People recover from accidents most of the time, thankfully. But sometimes injuries are so severe that full recovery is impossible. These are called catastrophic injuries because they are permanent and life-altering.
Suffering a catastrophic injury takes a huge physical, emotional, and financial toll. To preserve your rights and your family’s financial security, it’s important to get legal help from an experienced legal professional as quickly as possible.
When someone else’s negligence causes a permanent injury, they must compensate your losses. Discuss your accident with a Litchfield catastrophic injury lawyer at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC. Our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys can offer helpful advice and guidance as you adjust to your new circumstances.
State law does not define a catastrophic injury, but as people generally use the term, it means an injury with significant permanent consequences. A person with a catastrophic injury will live differently after the injury than they did before.
Amputations of a limb and severe burns are examples of catastrophic injuries. Injuries that leave you confined to a wheelchair or greatly affect your mobility are catastrophic. Head injuries that impair your ability to communicate or care for yourself fall in the category of catastrophic injuries.
Severe damage to your lungs, heart, or digestive system could prevent you from working or participating in activities you once found meaningful or enjoyable. Injuries that result in blindness, deafness, or severe chronic pain are life-altering. Some injuries that might not be catastrophic for one person may be for another—a Litchfield attorney will base a claim for compensation on the impact the injury has on you specifically.
Catastrophic injuries can occur in car accidents, falls from a height, fires, and many other situations. Children and young people sometimes suffer catastrophic injuries in sports accidents. When your injury happened because a person, company, or government agency did not take reasonable precautions to prevent it, you could have a claim for compensation against them.
In cases of serious, permanent injury, a Litchfield lawyer will identify all the parties whose conduct contributed to the incident that led to the injury. Making claims against multiple parties increases the amount of potential insurance coverage and helps ensure you receive fair compensation.
You could claim compensation, also called damages, for your out-of-pocket expenses like medical care, lost income, and future losses and expenses you’ll incur due to your injury. You could also seek damages for your pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life since the accident.
When you suffer a severe injury, getting legal help immediately is critical. When someone suffers catastrophic injuries, insurance companies try to prevent lawsuits by offering cash settlements in return for a promise not to sue. These are typically lowball offers, but the insurer will pressure you, and when you are fearful about your financial future, you might be tempted to accept. When you have a lawyer, the insurance companies must communicate through them and are forced to negotiate in good faith.
When your accident happened on government-owned property or involved a public employee, you must get legal help immediately. Claims involving the state, local governments, or government agencies have very strict requirements about providing notice of the claim. You could have a claim against the government when the accident:
If you think it’s possible a government or agency of the State or in Litchfield might have a connection to your accident, you can preserve your rights by talking to a catastrophic injury attorney at our firm immediately.
When no government agency is involved, Connecticut General Statutes § 52-584 requires you to file a lawsuit within two years of the date your injury happened. When a child suffers an injury, their parent or guardian must file a lawsuit on their behalf within the two-year limit.
When you suffer a life-altering injury, you need all the support you can get. A Litchfield catastrophic injury lawyer can help you find the resources you need and the ability to pay for them by bringing a personal injury lawsuit.
For decades, the attorneys at D’Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC, have obtained positive case results for people with catastrophic injuries. Contact us today to schedule a no-obligation, free consultation. Meetings can be in-person or remote. Get started today.
