Fort Lauderdale Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
Decades of Experience and Millions of Dollars Recovered
All types of accidents can result in catastrophic injuries. From collisions on the road to collisions between athletes, and from slips and falls to impacts from falling objects, it only takes one unexpected occurrence to trigger a lifetime of consequences. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury, it will be important for you to speak with a personal injury lawyer. You are facing a long-term (and perhaps lifelong) recovery process, and the process will be both expensive and demanding. Securing just compensation can help ease the burden for you and your family, but you will need an experienced Fort Lauderdale catastrophic injury lawyer to help you secure the compensation to which you are entitled.
Sometimes, an accident victim who does not appear to be seriously hurt has actually suffered a catastrophic injury such as brain damage that is not immediately apparent. Therefore, it is critical for anyone injured in a collision, fall, or any other type of accident to receive a thorough medical evaluation and prompt diagnosis and treatment. Quick action could reduce the impact of an injury in some instances. Once you receive treatment, an appointment with a catastrophic injury lawyer could also help you understand your options and what to look for.
We Help Individuals and Families Recover from Catastrophic Injuries
At Maus Law Firm, we help individuals and families in South Florida recover financial compensation for all types of catastrophic injuries. Regardless of what happened, we strongly encourage you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. There are many circumstances under which accident victims and families can recover their losses, and we will carefully assess all possible options for pursuing a financial recovery on your behalf.
Many people assume catastrophic injuries only involve the brain or nervous system. However, a catastrophic injury can be considered any extreme injury that requires extensive medical treatment and leaves long-term or permanent impairment or disfigurement.
Catastrophic injuries often lead to death, but even when victims survive, they usually require substantial medical care for the rest of their lives and often need assistance with daily living tasks. The impact on the life of the victim and the victim’s family can be too significant to calculate.
Permanent Nerve Damage
Permanent nerve damage can impact all aspects of a person’s life. It can make it more difficult (if not impossible) to work, and it can make it more difficult (if not impossible) to enjoy your hobbies and time with loved ones.
Loss of Digits and Limbs
Losing a digit or limb is a life-altering experience. It can be extremely difficult to cope with your new reality, and adjusting to life with a disability can seem like too much to bear. Therapy can be extraordinarily expensive, and it can take months – if not years or decades – to move on.
Scarring and Disfigurement
Scarring and disfigurement from burns and other severe injuries can impact your life in many unexpected ways. Many people find it extraordinarily difficult to cope – and understandably so – and they need a significant amount of help adjusting to their new normal.
Severe Bone Fractures
Severe bone fractures can lead to disfigurement, chronic pain and permanent disabilities. While surgery can help in some cases, severe bone fractures will frequently have permanent consequences.
Serious Burns
Severe burns can also change all aspects of a person’s life. Burn victims will often need to undergo multiple surgeries, and even successful skin grafts can result in chronic pain and permanent limitations. For obvious reasons, many burn victims experience severe emotional trauma as well.
Someone who suffers painful and disfiguring burns may essentially go into hiding and disappear from public view. Even if the victim recovers much of their ability to function physically, the emotional damage can make it impossible to live a normal life. In addition to permanent disfigurement, burn victims also endure the trauma of severe physical pain and often require extensive surgery. Severe burns are one of the most catastrophic types of injuries in many respects.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Damage to nerves, particularly the nerves that make up the spinal cord, can cause paralysis. Catastrophic injuries that involve nerve damage usually limit the victim’s ability to control parts of the body. The loss of function is often permanent and can lead to total disability.
Spinal cord injuries can result from all different types of accidents—including accidents that seem relatively minor when they occur. We represent individuals and families who are struggling to cope with the effects of paralysis, anterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome, Brown-Sequard syndrome, and other types of spinal cord injuries.
Brain Injuries
Brain injuries are among the most-common types of catastrophic injuries. These, too, can result from accidents that seem minor without the benefit of hindsight. We handle cases involving car crashes, falls and other accidents resulting in all types of brain injuries, including traumatic brain injuries.
