Recovering from any injury can be a long and difficult process. Some injuries, however, are so catastrophic that they permanently change your life. Such catastrophic injuries not only affect you, but also the rest of your family as they struggle to adapt to your “new normal.”
Catastrophic injuries are often the result of negligence, such as a car accident caused by a reckless driver or medical malpractice by a doctor or long-term care facility. If you, or someone that you love, has been harmed by such negligence, you have the ability to seek financial compensation under Ohio personal injury law. The Cleveland catastrophic injury lawyers at Tittle & Perlmutter can review your case, explain your legal options, and advise you in developing a course of action designed to hold the negligent parties legally responsible for what they have done to you.
Defining a Catastrophic Injury in Ohio
The term “catastrophic injury” is not, strictly speaking, a legal term. Rather, it is a term of art used to describe a severe or life-altering injury that often leaves the victim with some form of permanent damage. While just about any injury can be classified as catastrophic based on its severity, some of the more common examples of catastrophic injuries that we deal with at Tittle & Perlmutter include:
- amputation of a limb;
- birth injuries to newborn children;
- disfigurement;
- loss of a bodily organ;
- nerve damage;
- permanent loss of senses (vision, hearing, smell, taste, et al.)
- severe traumatic brain injuries;
- spinal cord damage/paralysis; and
- third- and fourth-degree burns.
In seeking compensation for a catastrophic injury, you must prove that one or more defendants were negligent. That is, you need to show that the defendant violated a duty of care owed to you under Ohio law, and that violation was the proximate cause of your catastrophic injury. This type of negligence can arise in a number of scenarios, such as:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: If your catastrophic injury was caused by a car or truck driver who violated the rules of the road–speeding, drunk driving, ignoring stop signals, et al.–you may seek compensation from them and their auto insurance carrier.
- Medical Malpractice: Doctors, nurses, hospitals, and other healthcare providers have a professional duty to provide care within the accepted standards of their profession. When a provider’s deviation from those standards causes catastrophic injury to the patient, they can be held financially responsible under Ohio medical malpractice laws.
- Nursing Home Abuse: Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities also have a duty of care towards their residents, many of whom are elderly and suffer from physical and mental conditions that place them at greater risk of sustaining a catastrophic injury. Such risks are exacerbated when nursing home staff commit acts of abuse against a vulnerable resident.
- Gas Explosions: Improperly maintained gas pipelines that supply homes and industrial customers are often a silent threat. A gas explosion can quickly inflict severe burns and other catastrophic injuries on victims, who often have little or no warning that danger is imminent.
How a Catastrophic Injury Affects Your Right to Compensation in Ohio
In any Ohio personal injury case, a victim can seek both economic and non-economic damages as compensation for their losses resulting from the defendant’s negligence. Economic damages consist of those losses that can be readily quantified in monetary terms. For instance, if you sustain a catastrophic injury, your economic damages would include:
- all of the costs of your past, present, and future medical care;
- any expenses related to physical therapy and rehabilitation;
- the costs of any medical devices, such as an artificial limb, or a chair lift for your home;
- your loss of income if you cannot return to your job;
- your expected diminished future earning capacity during the rest of your lifetime; and
- any incidental out-of-pocket expenses, such as the cost of transporting you to and from your medical appointments.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify. In broad terms, non-economic damages covers your pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and the emotional trauma of having to live with your catastrophic injury.
Under current Ohio law, a court may award you 100 percent of your economic damages. With respect to non-economic damages, the law is more complicated. In 2005, the Ohio legislature decided to limit or “cap” awards of non-economic damages in personal injury cases. This cap is $250,000 or three times the total amount of economic damages awarded, up to $350,000 per plaintiff.
However, Ohio’s cap on non-economic damages does not apply to cases where the plaintiff suffered certain types of categories. Specifically, a victim may seek and receive unlimited non-economic damages if they sustained:
- the permanent and substantial physical deformity;
- the loss of use of a limb;
- the loss of a bodily organ system; or
- a permanent physical functional injury that prevents the victim from independently caring for themselves and performing life-sustaining activities.
How Can Our Catastrophic Injuries Lawyer Help You?
Personal injury cases involving catastrophic injuries usually involve significant higher economic and non-economic damages than other kinds of personal injury claims. This often leads defendants in such cases–not to mention their insurance companies–to dig in their heels and resist a quick settlement. Indeed, many defendants will try to argue the plaintiff’s injuries are not catastrophic or serious at all.
This is why it is so important to work with experienced Cleveland catastrophic injury lawyers.
You should not assume that just because you suffered a catastrophic injury that the responsible parties will simply pay up without putting up a fight. Additionally, an attorney can help ensure that you follow all of the necessary court rules and procedures in pursuing your case. Keep in mind, Ohio has a two-year statute of limitations to file a personal injury case, and it often takes several months of preliminary investigation and preparation to file a claim involving a catastrophic injury.
If you would like to speak with our Cleveland catastrophic injury lawyers, call Tittle & Perlmuter today to schedule a free case strategy session.
