Houston Catastrophic Injury Attorney

What is a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is a physical or mental injury to a person that results in a substantial alteration of a person’s life, well-being, and/or ability to provide for oneself. Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

• Loss of Life
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Severe Burns
• Severe Disfigurement and/or Scarring
• Amputation
• Paralysis
  • Paraplegia
  • Quadriplegia
• Wernicke’s Encephalopathy & Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

If you or a loved one have sustained a catastrophic injury, you need a catastrophic injury attorney who has handled these types of injuries before. Call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., and get a trusted catastrophic injury attorney from a law firm that has been providing serious injury representation to negligence victims since 1979.

Finding Coverage When You Have Suffered a Catastrophic Injury

One of the biggest hurdles catastrophic injury victims face is how to pay for future expected costs. Texas only requires automobiles to provide 30,000 in coverage per person. Many other states require even less.  If you have suffered a catastrophic injury, your lawyer must consider all the options, including:

• Is there a corporate defendant responsible?
• What available insurance policies are there?
• Was the tortfeasor working for a company at the time?
• Are there assets to which a judgment can be attached?
• Is there potential Dram Shop liability?
• Are there other responsible parties?

You need to know that your lawyer considered all of these options.

Future Considerations When You Suffer a Catastrophic Injury

Assuming you have a party that can be held liable for the full extent of your injury when you sustain a catastrophic injury, there are several things you must consider in resolving your case.  Some things to consider are:

• Will you need a life care plan to provide for yourself?
• How will you pay for future medical costs?
• Will you require home healthcare assistance now or in the future?
• Do you qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security Disability?
• Are you required to do a Medicare set aside?
• Will your settlement payout in an annuity or a lump sum?

In addition to the above, there may be several things to consider in deciding whether you may be able to return to gainful employment in the future.  For example:

• Will you have to make a career change?
• Will you ever be able to return to work?
• Will you require a work hardening program?
• Should you submit to a functional capacity exam?
• Will you have a substantial loss in future wage-earning capacity?
• What is your work-life expectancy?
• Are you being improperly placed at maximum medical improvement?

All of the above matters may need to be addressed in your case in order to assess your future losses.  Your catastrophic injury attorney must be prepared to discuss these matters with you in order to best provide for your future with the resources available.

Expert Witness Resources

Mental health professionals can sometimes help people cope with catastrophic injuries. In many catastrophic injury cases, expert testimony is critical to establishing not only the liability but also the full extent of the damages suffered. Hiring experts can run tens of thousands of dollars in many cases. If necessary, your lawyer must have the resources to get you evaluated by the appropriate expert witnesses to determine the full extent of your losses.  Is your attorney prepared to go the distance?

Our law firm has been handling these cases since 1979. We employ 6 lawyers and over 40 staff to handle the largest of catastrophic injury cases.  Some of the types of expert witnesses we often employ for our clients include:

• Life Care Planners
• Medical Expert Witnesses
• Economists
• Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists
• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Accident Reconstructionists
• Engineers
• Human Factors Experts
• Toxicologists

All of the above experts may have their place in any catastrophic injury case. You should hire a catastrophic injury lawyer with the skill, expertise, and experience in handling serious injury cases. Our law firm has been trusted by injured victims nationwide since 1979 to handle these kinds of cases. Call Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. today: (713) 932-0777.