Fairfax, VA Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Fairfax, VA Catastrophic Injury Attorney

A catastrophic injury can change your entire life, shouldering you with significant medical costs and preventing you from returning to work. When this injury was the fault of another party’s negligence, they should be responsible for those costs. A Fairfax, VA, catastrophic injury lawyer is crucial to investigating the cause of your injury, gathering evidence to support a claim, and holding the at-fault party liable for your damages.

Although a claim can be vital to ensuring your financial and mental well-being after an injury, it is not easy to file while you are recovering from that injury. By working with a Fairfax, VA, personal injury lawyer, you have the greatest chance of securing the compensation you need to thrive while being able to rest during the process.

Get the Right Legal Advocate for Your Catastrophic Injury

Another individual or party does not have to have intentionally caused your injury to be held liable for it. If the party behaved carelessly or recklessly, and these negligent actions led to the accident and injury you suffered, they can be held liable for the financial and non-financial losses you sustained. However, proving that they are liable and showing the extent of your damages can be difficult without legal aid.

At Whitlock Law, LLC, we have decades of collective legal experience, and we can leverage that experience to provide exceptional resources and legal care for your claim. Your catastrophic injury may have been the result of a car accident, a slip-and-fall injury, a dog bite, or another serious accident. Our team can help. We have aided injured parties and their families for many years, securing the financial support they need.

We know how difficult this time in your life is, so we want to personally guide you through each option after a serious incident. Our firm can hold at-fault parties accountable for what they have done.

What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is a severe injury, typically one that results in permanent disability. These injuries are also very expensive. When someone is able to file a civil or insurance claim to recover these damages, a settlement must be significant to cover the immense current and future costs of the injury. There are many different types of injuries that are considered a catastrophic injury, including:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): TBIs can cause cognitive issues in an injured party, impacting a person’s speech, memory, and control of their movements. TBIs can result in a coma or vegetative state when the brain damage is even more severe.
• Spinal Cord Damage and Paralysis: Spinal cord damage can cause serious pain, limited movement, and even paralysis. This includes partial and full paralysis, which can be temporary or permanent.
• Loss of Limbs: Amputation and limb loss can significantly affect how a person lives their day-to-day life, requiring significant readjustment to movement and routines. Limb loss may also require prosthetics.
• Extreme Burns or Disfigurement: Severe burns can cause significant pain and psychological harm. Burns and other forms of disfigurement can result in long-term trauma.
• Multiple Fractured Bones: Although broken and fractured bones are not considered catastrophic injuries by themselves, a significant number of fractured bones can result in serious harm, years of recovery, and permanent pain.
• Internal Organ Damage: Damage to internal organs can impair the function of certain organs, causing long-term medical complications and requiring treatment.
• Sight or Hearing Loss: The loss of an essential sense can permanently alter a person’s way of life, requiring long-term at-home care and other treatment.

If you have suffered a catastrophic injury because of another party’s actions, it’s important to work with an attorney who has experience in catastrophic injuries. They have worked on and understand claims that are similar to yours, and they have the resources to properly address them. This can help you secure a fairer settlement that covers the extent of your losses.

Less-experienced attorneys may be less aware of all the various long-term costs of catastrophic injuries, such as replacement services, medical devices, mobility aids and home modifications, and other expenses.

What Are the Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries?

There are several types of accidents that can result in catastrophic injuries. Some of the more common varieties include:

• Motor vehicle accidents, especially those involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists
• Truck accidents, which involved 18-wheelers and other commercial vehicles colliding with smaller passenger cars
• Slip-and-fall accidents, which can cause serious injuries, like brain damage and spinal cord damage
• Work-related accidents, particularly those in jobs like construction work, mining, manufacturing, or agricultural work
• Defective and malfunctioning products, such as components of vehicles, dangerous machinery, or other large equipment
• Recreational accidents, such as swimming pool accidents, contact sports injuries, trampoline park injuries, and water or land recreational vehicle accidents
• Medical malpractice, which can result in catastrophic injuries or illnesses
• Intentional violence, such as assault and battery

How Can You Prove That Another Party Is Liable for Your Damages?

