Denver Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Accidents are often unexpected, stressful, and life-changing. No matter the cause, your life could change in the blink of an eye. You may need long-term medical care, and your injuries could prevent you from working and retaining the quality of life you previously enjoyed.

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Bachus & Schanker Wins – Over $1 Billion Recovered

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We Are Here For You

Coping with a catastrophic injury can be one of the most devastating events you experience. In addition to physical injuries and ongoing medical treatment, you may deal with grief and trauma. The legal team at Bachus & Schanker understands what you’re going through. Owner Kyle Bachus has personal experience dealing with the legal system while grieving the loss of a loved one after a catastrophic injury. 

Our Denver location also offers a Victim’s Advocacy Team. The team members are people with experience working in law enforcement and the judicial system, so they have professional experience with the court system. The team supports victims and ensures a thorough investigation identifies the at-fault parties. Our Victim’s Advocacy Team will also inform victims about financial compensation options and provide personal support through every stage of the legal process.

What Is A Catastrophic Injury?

Catastrophic injuries are severe, life-changing injuries. People with a catastrophic injury either have permanent damage or require long-term care before recovering.

Can I File A Lawsuit Due To A Catastrophic Injury In Denver?

Catastrophic injury victims can take legal action after their accident. Injury victims have legal grounds to seek compensation when a person or company’s negligence or reckless behavior causes catastrophic injuries.

How Do You Prove A Catastrophic Injury Claim?

Proving a catastrophic injury claim begins with gathering evidence. If you’re alert at the accident scene, you may begin to build your case by doing the following:

  • Make notes of relevant information – This could include the time of day, license plate numbers, information about debris on the road, visual obstructions, or malfunctioning equipment, such as traffic lights that aren’t working. 
  • Record witness contact information – Witnesses can help investigators establish fault and provide crucial information about the accident.
  • Take photos or videos of the scene – Recording images is an effective way to obtain evidence and can help with accident reconstruction.

Next, hire a legal team with experience investigating catastrophic accidents. Your legal team will complete the following tasks:

  • Investigate the accident – Your legal team will interview witnesses and search for additional footage, such as dash cams and security cameras.
  • Gather supporting evidence – The police report can be a crucial piece of evidence when building your case. Information about recall notices, maintenance reports, and accident statistics could also support your legal claims.
  • Talk to witnesses – Your team will interview witnesses to get an accurate picture of events. 

Once your legal team completes these steps, they can prepare a compelling case supporting your catastrophic injury lawsuit.

What Are Common Ways That Catastrophic Injuries Happen?

Several types of incidents can cause catastrophic injuries. Common examples of accidents that produce permanent or long-term injuries include the following:

What Are The Common Types Of Catastrophic Injuries?

Catastrophic injuries include the following:

Some broken bones may also qualify as catastrophic injuries. A broken hip bone or skull could cause severe, life-altering injuries, while you may only need short-term treatment if you have a stress fracture.

What Are The Long-Term Effects Of Catastrophic Injuries? 

Catastrophic injuries may impact you and your family for months or years. How your injuries impact you can vary from how they impact another person with similar injuries. Sometimes, the nature of the injury determines the long-term impact; however, how your body responds to treatment may also affect your long-term prognosis.

Clear communication is crucial, and holding a family meeting to discuss your long-term prognosis is essential to your recovery. A family meeting enables everyone to get answers to their questions. Since all family members can participate, they’ll receive the same information, eliminating confusion about your prognosis and treatment options.

Even with the best treatment, your catastrophic injuries could cause permanent disability or restrict your abilities. 

Permanent Disability

Severe catastrophic injuries, including SCIs, TBIs, and paralysis, can result in permanent disability. Permanent injuries may affect your occupational and recreational options. Suppose you’re a teacher who suffers from a TBI and has issues with memory recall. You may need to consider a career change.

SCIs and paralysis can impact people in multiple occupations. Suppose you’re a plumber, and your accident causes paralysis. You may have to retrain for a sedentary career.

People with permanent disabilities may qualify for benefits, while those with restricted abilities may be expected to retrain for a new career.

Restricted Abilities 

Some injuries aren’t classified as permanent disabilities, although they may permanently prevent an individual from performing specific actions. Suppose you broke all the bones in your hand. Although your hand may heal after treatment, and you may be able to perform some basic tasks after you recover, you may not have the fine motor skills you enjoyed before your accident. This could prevent a person from engaging in recreational activities, such as sewing, or keep them from performing professional tasks like working as a surgeon.

What Damages May Be Recoverable In A Catastrophic Injury Claim?

Catastrophic injury victims can seek economic and non-economic damages for their physical injury. The average payout for catastrophic injury settlements is less than $100,000, but some cases can settle for millions. Your legal team can help you calculate how much compensation to seek.

Economic Damages 

Your economic damages cover actual costs, such as medical bills. You can also recover compensation for lost wages and costs associated with your medical treatment, such as transportation costs. Economic damages also allow victims to recover costs for services they need after their accident. Suppose you have young children, but your injuries prevent you from physically caring for their needs. You can claim child care costs as part of the economic damages you seek.

Non-Economic Damages 

Non-economic damages are compensation for the personal toll from your accident. This number is harder to establish because things like trauma, grief, loss of consortium, and pain and suffering don’t come with price tags. Your catastrophic injury attorney can help determine how much non-economic damages to seek.

Punitive Damages 

Punitive damages apply when the at-fault party engages in an intentional act without concern for the safety of others. Your attorney can determine if you have grounds to seek punitive damages.  

How Are Catastrophic Injury Settlements Paid Out In Denver?

Many types of lawsuits don’t involve payouts until the case is resolved. However, it’s possible for those seeking a catastrophic injury settlement to receive up to 20% of their expected judgment before resolving their case. 

Catastrophic injury victims can apply for catastrophic injury settlement funding. It can take as little as 48 hours for applications to be processed, enabling successful applicants to receive funds 48 hours after submitting their applications.

What Is The Statute Of Limitations To File A Catastrophic Injury Claim In Denver?

Accident victims have a limited amount of time to initiate injury lawsuits. They must file their case before the statute of limitations expires.

The statute of limitations for lawsuits varies by state and accident type. Those injured in a car accident in Denver have three years to take legal action. In contrast, slip and fall accidents have a two-year statute of limitations. Individuals affected by medical malpractice also have two years to take legal action.

How The Denver Catastrophic Injury Lawyers At Bachus & Schanker Can Help You

a catastrophic injury lawyer smiling and shaking hands with their client

At Bachus & Schanker, you’ll never see a bill from us until we win your case. Our legal team will explain your legal options and use our investigative resources to gather evidence to support your claim. Our legal and Victim’s Advocacy teams will support you through the legal process, allowing you to focus on your recovery. At the same time, we’ll handle your legal needs and get you the compensation you deserve.

Sources:

Burns and Wounds. (2023).

Goguen, D. (2023). What is the personal injury statute of limitations in Colorado?

Liver Laceration. (2023). 

Stress Fractures. (2021).

You Deserve Fair Compensation

Don’t let the insurance companies intimidate you into accepting less than you deserve. We’re ready to fight for you.

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