to live as they had pre accident, work and earn for a living, etc. Such a situation might incur costly medical treatment, including the need for a lifelong treatment and medication. If working capability is affected, a catastrophic workers’ compensation claim may help people who have been hurt by these terrible accidents while on the job ease their financial burden from damages associated with the accident.
Catastrophic Injury Workers Compensation
Navigating and recovering a workers’ compensation claim is a complex process. The compensation seekers should be represented by attorneys who understand the process and nuances of the workers’ compensation system, empathize with the client, and can properly project clients’ cases. The clients or injury victims who suffer from serious, permanently damaging injuries are usually in need of an appropriate law firm— otherwise, victims might get overwhelmed by the requirements of the process and system, which could adversely impact the outcome of their claim.
At TonaLaw, our Personal Injury Lawyers will take your case and work with a dedicated workers’ compensation attorney or law firm that will handle the workers’ compensation claim while TonaLaw handles the claims against third parties other than your employer who may be at fault. We advise you with full transparency after careful scrutiny and tell you what to expect from your claims and what compensation you might potentially recover. Our firm provides free legal consultations before you decide to hire us to formally represent you in your case, all with complete confidentiality.
What Exactly is a Catastrophic Injury?
Catastrophic injuries are those from which a victim can never recover fully. Typically. there is a serious injury that results in debilitating, long-term symptomology. A catastrophic injury, according to the American Medical Association, is a serious injury that results in damage to the skull, brain, spinal cord, or spine. According to New York law, the phrase “catastrophic injury” refers to any injury, whether physical or mental in origin, that results in some sort of permanent disability and changes the affected person’s living situation. Situations involving a catastrophic injury may be:
- complete blindness in one or both eyes;
- complete loss of hearing in one or both ears;
- injury to the head or spine that paralyzes the legs, the arms, or both the legs and the arms;
- amputation of an arm or a leg due to injury;
- substantial cognitive damage brought on by a head injury, as determined by a nationally recognized technique for objective psychological assessment;
- a wound that has second or third degree burns on at least 50% of both the body or the face;
- speech that has been completely lost or has been seriously and permanently damaged;
- a vegetative or coma state;
- the absence of one or more important internal organs or organ systems or their considerable impairment in function;
- the severe crushing, mangling, or amputation of an extremity;
- an injury that both the insurer and the affected worker agree qualifies as a catastrophic injury;
- any other type of harm considered to be catastrophic and result in permanent disability, etc.
What Should I Do If I Am Injured?
After deciding to claim for a catastrophic workers’ compensation, the most important step is to collect and secure evidence to substantiate the case. Evidence such as:
- Still pictures of the accident scene right at the moment of the accident, of the preliminary injuries including any worsening of the injuries throughout the process, of damaged vehicles, etc.;
- Video or audio recordings of any conversation between witnesses of the accident or any other conversations of the people around the accident spot;
- Records of any conversation between the victim(s) and the witnesses for a neutral viewpoint of how the accident happened or what really happened.
The Value of Your Catastrophic Workers’ Compensation Claim
In a catastrophic workers’ compensation claim, questions regarding how to approach the case, how to start gathering information and proof, how to make the claim etc. are common. However, the damages recoverable and the entire outcome of your claim will depend on the severity of the injuries and the proofs available to substantiate the claims. The economic damages brought about in someone’s life due to the catastrophic injuries such as missed wages, medical expenditures based on medical records, and other financial bills are recoverable as a potential financial loss. Other non-economic losses which are hard to estimate such as pain and suffering and mental trauma due to the hazardous incident or catastrophe are potentially recoverable too.
Catastrophic Injuries in New York and Comparative Negligence
In New York State, negligence attributed to the injured party plaintiff is recognized in lawsuits as “comparative negligence.” Any negligence of the defendant is usually the primary cause of the majority of catastrophic injuries, although it might be unintentional. The only condition to prove a plaintiff’s catastrophic injury case is that the defendant had a duty of care owed to the plaintiff and that the plaintiff has breached that duty. However, in situations where the Plaintiff may be apportioned some fault for the accident and their injuries or damages, New York’s “comparative negligence law” allows plaintiffs to still recover damages in situations where they are at fault in some capacity with a reduction in the full award for the amount of fault the plaintiff is deemed to bear.
Catastrophic Injury Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
At TonaLaw, we provide legal advice and support to represent you in your catastrophic injury case while you concentrate on your rehabilitation. To discuss your claim, please make an appointment for a free case evaluation with us by calling 1-833-TONALAW or contact us online.