Devastating accidents can happen at any time, leaving you struggling to regain as much functioning as possible and your family potentially dealing with ruinous financial hardship. You shouldn’t have to put your life back together on your own.
A Mableton catastrophic injury lawyer is here to help. A seasoned personal injury attorney could review the circumstances that led to the injury and identify parties whose negligence might have contributed to the accident that caused it. Negligent parties are responsible under the law for paying the losses other people suffer due to their carelessness.
Pursuing monetary damages could give you the satisfaction of holding the negligent parties accountable while providing support to help you and your family cope with the financial burdens of living with a permanent injury. You have limited time to act, so get an experienced advocate on your side as quickly as possible after an accident.
Life-Altering Injuries Are Catastrophic
An injury is catastrophic when it requires significant medical intervention and causes life-altering changes to your ability to function. The effects of these injuries are usually permanent, and they substantially affect your lifestyle.
Spinal cord injuries that result in paralysis and moderate or severe traumatic brain injury are always considered catastrophic. Other conditions that cause permanent loss of limb function or significant cognitive impairment might also qualify. Accidental injuries that result in amputations of a limb, hand, or foot, or injuries that cause blindness, are usually considered catastrophic.
Other injuries could be catastrophic depending on the circumstances. Severe burns over much of the body might lead to permanent disability, as might disfiguring burns to the face or hands. An injury that caused persistent psychological damage that prevented you from working or participating in activities you formerly enjoyed could be a catastrophic injury.
Negligence Causes Most Accidents That Lead to Catastrophic Injuries
Accidents almost always result from someone’s negligence. Proving negligence requires a claimant to prove that some other party failed to adhere to a reasonable standard of care and this failure caused the injury. Reasonable care will depend on the specific circumstances that led to the incident.
In car accident cases, drivers must use the same degree of caution a reasonably prudent person would use under similar circumstances. However, if the accident involved a bus, truck, or another common carrier, the transportation company and driver must use the utmost care and diligence to prevent injuries to others.
If a defective product malfunctions and causes a permanent injury, you might not need to prove negligence. Manufacturers are strictly liable when a defective product they sell causes an injury. Regardless of the circumstances of the incident that caused the injury, a Mableton attorney could collect evidence demonstrating that a party did not meet the applicable standard of care in a catastrophic injury case.
Plaintiff’s Conduct Has a Bearing on Damages
In many cases, an accident that causes a catastrophic injury could result from the actions of several parties, including you, the injured party. If your negligence contributed to the accident that led to your injury, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated §51-12-33 allows you to collect damages if they were not primarily responsible.
When a case goes to court, a jury must decide what percentage of responsibility to allocate to each party. You could collect the percentage of your damages attributable to other parties, but you must absorb the portion of your losses attributable to your actions. A skilled catastrophic injury attorney who serves Mableton could collect and present evidence demonstrating that your fair share of responsibility is significantly less than the defendant’s.
Most injury cases never get to the trial stage because the parties reach a negotiated settlement. Discussions often center on the respective parties’ degree of fault for an accident. Your legal representative could ensure that you bear no more than your fair share of the blame for an accident.
Let a Mableton Catastrophic Injury Attorney Handle Your Claim
In the weeks and months following a severe, permanent injury, you and your family have a lot of adjustments to make. The process could feel overwhelming.
You need to make practical financial decisions, but you might not know how to begin. A Mableton catastrophic injury lawyer has the knowledge and experience to identify responsible parties, demonstrate their negligence, and secure a settlement or damages award that provides appropriate compensation. Schedule a consultation as soon as possible after your accident.
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