Catastrophic Injury

Catastrophic injuries can change a victim’s life forever, leading to permanent disabilities. Injured victims need a Chicago personal injury law firm that’s ready to fight for justice and ensure they receive the funds they need to recover.

Read on to find out why the catastrophic personal injury lawyers at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are the right choice for your case.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury?

Catastrophic injury is not legally defined, but there are several types of personal injury typically classified as such. These include:

• Traumatic Brain Injury – A traumatic brain injury is typically caused by a violent jolt to the head, and it can cause permanent disability and cognitive impairment. Our traumatic brain injury lawyers will help you recover maximum compensation for your medical expenses.
• Paralysis – Paralysis is the loss of bodily functions in one or more parts of the body. They often result from spinal cord injuries. If you have suffered a spinal cord injury and subsequent paralysis, contact our Chicago paralysis attorneys for help with your personal injury claim.
• Back Injury – Even without a spinal cord injury, back injuries can cause an injured person great pain and difficulty in their everyday life. Our Chicago back injury lawyers will hold liable parties accountable for your lost income and medical bills.
• Broken Bones – When a person suffers a fracture, they may require multiple surgeries to repair the damage, resulting in significant expenses. A Chicago fracture lawyer will help you recover damages to pay for these costs, as well as for the interruption to your daily routine.
• Wrongful Death – Tragically, some victims die of their injuries. A Chicago wrongful death attorney from our firm can assist the families of those killed by catastrophic injuries in seeking the funds they need to recover.

Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in Chicago

Catastrophic injuries can result from a variety of accidents; any high-risk activity may result in severe injury. These are the most common causes of catastrophic injuries seen by our Chicago personal injury attorneys.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

With more than 1,142,000 cars registered in Chicago, numerous car accidents occur in the city each year [1]. In 2022, there were 97,388 car crashes in Chicago, resulting in 23,278 injuries and 201 deaths [2].

Vehicle accidents can be due to distracted driving, drunk driving, speeding, or failure to obey traffic signals. Due to a truck’s size, collisions with trucks are more likely to result in catastrophic injuries.

Sadly, crashes have only increased with the advent of ridesharing services, proving there is a cost to the convenience of Uber or Lyft [3].

Our Chicago car accident attorneys assist those seeking fair compensation after a car accident has left them with a catastrophic injury.

Medical Malpractice

There are 7,624 hospital beds and 1,555 ICU beds in the city of Chicago, representing its sprawling medical system [4].

Unfortunately, not every hospital visit has a happy outcome. Negligence on the part of medical professionals may result in catastrophic injuries, such as brain injuries from hypoxia or cerebral palsy due to birth injuries.

Additionally, there are 374 nursing homes and senior living facilities throughout the Chicago metropolitan area [5]. Not all of these are top-notch nursing centers, though: one was fined a collective $79,400 in just the fourth quarter of 2023 for numerous infractions [6]. Overcrowding and poorly trained staff may result in medical negligence, sometimes with tragic consequences.

Having legal representation by a skilled medical malpractice lawyer is crucial when seeking damages against medical personnel, as hospital systems will work hard to avoid accountability.

Work Injury

The Chicago economy employs 1.38 million people, with its largest industries being management, office and administrative support, and sales [7]. Each of the over 100,000 businesses in Chicago owe it to their workers to provide a safe and hazard-free environment, but many fall short [8].

Fatal workplace injuries are highest in construction, followed by transportation and warehousing; however, a serious accident can happen anywhere [9]. Common causes include poor signage that may result in falls and chemical spills that lead to severe burns.

If you’ve suffered serious injuries at your place of work, contact a Chicago workers’ compensation attorney for a free consultation to learn how to recover compensation from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation insurance program.

Defective Products

Medical devices may be placed onto the market with faulty pieces, while dangerous drugs are often not recalled in time to prevent harm. A catastrophic injury case may also come from faulty vehicle parts which lead to an accident.

Finally, dangerous chemicals in food and water sources can lead to permanent injury for victims, including cancer. A product liability.

Premises Liability

Chicago encompasses 228 square miles, with 4,000 miles of streets and 1,900 miles of alleyways [10], [11]. Both the City of Chicago and property owners are expected to prevent personal injuries by creating safe and sanitary spaces, and when they fail, the results can be tragic.

Slips and falls are one of the most common forms of catastrophic injury related to premises liability. If you’ve been harmed while on someone else’s property, speak to a catastrophic injury attorney from our firm to explore your options for compensation.

What to Do After a Catastrophic Injury

Suffering a serious accident is disorienting, but it’s crucial that you stay calm and follow these steps to ensure both your physical safety and protect your legal rights.

Call 911

As soon as an accident has happened, you should call 911 and stay at the scene. This provides a permanent record of the accident which can then be used to prove your catastrophic injury is directly related to the incident.

Get Medical Attention

Always seek medical attention, as some injuries may not be obvious. A Chicago catatrophic injury attorney will also be able to use your medical records from right after the accident to show your injuries are connected to the accident.

