Catastrophic Injury Lawsuits

Medical malpractice, defective products, major auto accidents, and other types of accidents can sometimes result in what are considered catastrophic injuries. Catastrophic injuries are the most serious types of physical injuries (other than death) that our personal injury lawyers deal with. This page will look at catastrophic injury lawsuits and their potential settlement value.

Defining Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic injury is a term commonly used in the field of personal injury law and workers’ compensation to refer to the most serious and damaging category of physical injury or illness. A catastrophic injury can be defined as a physical injury or disease that will cause permanent full or partial disability or impair a person’s ability to move, walk, and function normally.

One of the defining characteristics of a “catastrophic injury” is permanent and significant impairment of the individual’s ability to earn a living. Catastrophic injuries generally involve major economic harm to the victim because they are no longer able to perform their occupation and earn a living as they were before. These injuries also generate extensive medical expenses which increase the economic loss.

Common Types of Catastrophic Injury

Many different types or categories of injuries or health conditions can potentially be catastrophic depending on circumstances. There are, however, a few injury types that we see most often in catastrophic injury cases. Below are the injury types that are most likely to cause physical disability or long-term loss of earnings that characterize catastrophic injuries.

• Leg Fractures: Any type of broken bone injury is potentially serious and can be classified as catastrophic, but leg fractures are especially impactful because they will almost always involve mobility impairment, whether long or short-term.
• Brain Injuries: Brain injuries have the potential to be extremely serious because the brain controls everything in the body, including muscle movement. Any type of physical damage to the brain can potentially result in a catastrophic injury because it can result in impaired movements and cognitive abilities.
• Organ Damage: for obvious reasons, injury to vital internal organs can cause major long-term problems and impairment.
• Burn Injuries: Although most burn injuries are fairly minor, a small percentage of burn injuries can be devastating in terms of their impact. Serious burns can result in permanent physical impairments.

Catastrophic Injuries and Wrongful Death

Wrongful death lawsuits can be brought when someone dies as a direct result of the intentional or negligent actions of a third party. Death is always considered a catastrophic injury, for reasons that are fairly obvious. When fatal catastrophic injuries occur, wrongful death lawsuits can be brought by the surviving family members of the victim.

Catastrophic Injury Cases

The list below ranks the most common negligence categories that our lawyers see in catastrophic injury cases.

• Defective or Dangerous Products: When products such as prescription drugs or consumer goods have design or manufacturing defects they can be hazardous to health and cause major physical injuries. The most common example of a defective product causing a catastrophic injury would be products with carcinogenic ingredients causing cancer. Medical devices with design flaws can cause serious internal damage and health issues.
• Motorcycle Accidents: Motorcycle accidents have a much higher likelihood of catastrophic injury than other types of vehicle accidents. This is mainly due to the fact that motorcycle riders have a total lack of external protection which leaves them extremely vulnerable during an accident.
• Medical Malpractice: When doctors or medical professionals make mistakes, they can have devastating results because they are dealing with your life and health. This is why catastrophic injuries are most common in medical malpractice cases. The medical malpractice subtypes with the highest rate of catastrophic injury are birth injury malpractice, hospital malpractice, and surgical errors.
• Truck Accidents: By truck accidents, we are referring to vehicle accidents involving a big 18-wheel tractor-trailer (or big rig) commercial truck. Tractor-trailer trucks are extremely large and heavy, which means that the impact force they cause in an accident is very high and can easily cause serious injuries to occupants in cars or smaller vehicles. The rate of catastrophic injuries in big truck accidents is more than twice the rate in accidents involving normal-sized cars.

Bringing a Lawsuit for Catastrophic Injury

If you suffered a catastrophic injury due to the negligent action (or inaction) or another party, you have the option of suing that negligent party to get financial compensation. Successful plaintiffs in personal injury cases are entitled to monetary damages for things such as pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages (past and future), and more.

The first step in bringing a catastrophic injury lawsuit and getting compensation is to retain a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your case. Catastrophic injury lawsuits are high-stakes cases that typically involve expert witnesses and complex litigation. It is not something you can effectively handle without a lawyer. Getting a lawyer with expertise in these types of serious injury cases is always best.

Settlement Value of Catastrophic Injury Cases

Catastrophic injury cases have a very high settlement value because these cases usually involve significant economic damages in the form of future lost wages and medical expenses. If a man in his mid-twenties suffers a catastrophic injury that will prevent him from working the rest of his life, he is entitled to damages equal to the amount of money he would have been expected to earn during his life.

Below are catastrophic injury settlements and verdicts to give you an idea of what type of value these cases have.

• $20,000 Settlement (Washington 2023): The plaintiff was a 30-year-old Rope Access Technician. While working on an environmental construction project, the plaintiff attempted to retrieve a misfired explosive cartridge when the cartridge exploded. The plaintiff suffered catastrophic head and brain injuries including an orbital skull fracture and loss of cognitive function leaving him permanently disabled.
• $43,305,966 Verdict (Illinois 2022): Plaintiff suffered cardiac arrest, requiring emergency resuscitation and resulting in catastrophic brain injury, when, after presenting to the emergency room with facial trauma, he was negligently intubated by the defendant. The breathing tube was incorrectly placed in his esophagus, and he was not receiving oxygen. The verdict included $22 million for pain & suffering and $6.8 million for medical expenses.
• $44,733,000 Verdict (Washington 2022): The plaintiff (mid 20s) was riding his motorcycle when the defendant struck him a high speed as she made a left turn in front of him. The plaintiff reported catastrophic injuries including but not limited to broken bones in every limb, significant nerve damage to his right leg, and the development of PTSD. The plaintiff required bilateral knee reconstruction, surgical repair of his pelvic ring and bilateral hip fractures, plate and screw insertion to repair his left forearm fractures, closed reduction of a right pilon ankle fracture, and anticoagulation therapy to treat a bilateral carotid artery dissection. The verdict included $34.5 million for pain and suffering and $3.9 million for lost future wages.
• $4,600,000 Verdict (Pennsylvania 2022): The plaintiff reportedly suffered catastrophic crush injuries including multiple pelvis fractures and a sacrum fracture which required ORIF surgery, and a bladder rupture with multiple urethra injuries. The injuries occurred when he was in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store, and a truck backed up and crushed the plaintiff into another parked vehicle.
• $5,000,000 Settlement (California 2022): This medical malpractice action was brought after the plaintiff, a 5-year-old male, suffered a catastrophic brain injury requiring 24-hour care when he coded during the removal of a breathing tube by the defendant which resulted in loss of oxygen.
• $750,000 Settlement (California 2021): The plaintiff reportedly suffered a fracture of the left tibial plateau, nerve damage, and a concussion when, as he was riding a bicycle in a bicycle lane, he was struck from behind by a truck operated by the defendant. The catastrophic injuries left him with permanent partial disabilities.

Contact Miller & Zois About a Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit

Miller & Zois has an experienced team of catastrophic injury lawyers who regularly handle catastrophic injury cases. Call today at 800-553-8082.