Some car accidents cause painful, inconvenient injuries from which the injury victim fully recovers. They may experience pain, distress, and trauma, with an expensive emergency room bill and a week or two of lost wages. They deserve compensation for their damages through a compensation claim. But what about an accident from which an injury victim will never fully recover and may be unable to return to work in their previous capacity—or at all—and may have difficulty accomplishing daily routines?
When car accident injuries or other personal injuries result in life-altering changes, the civil courts in New Jersey consider it a catastrophic injury.
What Types of Injuries are Catastrophic?
Catastrophic injuries are those that divide the injury victim’s life into before and after. When an injury is so severe that the victim will never completely recover but instead suffer lifelong disability, impairment, or loss of quality of life, it’s a catastrophic injury.
Catastrophic injuries include those such as the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic amputations
- Severe scarring/disfigurement
- Loss of one of the senses
- Loss of organ or organ system function
- Severe, complex, or multiple fractures
- Severe burns
In a compensation claim for damages after a car accident, categorizing a victim’s injuries as catastrophic can substantially impact the value of their claim. Despite New Jersey’s no-fault insurance system, the victim of catastrophic injuries with damages that far exceed the limits of their personal injury protection (PIP) policy, may be able to recover compensation through a Cherry Hill personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party, especially when they caused the accident through negligent or reckless actions.
What Damages Are Recoverable in Catastrophic Injury Claims in New Jersey?
Catastrophic injuries involve lifelong changes in earning ability, resulting in extensive economic damages as well as non-economic damages that impact quality of life. A successful catastrophic injury claim results in compensation for damages such as the following:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Other non-economic damages that apply to an individual case like compensation for traumatic limb loss, the loss of an organ, the loss of one of the senses, or disfigurement
Catastrophic injuries with life-altering consequences deserve special consideration in compensation claims because the damages far exceed what’s typically available through a claim against PIP insurance. For instance, future medical care can be ongoing and lifelong. A car accident injury victim in Cherry Hill with a disability may not be able to return to work and may need to hire help for household services they once managed on their own.
How Can a New Jersey Car Accident Lawyer Help?
Navigating a claim for catastrophic injury damages is complex and requires skilled, experienced handling for the best possible outcome. When the outcome of a claim is as critical as it is during a compensation claim for catastrophic injuries, it’s important to take the most aggressive legal action possible to recover compensation. Call Cuneo & Leonetti today for a free consultation so we can take prompt action in your case.