Gwinnett County Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

A catastrophic injury is a serious, often permanent trauma that often results from a sudden accident. Catastrophic injuries could include paralysis, spinal trauma, brain damage, serious burns, and a variety of other ailments. If you have suffered a similar injury as the result of another person’s negligence, a Gwinnett County catastrophic injury lawyer could help you pursue financial compensation. Contact a skilled personal injury attorney to learn more.

What are Common Types and Costs of Catastrophic Injuries?

A catastrophic harm is one that permanently disables or inflicts severe bodily harm, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR). Critical, catastrophic harms include traumatic brain injury, disfigurement, paralysis, severe burn, and spinal cord injury, among others.

A catastrophic injury is so severe, that it often affects all areas of life. These extreme changes to life as it once was can cost a person financially, as well as physical, emotionally and psychologically.

Negligent Acts That Caused a Catastrophic Injury

A person who suffers a catastrophic injury may wish to file a lawsuit against an entity whose negligence was the legal cause of their acute and lasting harms. To do so, a claimant will need to prove that the defendant failed to meet the required standard of care for the circumstances, resulting in a catastrophic injury.

In Gwinnett County, the limit to file a catastrophic injury claim is generally two years from the date of the accident. Spouses who are severely affected by what the catastrophic injury has done to their family may pursue damages for loss of consortium, which has a longer limitation of four years in Gwinnett County.

Only married persons are allowed to sue for loss of consortium in Gwinnett County. Nonmarried partners may need to pursue other forms of damages within the two-year statute of limitations.

Are There Compensatory Damages for Critical Injuries?

Catastrophically injured victims may accumulate significant medical bills and may need to hire round-the-clock, home nursing care. Additionally, individuals who sustain a traumatic brain injury may need additional therapies to help improve losses to their speech and balance.

Critical and grave harms might also remove a claimant from the workplace altogether or limit their ability to perform their career of choice. A plaintiff may seek to recover these lost earnings, as well.

In addition to medical bills and lost income, traumatically injured plaintiffs might also pursue non-economic damages. Because of the major impact that a catastrophic injury makes on one’s life, a claimant may request that a negligent defendant pay damages for loss of enjoyment of life and mental anguish. A catastrophic injury lawyer in Gwinnett County could talk with individuals about relevant noneconomic damages.

Punitive Damages in a Catastrophic Injury Suit

Although punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are not available to many Gwinnett County plaintiffs, they may be available to catastrophically injured plaintiffs under certain aggravating circumstances.

Also referred to as “vindictive” damages, punitive damages may only be awarded in a catastrophic injury case if any of the following are proven by clear and convincing evidence:

• Willful misconduct
• Conscious indifference to consequences
• Malice

Because catastrophic injuries may involve egregious conduct, a catastrophic injury attorney in Gwinnett County could discuss the pursuit of exemplary damages with individual claimants at an initial consultation.

Make an Appointment with a Gwinnett County Catastrophic Injury Attorney

You may be able to receive monetary reimbursement for your catastrophic injury, and a Gwinnett County catastrophic injury lawyer could help. Contact the law offices of a Gwinnett County attorney today to schedule a consultation and receive an evaluation of your case.