Have you recently suffered a catastrophic injury in an avoidable accident in Florida? You may have the right to pursue compensation for your damages. The experienced Clearwater catastrophic injury lawyers at Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers can help you maximize your compensation. Call (727) 493-4418 to get started.
Since 2001, we’ve been fierce advocates for catastrophically injured clients and families in Clearwater, FL. Together, our attorneys have over 119 years of experience and have won millions in life-changing judgments and settlements from motorcycle accident cases in Clearwater, truck accident cases, workplace injuries, Clearwater Uber accidents, and even wrongful death cases.
Contact our law office in Clearwater to discover why we’re the top-rated Florida litigators you’ll want standing beside you. Your first consultation is free, so give us a call or reach out to us online today.
Money might not guarantee that you make a full physical recovery or erase the trauma you’ve endured, but it can certainly help relieve the financial burdens of your catastrophic injury.
However, at-fault parties and insurance companies will not make it easy for you to get the money you genuinely need on your road to recovery.
That’s where our Clearwater personal injury attorneys come in.
We’ll be your most passionate ally and help you stand up and make sure that your story is told. We’ll protect and assert your legal rights, exhausting every possible avenue for financial justice.
While we take the reins on your catastrophic injury case, you’ll have the time to concentrate on your physical and emotional well-being.
As we navigate your case, our team will:
- Investigate the accident or incident that caused your catastrophic injury
- Determine all potential legal options
- Gather evidence to support your claim for damages
- Consult accident experts and medical specialists
- Defend against blame-the-victim tactics
- Aggressively negotiate with the insurance company and other parties to get you the best possible terms in a settlement
- Reject lowball settlement offers and argue your case at trial before a Pinellas County jury, if necessary
Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers works on a contingency fee basis. There’s no out-of-pocket cost or expense to hire our law firm. We only get paid when we win your case.
Call our law firm in Clearwater to arrange a time to learn more about your rights and how we can help.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
By definition, an injury is catastrophic when it fundamentally and substantially changes your life.
Typically, catastrophic injuries can:
- Limit or impair mobility
- Cause paralysis
- Cause chronic pain
- Result in substantial disfigurement and scarring
- Limit job opportunities and career growth
- Prevent victims from returning to work in any capacity
- Reduce a victim’s quality of life
- Require victims to use medical devices or equipment to function
In theory, many injuries can be considered to be catastrophic if they’re severe enough.
However, the term “catastrophic injury” is generally used to refer to:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Burn injuries
- Severe broken bones and fractures
These types of catastrophic injuries tend to have the greatest potential to cause substantial and permanent shifts in a victim’s day-to-day life.
What Can Cause a Catastrophic Injury?
Any traumatic accident or incident has the potential to cause a catastrophic injury.
At Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent clients in catastrophic injury cases involving:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Rideshare accidents (Uber and Lyft)
- Bus accidents
- Boating accidents
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
- Negligent security
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
It’s important to seek medical care after you’re involved in a traumatic accident in Clearwater. Catastrophic injuries must be treated immediately to limit the risk of infection, complication, or death.
Prompt care can help keep you safe and create an important piece of evidence for your personal injury case. Your medical record can be used to establish a causal link between your accident and resulting trauma, which you’ll need to prove negligence.
How Much Is My Clearwater Catastrophic Injury Case Worth?
The lifetime costs associated with catastrophic injuries can be extraordinary. You could be faced with costs and financial losses that equal five or six figures a year. That’s after the initial financial blow of emergency medical care and intensive medical treatment in the first year you’re living with your catastrophic trauma.
To be sure, every case is incredibly different. Every victim is unique and will be affected by their trauma in different ways.
There are important factors to take into consideration during the valuation process:
- What type of catastrophic injury have you suffered?
- Will you be able to continue working in any capacity?
- What type of medical treatment will you require?
- Will you require personal assistance to perform daily tasks, such as eating, bathing, or driving?