The brain is a complex and delicate organ responsible for the rest of the body’s function. Injuries to the brain often have a catastrophic impact that may not be obvious for some time after the initial injury. Often, secondary brain injuries and swelling cause more harm than injury from an initial impact.
Different types of brain injuries include:
1. Concussions
A concussion is a brain injury caused by an impact that makes the head and brain move back and forth rapidly. Essentially, the brain bounces inside the skull, causing chemical changes and often damaging brain cells. A blow to the head, impact from a fall, or a hit to the body often causes a concussion. Since a concussion is not usually life-threatening, it is often classified as a “minor” brain injury. However, concussions can leave debilitating long-term effects, especially if the victim suffers a second concussion before the first has healed. Concussions frequently cause memory loss, disorientation, problems with concentration, and headaches.
2. Contusions
A brain contusion is bruised brain tissue with broken and leaking blood vessels. The leaking blood under the skull can cause several medical issues as pressure builds.
With contusions, the brain is often damaged in two sites: at the point of initial impact with an object such as the steering wheel of a car and at a location on the opposite side of the brain as the brain smashes into the skull in response to the initial impact. Someone with a brain contusion may lose consciousness, become confused, or experience fatigue or emotional distress. If the brain swells due to a contusion, the lack of oxygenation could cause severe long-term consequences.
3. Penetrating Brain Injuries
When an object pierces the skull, it causes a penetrating brain injury. Gunshot wounds frequently cause penetrating brain injuries, but penetration can also result from sports injuries, slip and fall accidents, and motor vehicle accidents. Penetrating brain injuries often seriously damage large parts of the brain.
4. Anoxic Brain Injuries
Brain cells begin to die after just four or five minutes without proper oxygen. Injuries resulting from lack of oxygen to brain cells are known as anoxic brain injuries. These injuries can be caused by anything that interrupts blood flow to the brain or reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood.
What You Need to Know if You or a Loved One has Suffered a Catastrophic Injury in Fort Lauderdale
If you, your spouse or partner, your child, or your aging parent has suffered a catastrophic injury, there is a lot you need to know. Here are five important facts for catastrophic injury victims and their families in South Florida:
If the catastrophic injury resulted from someone else’s negligence, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
Many catastrophic injuries result from accidents, and many of these accidents result from someone else’s negligence. If you or your loved one was injured in a vehicle collision, boating or cruise ship accident, slip and fall, bicycle accident, sports accident, or any other accident in which someone else may have been fully or partially to blame, you should speak with a Fort Lauderdale catastrophic injury lawyer.
Negligence can take many different forms.
There are many different forms of negligence—and not all forms of negligence will be apparent at the time an accident occurs. From drunk driving and distracted driving to failure to follow safety protocols or adequately maintain publicly-accessible premises, numerous types of mistakes can entitle accident victims and their loved ones to just compensation.
Most negligence claims are covered by insurance.
In the vast majority of cases, recovering just compensation for a catastrophic injury involves negotiating an insurance settlement. Auto insurance, homeowners insurance, renters insurance, commercial liability insurance, and many other types of insurance policies cover accident-related losses. While it might eventually be necessary to go to trial, if you have a strong claim, there is a good chance that an experienced catastrophic injury attorney will be able to secure a favorable settlement without going to court.
The lifetime costs of a catastrophic injury can be substantial.
From medical bills and lost earnings to pain, suffering and emotional trauma, the lifetime costs of a catastrophic injury far exceed most people’s expectations. As a result, it is extremely important for injury victims and their families to recover the financial compensation they deserve.
You can hire a Fort Lauderdale catastrophic injury lawyer to help you at no out-of-pocket cost.
At Maus Law Firm, we handle all catastrophic injury cases on a contingency-fee basis. This means that we provide representation at no out-of-pocket cost to you. If we help you recover just compensation, then we will collect a contingency fee which is calculated as a percentage of your award.
Schedule a Free, No-Obligation Consultation with a Winning, Fort Lauderdale Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
If you would like to know more about seeking financial compensation for a catastrophic injury, we invite you to get in touch. To speak with a Fort Lauderdale catastrophic injury lawyer at Maus Law Firm in confidence, call (855) 999-5297 or request a free initial consultation online today.