Any time a person’s reckless or careless actions lead to someone else suffering a serious injury, the injured party has a claim against the negligent person or company. However, if one person’s negligence causes someone to experience permanent and debilitating harm, the injured person may need an experienced personal injury lawyer to help determine pain and suffering damages and compensation for items like future medical bills.

Filing a claim over a catastrophic injury requires estimating the value of future damages before they fully manifest. Ensuring you get paid fairly for present and future losses almost always requires assistance from a seasoned personal injury attorney. No matter what specific injury you have sustained, a dedicated Boca Raton catastrophic injury lawyer can provide custom-tailored legal support from start to finish of your legal proceedings.

Recoverable Damages Through a Catastrophic Injury Claim

All personal injury claims allow a plaintiff to pursue compensation for short-term losses like emergency medical bills and lost work income. By definition, catastrophic injuries will last for the affected person’s entire life and cause significant loss of sensory, motor, and/or cognitive function. It is vital to account for these long-term losses when demanding civil compensation. Additional recoverable damages available in these cases include:

  • Expected costs of future medical care, including rehabilitative treatments, prescription medications, and assistive equipment like wheelchairs
  • Home and/or vehicle modifications necessary to increase mobility
  • Costs of in-home care and assistance
  • Lost future earning capacity
  • Physical discomfort and pain
  • Emotional and psychological distress
  • Lost consortium (Spouse’s claim)
  • Lost quality of life

A Boca Raton attorney can go into further detail during a private initial consultation about losses a specific plaintiff may be eligible to recover after experiencing a catastrophic injury.

Possible Obstacles to Effective Civil Recovery

Even though a catastrophic injury may have lifelong consequences, claims stemming from these accidents are subject to the same legal restrictions as any other personal injury case. Most notably, state law sets a filing deadline of two years after an injury first occurs for the injured person to begin any lawsuit they ever intend to pursue over that injury—regardless of whether the losses related to this harm will last for their entire life.

On top of that, courts can assign a percentage of total fault to accident survivors based on the degree to which their negligent behavior contributed to their injuries. Then, the court can reduce the total compensation available to that plaintiff in proportion to their share of total fault. Since Florida follows a “modified comparative fault” system, courts will prohibit a plaintiff from recovering any compensation if they are more than 50% at fault for an accident. Working with a seasoned lawyer after a catastrophic accident in Boca Raton could be crucial to ensuring a plaintiff has the opportunity to recover fairly for their losses.

Work With a Boca Raton Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Many circumstances can lead to catastrophic injuries that cause irreparable damage to your life. When you suffer severe harm because of someone else’s misconduct, that person should be the one who pays financially for your past and future injury-related losses.

Representation from a Boca Raton catastrophic injury lawyer could be all but essential if you want to achieve the best result possible from your case. Call today to schedule a meeting with our legal team.

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