Gather Evidence

Personal injury cases often hinge upon the evidence provided by the plaintiff. Take photos of the accident and of your injuries, and get the contact details from everyone present. Law firms can then reach out to witnesses on your behalf to obtain their testimony.

Contact Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Call a Chicago catastrophic injury lawyer from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers as soon as it is safe to do so. We’ll provide you with a free case evaluation to explore your options in a personal injury suit.

Why You Need a Chicago Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Working with a Chicago catastrophic injury lawyer ensures you the best possible chance at compensation in catastrophic injury cases due to our methodical approach to each part of the legal process.

• Conduct Investigations – The other parties in a suit will be seeking evidence that you are to blame for your accident, but we will uncover the facts of the matter using our extensive resources and professional connections.
• Determine Compensation – With our experience of similar cases, we will argue for the maximum settlement that considers both your current and future expenses.
• Negotiate With Insurance – The insurance company will seek to minimize their responsibility, but we will hold them accountable and counter their negotiation tactics.
• Represent You in Court – If we are not able to come to an agreement with the other party, a personal injury lawyer will walk you through each step of the lawsuit process, always ensuring your rights are protected.

Establishing Liability for a Catastrophic Injury

A number of different parties may be held liable in catastrophic injury cases depending on their involvement. This can include:

• Other drivers in a car accident
• Employers, vendors, or other employees in a workplace accident
• Medical professionals for medical malpractice
• Property owners in the case of premises liability
• Manufacturers and distributors for product liability
• The City of Chicago for car accidents or premises liability

Proving Negligence for a Catastrophic Injury

There are four factors our Chicago catastrophic injury attorneys will need to prove when it comes to negligence. These are:

• Duty of Care – The liable party owed it to you to act responsibly and minimize the risk of harm to other people.
• Breach of Care – They failed to uphold this duty, such as by driving recklessly or not following standard operating procedures.
• Causation – The accident that resulted in injury was directly caused by this breach of care.
• Damages – You suffered losses as a result of the accident.

Damages Our Chicago Catastrophic Injury Attorneys Can Help You Recover

A catastrophic injury lawyer from our firm will assist you in recovering a variety of damages, which are separated into economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.

Economic damages are for financial losses that can be quantified, such as:

• Lost wages
• Medical bills
• Loss of earning potential
• Property damage
• Burial expenses in the case of death

Non-economic damages consider the impact of the accident on your life, such as:

• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Inconvenience
• Loss of companionship

Sometimes, a court will award punitive damages if it is proven the liable party’s actions went beyond negligence. If your catastrophic accident attorney feels that is a possibility, they will pursue compensation for this category as well.

How Much is My Catastrophic Injury Claim Worth?

There is no predetermined settlement amount for a lawsuit, as it will depend on the types of injuries you have suffered and the expenses you have incurred. A Chicago personal injury attorney will utilize previous cases and the opinions of experts to assess how much your case may be worth, always pushing for the maximum amount of compensation available.

Your own liability in the accident will also play a role. Illinois uses the modified comparative negligence system to award damages. This assigns everyone involved a percentage of blame; if you are less than 50% to blame, you can seek damages, but the amount you receive will be reduced by your percentage of fault.

Our Catastrophic Injury Settlements

We have achieved multi-million dollar settlements for our clients, such as:

• $2,100,000 – A nursing home patient developed Stage 4 bedsores due to negligence.
• $18,500,000 – The victim of a head-on truck collision suffered permanent injuries, including limited mobility.
• $7,000,000 – A pedestrian was hit by the company car of a major medical supplier.

Statute of Limitations for Chicago Catastrophic Injury Lawsuits

In most cases, you have 2 years to seek compensation through a lawsuit under the Illinois statute of limitations, which includes car accidents, sexual assault, and medical malpractice. There are some exceptions; for example, if a person did not die immediately after an accident, a lawsuit can be filed up to 2 years after death.

Contact Our Chicago Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Today!

A catastrophic personal injury attorney from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers will fight for your rights, ensuring that you receive justice for the physical pain and emotional trauma of a catastrophic accident. Call us at (888) 424-5757 or contact us online for a free consultation.

Our downtown office, near the Richard J. Daley Center, Dirkson United States Courthouse, and the Chicago Workers’ Compensation Commission, offers convenient access from Aurora, Joliet, and Waukegan via I-90, I-94, and I-290.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers

225 W Wacker Dr #1660
Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: (847) 835-8895
Toll Free: (888) 424-5757

We also serve clients from Buffalo Grove, Champaign, Naperville, Springfield and throughout Illinois.

References: [1] Illinois Secretary of State, [2] Illinois Department of Transportation, [3] University of Chicago, [4] University of Illinois-Chicago, [5] US News and World Report, [6] Illinois Department of Public Health, [7] Data USA, [8] City of Chicago, [9] US Bureau of Labor Statistics, [10] Encyclopedia Britannica, [11] City of Chicago

All content undergoes thorough legal review by experienced attorneys, including Jonathan Rosenfeld. With 25 years of experience in personal injury law and over 100 years of combined legal expertise within our team, we ensure that every article is legally accurate, compliant, and reflects current legal standards.