Are you suffering from a catastrophic injury in Tampa, Florida? Did another party’s actions cause it? You may be entitled to hold them accountable for your medical bills, lost income, and emotional distress by filing a personal injury claim.
Unfortunately, getting the compensation you need won’t be easy. The at-fault party and their insurance company will question you every step of the way and try to minimize your damages. That’s why you need an experienced legal advocate in your corner fighting for you.
The aggressive Tampa catastrophic injury lawyers at Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers are here to help you seek every penny you deserve to cover your losses. We’ll use our 119 years of combined experience to go to battle for you and ensure you’re treated fairly throughout the process. We’ll help you go through your injury case, we handle medical malpractice cases, Tampa taxi accident injuries, train accident cases, workplace injuries in Tampa, construction accidents, and more.
Call us or contact our law firm online to schedule a free consultation. We’re here to listen to what happened to you, provide honest legal advice, and explain your options for moving forward.
How Can Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers Help You With a Catastrophic Injury Claim in Tampa, FL?
Catastrophic injuries can cost hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars. You may face long-term rehabilitative treatment, require in-home nursing care, and be unable to work for months or years.
You deserve an experienced attorney working for you to recover compensation for medical expenses, future losses, and non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help.
If you hire our Tampa personal injury attorneys to represent you in your catastrophic injury claim, we’ll:
- Look into how your catastrophic injury occurred and who is liable for causing it
- Gather evidence proving each element of your claim
- Consult your healthcare providers and leading experts to value the full extent of your damages, including future medical needs and lost earning capacity
- Communicate with insurance adjusters and at-fault parties on your behalf so that you can focus on your recovery
- Argue your case before a Hillsborough County jury if we fail to agree to a fair out-of-court settlement
Most personal injury cases settle outside of the courtroom, but our trial attorneys in Tampa, FL will be ready to litigate for you at trial if necessary. Contact our law office today for a free initial consultation to see how we can help you financially recover after a catastrophic injury.
What Is a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury is any severe temporary or permanent physical impairment you sustain that is life-altering. It may affect your physical abilities or impair your cognitive functions temporarily or for the rest of your life. You may have a diminished quality of life and be unable to engage in activities you once enjoyed.
Catastrophic injuries may include:
- Paralysis, including quadriplegia and paraplegia
- Spinal cord damage
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Internal organ damage
- Amputations
- Severe burns
- Hearing loss
- Blindness
- Multiple broken bones
- Any other permanent impairments or disabilities
These injuries typically require extensive medical care that costs accident victims significant amounts of money. Victims may recover fully after some time or never completely heal from their injuries.
What Causes Catastrophic Injuries?
Any type of accident or personal injury incident can lead to a catastrophic injury, including:
- Car accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Dog bites
- Aviation accidents
- Assaults and other criminal acts
- Recreational activities
- Explosions
While many of these accidents – including collisions and slips and falls – are common, sustaining a catastrophic injury due to them is not. Don’t attempt to take on your personal injury claim alone if you’re dealing with a severe injury. You may watch much-needed compensation disappear if you go against insurance companies alone.
Call our Tampa catastrophic injury attorneys for help with your claim.
What Compensation Can I Seek for a Catastrophic Injury in Tampa, FL?
You’re looking at significant financial and emotional harm if you sustain a catastrophic injury.
People suffering from catastrophic injuries after an accident in Tampa can seek economic damages for their financial losses and non-economic damages for their personal, difficult-to-value losses.
Economic damages cover the following:
- Past medical expenses
- Future medical costs, including ongoing rehabilitation, physical therapy, surgeries, and more
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning potential
- Out-of-pocket expenses, including travel costs, in-home nursing care, and more
Non-economic damages cover things like:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Diminished enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Permanent disability or impairment
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Inconvenience
Punitive damages might be available in your Tampa catastrophic injury case if the defendant’s conduct was intentional or grossly negligent. Punitive damages aren’t compensatory; they’re awarded to penalize people for bad conduct.
How Much Is My Tampa Catastrophic Injury Case Worth?
Catastrophic injury cases tend to be worth more than a typical personal injury claim. Why? Because the more severe your injury, the more losses you typically incur. Depending on your injury, you could be looking at hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars worth of medical expenses and treatment costs.
For example, the lifetime cost of caring for someone with a brain injury is estimated to be between $85,000 and $3 million. The lifetime cost of living with a spinal cord injury is up to $5 million, depending on your age and injury.
Therefore, the following factors are relevant when calculating the value of your Tampa catastrophic injury case:
- The type of catastrophic injury you sustained
- The severity of the catastrophic injury
- How the injury will impact your quality of life and ability to earn a living
- Whether your injury is permanent
- Your age when you sustained the injury
- The level of pain, suffering, and emotional trauma you’ve endured
- The level of support you gave your family before and after the accident
- Whether you share fault for causing the catastrophic injury
- The parties involved in your case
We’ll evaluate every factor in your claim to ensure we accurately calculate the value of your losses. We want to ensure that you receive an amount that reflects the full extent of your economic and non-economic damages.
