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Catastrophic Injuries

Catastrophic Injuries

“Catastrophic injury” does not have a universally accepted definition. Regardless of the definition you use, these injuries cost a lot of money. They require expensive medical treatment, physical and occupational therapy, and medication. And your catastrophic injury will temporarily or even permanently disable you from working.

As a result, these injuries put you under enormous medical and financial pressure. They significantly reduce your quality of life and could even bankrupt you.

What Are Catastrophic Injuries?

Insurers, lawyers, and doctors may classify the term “catastrophic injury” according to several factors:

Cost

The distinction between a catastrophic injury and another injury might lie in its cost. 

A catastrophic injury will likely require you to spend more on:

  • Surgery
  • Medication
  • Doctor visits
  • Hospitalization
  • Home modifications
  • Physical, occupational, and mental health therapy

A catastrophic injury might also have a greater effect on your ability to earn a living. For example, a catastrophic injury might prevent you from earning income, at least temporarily.

Disability

You can also define a catastrophic injury based on the disability it causes. Under this definition, catastrophic injuries cause more significant reductions in your functioning than other injuries.

An amputated toe might not qualify as a catastrophic injury because it might not disable you from working, performing household tasks, and caring for yourself. But a broken leg might qualify as a catastrophic injury because you will have difficulty with all these duties — at least for six to eight weeks.

Severity and Duration

“Catastrophic” can also refer to an injury’s severity. Under this definition, catastrophic injuries would fall into the category just below fatal injuries. In other words, catastrophic injuries would include the most impactful non-fatal injuries.

One factor that might determine whether an injury qualifies as catastrophic is the accident victim’s prognosis. Catastrophic injuries tend to cause permanent damage, while non-catastrophic injuries will eventually heal.

What Are Some Examples of Catastrophic Injuries?

Some examples of catastrophic injuries that fall into one or more of these definitions include:

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Your central nervous system (CNS) includes your brain and spinal cord. These structures differ from other structures in your body because you cannot regrow nerve tissue in your CNS. As a result, brain injuries can result in permanent brain damage.

Under some circumstances, your body can reroute nerve signals, allowing you to recover some of the functions performed by the permanently damaged brain cells. But in most situations, you will experience permanent disabilities from severe brain injuries.

Some functions you may lose to a catastrophic brain injury include:

  • Vision
  • Mobility
  • Hearing
  • Memory
  • Cognition
  • Emotional control

Someone who loses these functions may require mobility aids, a service animal, or a caretaker. They could also become unemployable since they may lose the ability to work or train for a new job.

Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord connects your brain to your body. The spinal cord carries all the control signals passing from your brain to your muscles and organs below your neck. It also carries all the sensory signals running from your body to your brain.

When the spinal cord gets severed, you experience partial or total paralysis. As a result, you lose the ability to:

  • Move your limbs
  • Feel pressure, temperature, and texture
  • Control automatic processes like digestion, respiration, and perspiration

If your accident causes total paralysis, you will not recover any functioning. If you have partial paralysis, some nerves in the spinal cord remain intact. You might regain some functions as your brain shifts some signals to the undamaged nerves.

Back and Neck Injuries

Some back and neck injuries are not catastrophic. Back strain or a fractured back will sometimes heal completely after a few weeks or months.

But other back and neck injuries produce permanent damage that requires costly long-term medical care. These injuries can also interfere with your ability to work since they can weaken your back or neck and produce pain whether you sit, stand, or walk for your job.

For example, doctors cannot heal a bulging or herniated disc. Instead, they must remove the damaged disc and either fuse the vertebrae or implant an artificial disc. Both of these surgical options put additional stress on the spine and can cause a cascade effect where additional discs and vertebrae break down.

Amputations

Amputations cause a permanent loss of function. Even if you eventually receive a prosthetic device, the replacement part will never function as well as your original body part.

Additionally, amputations can disfigure you. This disfigurement can produce severe emotional distress and lead to mental and emotional symptoms such as:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Amputation surgery is often expensive because of the risk of complications like infections and blood clots. And prosthetics are expensive and require frequent maintenance.

Third-Degree Burns

Third-degree burns destroy the full thickness of your skin and reach the connective tissue underneath. These burns cause permanent nerve damage because the skin contains the nerve endings that enable your sense of touch. They can also produce permanent, disfiguring scars as thick, inelastic skin cells regrow at the burn site.

Burn treatments are also costly. These injuries often require lengthy hospitalization. During a hospital stay, you may require multiple surgeries, hyperbaric treatments, and skin grafts.

How Do You Prove Liability for Catastrophic Injuries?

The law determines liability for catastrophic injuries the same way it determines liability for non-catastrophic injuries. If your injury happened in the course and scope of your job, you can probably claim workers’ compensation benefits without proving fault.

When a catastrophic injury results from a defective product, Oregon product liability law imposes strict liability on the manufacturer. You do not need to prove the manufacturer intended or even knew of the defect. Instead, you only need to prove the defect existed when it left the manufacturer’s hands.

For all other catastrophic injuries, you’ll likely need to prove negligence. In these cases, you can only recover compensation if the other party failed to exercise reasonable care. Thus, a driver who caused a car accident by running a red light would bear the liability for your spinal cord injury.

What Compensation Can You Seek for a Catastrophic Injury?

You can seek compensation for your economic and non-economic losses. Your economic damages cover the costs resulting from your injury, including medical expenses and lost income. Non-economic damages cover the reduction in your quality of life due to pain, suffering, and disability.

To discuss the compensation you can seek for your catastrophic injuries, contact our law office in Portland. Call Tillmann Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation today at (503) 272-8986.

