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Driving is an immense responsibility for all of us, and while most of us take it very seriously, there are motorists out there who simply do not. These negligent drivers endanger everyone with whom they share the road. A driver’s negligence can lead to serious accidents that cause serious damages, which sometimes include catastrophic injuries. As the name implies, a catastrophic injury will likely negatively affect your life for many years to come – if not permanently.
Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries – as a legal concept – are those injuries that leave you needing long-term or lifelong medical care. There are a wide variety of injuries that can fit this classification:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Loss of vision and/or loss of hearing
- Severe burns
- Paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Organ damage
- Injuries that lead to disabilities
The fact is that nearly any type of serious injury can be classified as a catastrophic injury, and car accidents are common causes.
Catastrophic Injuries: The Costs
If someone else’s negligence leaves you or someone you love with a catastrophic injury, the costs you incur are likely to be immense:
- Medical expenses, including emergency transportation and care; surgeries and aftercare; care from doctors, specialists, and therapists; follow-up care; adaptive physical devices; home health care; prescription medications; and more
- Lost hours and wages on the job, including a potentially diminished earning capacity into the future and an altered career trajectory
- Pain and suffering, including emotional suffering
If the injury you have suffered is catastrophic, it is difficult to overestimate the attendant negative consequences.
Your Future Altered
Most of us derive much of our sense of self from our careers and the roles we play within our communities and families. A catastrophic injury can bring all of this to a screeching halt. If you have put your heart and soul into pursuing a specific kind of career – only to have it dashed – the emotional fallout can be devastating. The fact is that the emotional damages wrought by catastrophic injuries can be just as debilitating – if not more so – as the attendant financial damages.
Accepting that someone else’s negligence can have such a deleterious effect on your life can be extremely difficult. A catastrophic injury is likely to upend the life you have built for yourself, and obtaining adequate compensation that allows you to effectively follow the path toward your fullest recovery is critical.