Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

“Catastrophic injury” is a descriptive term, not a separate legal claim; the case is still brought for negligence or another cause of action. In practice the term covers injuries with permanent effects on work and daily life, such as brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations, severe burns and loss of sight. Two statutes use their own lists: “serious injury” for motor-vehicle claims under the no-fault law, and “grave injury” for work injuries, which, apart from a written indemnity agreement, decides when an employer can be brought into a third-party case.

We handle claims for traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and paralysis, amputations and loss of use of a limb, severe burns and disfigurement, loss of sight or hearing, and multiple fractures that leave lasting limits, caused by someone else’s negligence. Our published results include a below-the-knee amputation and two traumatic brain injuries, shown on this page exactly as recorded.

They follow the same accidents as other injuries, with more force or worse luck: crashes with cars, trucks, buses or trains; falls from heights and other construction accidents; objects falling from above; dangerous property conditions; defective products; and medical errors. The cause matters more than the label, because it decides who may be responsible, which insurance applies and which deadline runs.

A successful claim can cover past and future medical and rehabilitation costs, home and vehicle changes, attendant care, lost earnings and earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Collateral sources such as some insurance payments can reduce economic damages, except life insurance and payments that must be repaid by law (CPLR 4545). Where the no-fault law applies to a crash, pain and suffering needs a serious injury.

We do not publish value ranges, because the honest answer depends on facts we have not seen: the medical proof of permanence, your age and work, the cost of future care, the strength of the proof of fault and the defendants’ insurance. Our published results show what particular cases resolved for; they are not predictions. A life-care plan and an economist often frame the future losses.

Generally three years for injury claims against a person or business. A city, county, town, village or school district: usually a notice of claim within 90 days and suit within one year and 90 days. The State: the Court of Claims has its own 90-day rule. Medical malpractice: two years and six months, with exceptions. Work injuries add a 30-day employer notice. Death claims are generally two years.

Possibly. Social Security treats you as disabled if a medically determinable impairment, expected to last at least 12 months or result in death, prevents substantial gainful activity. Earnings above $1,690 a month in 2026 ($2,830 if statutorily blind) ordinarily count as such activity, a general indicator rather than the whole test. SSDI also requires work credits; SSI is need-based. A disability claim and an injury claim can run at the same time.

Common categories are follow-up surgery and specialist care, medication, therapy, equipment such as wheelchairs or prosthetics and their replacement, home and vehicle changes, reasonable and necessary attendant care and services, and your lost earnings. We document each with the treating doctors and, where needed, a life-care planner, because the future costs must be proved, not estimated.

A life-care planner reviews the records and the treating doctors’ opinions and lists each future service, how often it is needed and for how long, priced from local sources. An economist then states the present value. After a verdict in a qualifying non-malpractice injury or death case, future damages over $250,000, as adjusted under the statute, are paid through an annuity in installments (CPLR 5041); malpractice cases and settlements differ.

Because the deadlines can be short, several defendants and insurers may be involved, and the future losses must be proved with medical and economic evidence. We identify every responsible party and its deadline, keep the evidence, and build the future-care proof before anyone discusses settlement. The firm has over 40 years of experience; the consultation is free, and there is no fee unless there is a recovery.