- Do you share any responsibility for the accident that caused your catastrophic injury?
- How old are you?
The best way to learn about how much money you might be able to get when filing a catastrophic injury claim is by speaking with an experienced personal injury attorney near you in Clearwater.
What Damages Are Available If I File a Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit in Florida?
A catastrophic injury can touch every corner of your life. It can cause excruciating pain, keep you out of work, and inflict severe emotional trauma. Fortunately, you can seek compensation to help make up for all these – and other – losses.
Economic damages are intended to make you financially whole after you’ve sustained a catastrophic injury.
Examples include:
- Present and future medical expenses
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and income
- Disability
- Nursing care
- Personal care aides
- Property damage
Non-economic damages are awarded to compensate for the emotional and hard-to-value trauma you’ll experience after sustaining a catastrophic injury.
Examples include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Embarrassment
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Punitive damages might also be available, but there must be clear and convincing evidence the defendant in your case acted intentionally or was grossly negligent.
Can I Recover Compensation If I’m Partly Responsible for My Catastrophic Injury?
Yes, but your financial award will be reduced. Florida has adopted a modified comparative negligence system, which provides that damages are reduced in direct proportion to the fault assigned.
So, the greater your contribution to the accident that caused your catastrophic injury, the less money you’ll be able to receive when your case is resolved. If you are 51% or more to blame, these rules prohibit you from recovering compensation.
Let’s say you’re assigned 50 percent of the blame for the car accident that caused you to suffer a catastrophic spinal cord injury. Your damages total $1,000,000. Your financial award will be cut in half once contributory fault is factored into the equation – so you’ll be left with just $500,000. However, if you have a single percentage point more, you will lose your right to damages.
It’s important to stand up and fight back against tactics that are designed to shift blame. Insurance companies will search for any opportunity to limit how much money they have to pay for your injuries and suffering. They might claim that you’re at fault even if there’s no hard evidence to back it up.
Our catastrophic injury attorneys in Clearwater have dealt with manipulative insurance companies in Florida for decades, and we know their playbooks and strategies well. We’ll anticipate these types of allegations and work to limit how much, if any, blame is assigned to you.
How Long Do I Have To Pursue Compensation If I’ve Suffered a Catastrophic Injury in Clearwater, Florida?
Under Florida state law, a two-year statute of limitations will typically apply to catastrophic injury lawsuits in Clearwater. You’ll have until the second anniversary of the date you sustained a catastrophic injury to formally file a claim for damages.
However, there are exceptions. For example, if you suffered your catastrophic injury before 3/24/23, you will be subject to the state’s older four-year deadline according to a new tort reform law.
Once the statute of limitations expires, you’ll lose the opportunity to demand accountability and recover the compensation you deserve.
Two years might seem like a long time, but it can fly by before you know it – especially when you’re trying to adapt to unexpected life changes. Protect yourself by calling our experienced personal injury lawyers in Clearwater for help as soon as possible after you get hurt.
Set Up a Free Consultation With an Experienced Clearwater Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
Are you struggling with the painful consequences of a catastrophic injury after an accident in Clearwater, Florida? Call Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers We have the experience, resources, and dedication you’ll need to win your case and get the top results you deserve.
Our Clearwater catastrophic injury attorneys have over 119 years of combined experience and are ready to stand by your side. Contact our law office to set up a time for a free, no-obligation case evaluation to get started on your path to financial justice.
Our personal injury law firm in Clearwater, FL, also provides:
- Bicycle Accident Lawyers in Clearwater
- Brain Injury Attorneys in Clearwater, FL
- Car Accident Lawyer in Clearwater, FL
- Construction Accident Lawyer in Clearwater, FL
- Dog Bites Attorneys in Clearwater, FL
- Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Clearwater
- Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Clearwater
- Truck Accident Lawyer in Clearwater, FL
- Uber Accident Lawyers in Clearwater
- Workplace Accident Attorney in Clearwater, FL
- Wrongful Death Lawyer in Clearwater