Justin Vieth
Justin Vieth
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Shimmeri Selph
Shimmeri Selph
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Don't waste your time.
Alan Rogers
Alan Rogers
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Thanks Aaron, we truly appreciate everything you have done for us.I know that I was a handful early on, but you handled it with a deft touch and ultimately proved yourself to be a great advocate for our family none the less.Thanks so much Bud!You have my eternal respect and gratitude.
Tim Cheredayko
Tim Cheredayko
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Tillmann helped me out a lot! Going over ever detail with the case from both sides and always informing me what is going to happen through out the case. Definitely recommend Tillmann Law!
A B
A B
1689034229
Rude. Classist. The receptionist needs some manners. Actually hung up when told was a low income family.
Justin W
Justin W
1688167505
I had the pleasure of working with Aaron and his team over the course of the last year. They were very professional and responsive. Dealing with injuries can be dreadful, but Aaron made it as painless as possible. I highly recommend.
Bonnie Thorn
Bonnie Thorn
1686939262
Aaron Tillmann and his entire staff were professional, empathetic and very knowledgeable. They assisted our family at a time when we were grieving the loss of our son with compassion and respect.
Tina Rutledge
Tina Rutledge
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Arisbet Bustos
Arisbet Bustos
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I am very grateful and pleased with the services of Lawyer Aaron and his team work, especially Julia, who was always attentive to my concerns and resolved my doubts with a good attitude and empathy, and best of all, she speaks Spanish. Thank you so much!!!
Ken Pollett
Ken Pollett
1682394554
I was involved in a serious auto accident. Not that there is a good time to be in any accident, it just happened to be 2020. Tillman Law and support staff kept me in the loop as the court system was disarray with all the Covid issues. The staff was very professional and courteous. In a nutshell, they took care of me.
Jordan Bedrick
Jordan Bedrick
1682367951
My husband was in a bad car accident a few years back, and he was stopped due to traffic. He was behind a fuel truck, and someone rear-ended him, going 60mph. The worst part was our 6 mo old was in our and the truck was totaled beyond repair and my husbands back injured severly he ended up with 2 broken vertebrae. Our child had ptsd any time getting into a vehicle after that. Tillman made this right even though we couldn't do much for our son other comfort him and make car rides more comfortable from there on out Tillman was able to get my husband the money he deserved after the other driver was extremely negligent and either not paying attention or on his phone or something unfortunately this was during covid and when the police came they didnt do a single thing to check for any of that. We can't say enough good things about Aaron Tillman he gave us our hope back and the ability to have back surgery to repair a lot of his back issues due to the car wreck. So if you have been in an accident definitely call Tillman Law they're amazing super professional, kind and empathetic beings who will work for the best possible outcome for your case and fight they won't just roll over and play dead they spent about 2.5 years on my husbands case never giving up. He was always super honest with my husband and always communicated everything. So again, thank you, Aaron Tillman, and thank you to your law firm for working so tirelessly. We appreciate it more than you know.
Cassie Kocker
Cassie Kocker
1679485024
Aaron is great. He is professional and personable which makes you feel cared about during the process. He will provide advice and resources so that the process is smooth and renders positive results. I highly recommend!
Michael Darling (Mike Rich)
Michael Darling (Mike Rich)
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Still working with them to this day! Great firm great people. Much recommend
Brittany Sloan
Brittany Sloan
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I can’t recommend Tillman Law enough. We were in a sticky situation from a car accident in December and my partner was out of work for over a month. Aaron told us we may not be able to get those lost wages, but he would definitely try to fight the insurance for them and even then we might not see the money for a long time. It’s only been 3 1/2 months since the accident and we just got our lost funds today. Tillman Law was quick, efficient, and made this entire situation much less painful. I appreciate everything they’ve done for us.
Hazel Ault
Hazel Ault
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Jennifer nelson
Jennifer nelson
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Great experience
Oksana Pavlenko
Oksana Pavlenko
1660939351
Really pleased with my experience at Tillmann Law. Mr. Tillmann and his team were on top of my case, worked hard to answer any questions I had and finished my case in a timely manner. I was really happy with the outcome . Thank you!
Robert Swanson
Robert Swanson
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Tucker Earp
Tucker Earp
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Linette Figueroa
Linette Figueroa
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Mr. Tillman took care of my care seamlessly! He immediately hopped on my case immediately and guided me through the entire process. His team is professional, organized and well-resourced! He even went back to ensure the settlement was beyond fair. If you want someone who will fight tooth and nail on your behalf- Mr. Tillman is your lawyer!
Robert Aley
Robert Aley
1634841379
I am so happy to promote Aaron and his team. They did such an amazing job handling my case. Call them if you need service. I called him when I first needed help with my accident and he called me back within five minutes. This team is so great! I am so happy to have worked with them.
Teresa Ochoa
Teresa Ochoa
1633214433
Mr. Tillmann and his paralegal Jason were fantastic to work with! They were always available to answer my questions in a timely manner and delivered a very good outcome after I was rear ended. I would recommend their services to anyone.
Roro Roro
Roro Roro
1631419364
Amazing team at the Tillman Law, LLC . His work speaks for it self. Thank you for being professional and above all understanding to different people. God bless everyone that works there .
Mercury Nightstone
Mercury Nightstone
1628733283
Aaron and his staff, especially Jason, were all extremely courteous, timely, and professional. Highly recommend, truly appreciate your hard work!
Danielle Martin
Danielle Martin
1627923620
The Tillman Law Firm is amazing! I have been very pleased with everyone that I came in contact with concerning my case. They filed the case against the insurance company and fought hard in litigation to get what rightfully was taken from me. I would highly recommend them, they are the best in the Portland metro area!
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