What If I’m Partially At Fault for Causing My Catastrophic Injury in Tampa?
First off, it’s important never to admit fault after an accident. You cannot be sure if you are to blame until a thorough investigation has been conducted. Additionally, multiple parties may share responsibility.
If you do share fault, don’t panic. Florida is a modified comparative negligence state, meaning accident victims can still recover compensation unless they are mostly at fault for their injury.
However, your percentage of fault will affect how much you can take home. For example, if you’re assigned 40% of the blame for your accident, you can only recover 60% of your awarded damages. But if your 51% or more at fault (mostly at fault), you will not be able to recover compensation.
How Do I Prove My Catastrophic Injury Case?
A catastrophic injury case can be challenging to prove due to the significant damages involved. Most of these injuries are caused by the negligent actions of another party – meaning they are typically avoidable if someone is using reasonable care.
To prove negligence in a catastrophic injury case, the plaintiff must demonstrate the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence:
- The defendant owed them a duty of care;
- The defendant breached their duty of care by failing to act as a reasonable person would under similar circumstances;
- The defendant’s breach directly and proximately caused the plaintiff harm; and
- The plaintiff sustained damages as a result.
To prove each element of negligence, the plaintiff must collect evidence, which may include:
- Videos and photographs of the accident scene and injuries
- Accident or police reports
- Medical records and physician’s statements
- Eyewitness statements
- Expert witness testimony
- Physical evidence from the accident
- Employment records proving lost wages
- Statements from family, friends, and others regarding how the catastrophic injury has impacted the plaintiff’s everyday life
Our catastrophic injury lawyers in Tampa will help you gather evidence proving the defendant’s liability for your damages.
How Long Do I Have To File a Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit in Florida?
The statute of limitations provides a deadline for filing lawsuits. Florida law typically gives victims of catastrophic injuries two years after their accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. You may have more time depending on when the catastrophic injury occurred.
If your loved one succumbed to a catastrophic injury, you’ll also have just two years from their date of death to file a wrongful death claim.
This may seem like a lot of time to some, but it’s not – especially if you’re dealing with ongoing rehabilitative care, surgeries, and medical treatment. Additionally, evidence fades over time. Witnesses forget details, and crucial evidence gets lost.
Preserve your legal rights to compensation from the at-fault party by contacting our Tampa personal injury attorneys as soon as possible.
Contact Our Tampa Catastrophic Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
Did a negligent party cause you to sustain a catastrophic injury in Tampa, FL? Are you struggling with medical expenses, lost wages, and out-of-pocket costs? You don’t have to take on these financial struggles alone.
Our Tampa catastrophic injury lawyers at Winters & Yonker Personal Injury Lawyers are here to hold the at-fault party responsible and fight for the compensation you need. You shouldn’t be worried about a legal battle while you’re dealing with a debilitating injury. Ensure that your personal injury claim is in good hands by getting us on your side.
Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation. We can help you understand your options for compensation and take the financial stress away. Learn more by calling our law firm today.
Our personal injury law firm in Tampa, FL, also provides:
- Bicycle Accident Lawyers in Tampa
- Brain Injury Attorneys in Tampa
- Bus Accident Attorney in Tampa, FL
- Car Accident Lawyer in Tampa, FL
- Child Injury Lawyers in Tampa
- Construction Accident Lawyer in Tampa, FL
- Dog Bites Attorneys in Tampa
- Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Tampa, FL
- Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Tampa
- Pedestrian Accident Lawyers in Tampa
- Premises Liability Attorney in Tampa
- Product Liability Lawyers in Tampa, FL
- Slip and Fall Lawyer in Tampa
- Truck Accident Lawyer in Tampa, FL
- Uber Accident Lawyers in Tampa
- Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Tampa
- Workplace Accident Attorney in Tampa, FL
- Wrongful Death Lawyer in Tampa
Additional Personal Injury Resources & Information
- A Step-by-Step Guide for Filing a Personal Injury Claim in Florida
- How Much Does a Tampa Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?
- Florida’s statute of limitation “Comparative fault”
- Complaint for a Civil Case
- Filing a Civil Case Forms
Highly Rated Hospital & Fire Stations Near Us:
- HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital – 2901 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
- South Tampa Medical Center – 508 S Habana Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
- Tampa General Hospital – 409 Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33606
- Fire Station No.9 – 2569 W Chestnut St, Tampa, FL 33607
- No.6 Fire Station – 311 S 22nd St, Tampa, FL 33605
*Disclaimer – we do not endorse these companies or profit from having them listed on our website.
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