Various types of accidents leave Florida residents with varying degrees of injuries. Some are lucky enough to escape with minor scratches and wounds. However, many Fort Lauderdale residents suffer catastrophic injuries yearly. Unfortunately, the body has already suffered damage, but financial recovery is the best way to cushion the effects of such wounds.
So, it’ll be unfair if accident victims don’t get maximum compensation. However, recovering financial compensation for catastrophic injuries can be challenging. Therefore, you’ll need an excellent catastrophic injury attorney. You can call the VG Law Firm to handle any catastrophic injury claim in Fort Lauderdale.
Not all injuries are the same. Instead, there are various types of injuries. Each injury type has peculiar effects on the human body and victims’ finances. A catastrophe is an event that causes very great trouble or destruction. Catastrophic injuries are wounds that cause long-term or significant damage. These effects can greatly reduce the victim’s quality of life.
Furthermore, these types of injuries often result in disability. Disability here could be permanent or temporary. Often too, people with catastrophic wounds have permanent scarring or impairment. Essentially, the effects of a catastrophic injury are more severe and long-lasting.
Medical treatment for catastrophic injuries is usually expensive. Moreover, treatment options are often more advanced. For instance, a victim of a catastrophic accident may require surgery. However, even after the initial medical care, people with such severe injuries may not fully recover. For instance, they may have to live with some health condition. Therefore, patients with catastrophic injuries often require long-term medical care.
It’s noteworthy that there isn’t any legal definition for catastrophic injuries in Fort Lauderdale. However, you can check for the factors above to classify an accident injury as catastrophic.
Some examples of catastrophic injuries include:
Humans generally owe one another a duty of care not to act in harmful ways. However, many people breach their duties through negligent behaviors. Such breaches of the duty of care often result in catastrophic injuries. It’s primarily accidents that cause catastrophic accidents.
Essentially, anything that can cause bodily injury can cause catastrophic injuries. The extent of the injury thus depends on the severity of the accident.
Some catastrophic accidents that can cause this injury type include:
Not only accidents can cause catastrophic injuries. Other terrible events can result in severe wounds. They include:
The source of your catastrophic injury usually determines the possible defendants in a personal injury lawsuit.
A fair settlement depends on the type of injury. Since catastrophic injuries have worse effects than ordinary wounds, fair compensation must cover all the consequences of this injury type. These would include economic and non-economic damages. Therefore, it’s crucial to know the recoverable damages from an injury claim.
The first step after a catastrophic injury is medical treatment. However, the cost of attaining recovery is significantly high in severe wounds. The required funds will be higher if the victim needs long-term care. Furthermore, medical bills will include the costs of rehabilitation, such as physical therapy. Fortunately, you can prove your medical expenses via official medical records.
Loss of income is an almost inevitable result of severe injuries. Even if such accident victims don’t lose their income, their earning capacity may reduce. Often too, patients lose the capacity to work. This is usually the case where they suffer any disability.
Pain refers to the physical pain from catastrophic injuries. Conversely, suffering includes all the emotional suffering the accident causes. For example, it’s not unusual for catastrophic injury victims to experience mental anguish and emotional distress. Insurance companies and the courts have means of assigning dollar amounts to these non-economic damages.
You can also get additional damages from the court. For instance, a judge may grant punitive damages against liable parties. Therefore, a fair settlement must include all these types of damages where recoverable. Moreover, where accident victims suffer permanent damage, they may never lead a normal life again. They can also suffer a loss of enjoyment of life. So, an acceptable settlement should cover all their financial losses. This requirement is more important since they may never get back to full health.
Many people are skeptical about hiring personal injury attorneys. Their chief concern is how much the catastrophic injury attorney will take from the settlement or judgment. However, this shouldn’t be a source of concern to accident victims. This is because the percentage you pay catastrophic injury lawyers depends on the legal representation contract. Therefore, it’s what you agree upon before the lawsuit or settlement that the lawyer takes.
Firstly, this condition allows you to sign away only percentages you think are reasonable. Secondly, it guarantees that accident lawyers can’t increase their fee percentage after winning a case. Furthermore, it’s vital to note that many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis.
This legal arrangement means that the lawyer only gets paid if they win the case. Therefore, attorneys usually include their percentages in the contingency fee agreement. Typically, a lawyer can charge from 25 to 40 percent of the recovered amount. However, 33% is a more standard figure. The percentage often depends on vital factors, such as when the case settles.
Although catastrophic injuries have severe consequences, you still can’t sue whenever you like. Personal injury laws often define specific periods when you must initiate a legal claim. For example, in Fort Lauderdale, you have only four years to claim for financial compensation. If you don’t file your lawsuit within this period, the court may deny you access.
Sometimes, government agencies may be the responsible parties for a traumatic injury to citizens. Fortunately, Florida Statutes Section 768.28(6)(a) has waived sovereign immunity for legal matters involving the government. Therefore, you can sue a Fort Lauderdale government entity if it causes you catastrophic injuries. However, you must first present your written legal claim to the right agency.
Furthermore, you must send this notification within three years from when the claim accrues. Moreover, if the claim is for wrongful death, this period reduces to two years. You cannot file a lawsuit without first giving this notification to the government.
The severity of catastrophic injuries can cause wrongful death. In such cases, the estate of the deceased can file a wrongful death claim. Subject to Florida Statutes Section 95.11(4)(d), wrongful death lawsuits must be brought to the court within two years.
Florida grants relatively long statutory periods for personal injury claims. However, you don’t have to wait before suing. Furthermore, it would also help if you didn’t go to court too early. This is because you may not yet know the full implications of your injury. Therefore, only an FL personal injury lawyer can tell you the best time to approach the court.
One would think that the severity of an injury would mean an easy personal injury process. However, the reverse is often the case. Getting the maximum compensation for a catastrophic injury is often challenging. That’s why it’s essential to hire a catastrophic injury attorney if you want a fair settlement. Only an experienced attorney can know whether you’re getting the best from a settlement offer.
VG Law offers the best personal injury attorneys with great experience in catastrophic injury claims. So, it’ll be best to call us for a consultation today. At the initial consultation, we’ll identify the viability of your case. After this, we would then map a great winning strategy for the best results. So, contact our law offices today.