Most catastrophic injury claims are based on the idea of negligence. This is the concept that another party acted or failed to act in a way that was reasonable for the situation. To prove that someone is at fault for the accident and your injuries under the theory of negligence, you must prove the following:

1. Duty of Care: The other party owed you a duty of care to reasonably consider your safety and well-being.
2. Breach of Duty: The other party breached that duty through an action or inaction of negligence.
3. Actual Cause: This breach of duty was a direct cause of the accident and injury that you sustained.
4. Resulting Damages: You must prove that you suffered actual damages from the injury and accident, including noneconomic and economic damages.

An attorney can help you gather this information and build a strong claim.

Understanding Damages in a Catastrophic Injury Claim

A catastrophic injury claim in Fairfax has the same potential damages as a personal injury claim, as both can recover the entirety of their compensatory damages. However, catastrophic injury incidents tend to result in much higher costs to injured parties, both short-term and long-term. This results in catastrophic injuries having much higher claim values. Compensatory damages include both economic and non-economic damages, or damages with a documented financial value and damages without. Economic damages may include:

• Medical bills, including current and future costs. This includes treatment, surgeries, doctor’s visits, prescriptions, physical therapy, at-home care, and other expected costs.
• Lost income and earning capacity. This applies if you cannot return to work while you recover or at all.
• Property damages, including the cost to repair or replace any lost or damaged property. In some accidents, particularly those involving vehicles, there are significant property damage costs.

Noneconomic damages may include:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental trauma
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disability or disfigurement

In some cases, a claim is awarded another form of damages, called punitive damages. These damages are awarded by the court when the at-fault party acted with egregious error, malice, or wrongdoing. Punitive damages are assigned to punish the at-fault party.

Your attorney can review the extent of your damages and determine what you are qualified to recover.

FAQs

Q: What Is a Catastrophic Injury Claim?

A: A catastrophic injury claim is a type of personal injury claim that recovers damages for especially severe and life-altering injuries. A catastrophic injury is an injury or illness that has a significant effect on the individual’s daily life and will likely never result in a full recovery. A claim recovers the financial, emotional, and psychological losses from a catastrophic injury. This may include medical costs, the loss of enjoyment of life, and the costs of replacement home services.

Q: What Is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury in Virginia?

A: The statute of limitations for personal injury in Virginia is two years from the date of the cause of action. There may be exceptions to this time limit to file a civil claim, such as certain medical malpractice injuries or failures or if the filing party was a minor at the time of the injury. If an individual does not file within the relevant statute of limitations, the court will dismiss their claim, and they will lose the right to recover monetary damages.

Q: What Qualifies as a Catastrophic Injury?

A: A catastrophic injury is an injury that has a permanent effect on the injured party, often preventing them from completing any gainful employment. This includes injuries such as:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Full or partial paralysis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Loss of limbs
• Blindness
• Neck and back injuries
• Internal organ damage and loss of organ functions
• Disfigurement
• Loss of hearing
• Severe burns
• Neurological damage

Catastrophic injuries tend to require long-term medical care or at-home care.

Q: What Percentage Do Most Personal Injury Lawyers Take in Virginia?

A: The percentage that most personal injury lawyers take from a claim in Virginia is typically between 25% and 40%. Most personal injury lawyers charge a contingency fee, although not all do so. A contingency fee means that the injured party does not owe any attorney’s fees upfront. The attorney only gets paid if they win the case. If they do, they will be paid with a portion of the settlement.

This percentage varies based on several factors, including the specific policies of the attorney and firm, the complexity of the case, and whether the claim goes to court or not.

Talk to a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer in Fairfax Today

At Whitlock Law, LLC, we can guide you through your options for recovering compensation after a catastrophic injury. It’s important that you recover the damages you deserve. Contact our firm today.