Life changes forever when you or a loved one suffers a catastrophic injury. Suddenly, you may face worries about paying for expensive medical bills, making up for lost income, and adjusting to a life that has changed greatly due to the long-term impact of your injury. However, if someone else’s careless or reckless acts caused the catastrophic injury, you may be eligible to seek compensation. Joye Law Firm is here in North Charleston to help you.
For more than 50 years, our attorneys have stood up for people in South Carolina injured in catastrophic accidents. We know that a serious injury can severely impact your health, finances, and family. Our legal team will work tirelessly to seek the maximum compensation available to you by law.
To discuss your legal options with an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer in North Charleston, contact us today. Our initial consultations are always free. Our goal is to have a positive impact on the lives of people who turn to Joye Law Firm for help.
How a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Can Help You
The catastrophic injury lawyers at Joye Law Firm take pride in our exceptional client service and record of results. We take the time to understand each client’s needs and challenges. We strive to achieve the best possible results. We guide our clients through difficult times and help them to regain control of their lives by providing them with the support and legal resources they need. Contact our personal injury lawyers today to learn more about what we can do for you.
Catastrophic Injury Examples
Many different types of catastrophic injuries can result in life-altering consequences. Here are some examples of catastrophic injuries that Joye Law Firm has seen in the cases we handle:
Catastrophic brain injury — Brain injuries may be considered catastrophic if they result in long-term cognitive dysfunction affecting memory, speech, movement, emotions, and more. Also called traumatic brain injuries (TBI), catastrophic brain injuries are caused by blows to the head, which often occur in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, falls from heights, and construction accidents. Common types of catastrophic brain injuries include:
- Concussions
- Brain contusions
- Brain hemorrhages
- Intracranial hematomas
- Diffuse axonal injuries
- Second-impact syndrome
- Coup-contrecoup brain injuries
- Penetrating brain injuries.
Catastrophic back injury — The back is critical to mobility, allowing a person to sit, stand, walk, move, carry objects, and participate in activities and sports. Catastrophic back injuries may affect the vertebrae, discs that cushion the vertebrae, facet joints, muscles, ligaments, or spinal nerves. Catastrophic back injuries often result in life-long pain or mobility challenges for accident victims. Motor vehicle, manufacturing, and pedestrian accidents may cause catastrophic back injuries.
Catastrophic spinal injury — Catastrophic spinal injuries may result in loss of sensation, function, or movement. Depending on the level of injury, the damage may be isolated to a specific area, the lower body, one or more limbs, or the entire body. Paraplegia and quadriplegia are two types of catastrophic spinal injury involving loss of bodily function. These injuries often require life-long medical care and are typically not reversible.
Catastrophic truck injury — Because of commercial trucks’ size and mass, truck accidents often lead to catastrophic injuries and even death. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 113 fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred in South Carolina in a recent year. Catastrophic injuries from truck accidents include burns, crush injuries, head injuries, loss of limbs, and more.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries can result from various accidents and incidents, including car accidents, truck accidents, workplace accidents, defective products, or unsafe premises.
The following are some of the most common causes of catastrophic injury in the cases we handle:
- Driving while under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or certain prescription medications
- Driving while distracted by a cell phone, GPS, or another device
- Disobeying laws and regulations related to commercial trucking, including hours of service regulations
- Failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk
- Failing to provide proper training or safety equipment to employees
- Failing to fix a known defect in a product
- Failing to repair unsafe premises for guests or customers.
Evidence in a Catastrophic Injury Case
Our resourceful personal injury attorneys at Joye Law Firm may use various types of evidence to prove that another party caused the incident that resulted in your catastrophic injury.
Some of the most helpful evidence in a catastrophic injury case includes:
- Photographs and video footage of the scene where the accident or incident occurred
- Video footage of the accident itself if there are nearby traffic cameras, dash cameras, or surveillance cameras at businesses or homes
- Eyewitness statements
- Testimony from experts such as medical professionals or accident reconstruction experts
- Medical records
- Cell phone, employment, or driving records
Compensation in a Catastrophic Injury Case
In a successful catastrophic injury case, you could be entitled to compensation for your economic and non-economic losses. In cases involving catastrophic injuries, the compensation can be significant. If you were hurt in an accident in North Charleston, you may be eligible to seek damages that include:
- Medical expenses related to treating your injury, including hospital stays, doctor’s appointments, physical or occupational therapy, specialist visits, surgeries, medications, and medical devices
- Lost wages if you miss time at work while healing from your injuries
- Loss of future earning capacity if you cannot return to work due to your catastrophic injury
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional anguish
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life if you can no longer participate in daily activities or hobbies
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of companionship
- Domestic services if you need assistance at home performing the tasks you used to do.
In some cases, accident victims may be eligible to seek punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish the at-fault party and deter similar behavior in the future. Under South Carolina law, punitive damages are capped at three times compensatory damages, or $500,000, whichever is greater.
At Joye Law Firm, we will thoroughly investigate your case and consult with your doctors to determine the full extent of your medical needs after you have suffered a catastrophic injury in the North Charleston area. We will help you pursue compensation for your future medical care as well as your expenses to date since the injury.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury causes a long-term, permanent disability that significantly changes a person’s lifestyle. A catastrophic injury victim may have to change jobs, homes, and hobbies to accommodate their injuries. They often require life-long medical care and support, which can be extremely expensive.
The following scenarios that involve catastrophic injuries illustrate how they can impact a person’s livelihood and have life-long consequences:
- A driver is rear-ended by a truck driver who is not paying attention to the road. As a result, the driver suffers a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that permanently affects their cognitive function. Due to the brain injury, the accident victim cannot return to their job or find gainful employment to provide for their family. Additionally, they require a home healthcare aide to assist with daily tasks. These lifestyle changes put a significant financial strain on the victim and their family.
- A construction worker falls from the roof of a building due to unsafe working conditions and suffers a catastrophic back injury, rendering them paralyzed from the waist down. The accident victim can no longer work in construction and can only perform work that pays significantly less. The disabled worker must use a wheelchair, which their home is not equipped to accommodate. The accident victim must make their home accessible or find somewhere else to live.
- A child is hurt by a defective product such as being hit in the head by a baseball thrown by a defective pitching machine, rendering them blind. They must adjust to a future in which they can no longer see, such as by learning to read Braille and walking with the aid of a cane. They can no longer play baseball, and there are fewer potential careers available to them.
In each of these scenarios, the accident victim’s life is forever changed. The financial, physical, mental, and emotional cost of adjusting to that change will be significant. That is why it is essential to hire an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer to pursue compensation for all economic and non-economic losses resulting from an injury.
Get Help from an Experienced North Charleston Catastrophic Injury Attorney Today
If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury in an accident in North Charleston or anywhere in South Carolina through no fault of your own, you need experienced and aggressive legal representation to pursue the compensation you need to provide for yourself and your family. The South Carolina catastrophic injury attorneys at Joye Law Firm can help you hold the at-fault individual, business, or government agency accountable and seek the justice you deserve. Contact us today to speak with one of our experienced catastrophic injury attorneys about your case during a free consultation.
