The majority of personal injury cases involve short-term disabilities, in which temporary damage is inflicted upon a victim’s body, mind, or spirit. Motor vehicle accidents, occupational injuries, sports injuries, medical malpractice, defective products, and falls are common causes for personal injury lawsuits. Victims in these cases seek treatment, eventually recover, and resume normal living.
Accidents resulting in catastrophic outcomes such as brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, serious burns, blindness, and amputations are more severe, leading to lifelong physical, emotional, and economic damage. Catastrophic injuries impact a victim’s quality of life and permanently alter the course of their future plans. Because these injuries are more serious in nature, Louisiana and Texas recognize exceptions to state statute of limitations laws, or the time period in which victims and their families can file a personal injury lawsuit and recover damages.
What Constitutes a Catastrophic Injury?
Injuries are considered catastrophic when they prevent a patient from resuming the standard of life they enjoyed before their accident occurred. For example, the victim:
- Is unable to return to work or to a level of employment equal to their previous position
- Cannot care for themselves
- Needs ongoing medical treatment and therapy
- Requires the use of a medical device like a wheelchair or prosthetic
- Must rely on home health aides or family members to meet their basic needs
- Had to make modifications to their home or vehicle due to their injuries
- Has a spouse who stopped working to take on the role of caregiver
Brain Injuries
A severe blow to the head as a result of an accident results in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to impaired cognitive function. Patients with TBI experience persistent headaches, problems with concentration and memory, mood and personality changes, and language and communication struggles.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Damage to the spinal cord that prevents nerves from sending signals to the arms and legs causes paralysis and impaired functioning of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary systems in the body. Depending on the location of the injury to the spine, patients are left unable to move from the neck, chest, or waist down.
Severe Burns
Third- and fourth-degree burns penetrate the innermost layer of skin and damage tissue all the way to the muscle, tendons, and bone. Severe burns cause significant pain and lead to permanent disfigurement.
Amputation
The loss of appendages has far-reaching consequences for future employment opportunities and the ability to enjoy certain activities. Amputation may impede a victim’s ability to live independently.
Blindness
Loss of vision due to a brain injury or trauma to the eyes reduces a patient’s quality of life and affects their ability to function independently of others. Accident-induced blindness also requires the victim to learn new skills to navigate daily tasks.
How Does a Catastrophic Injury Affect Statutes of Limitations?
A statute of limitations is the time period in which a victim or their family can file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit and recover damages. Catastrophic injuries require long periods of recovery and rehabilitation. Sometimes would-be plaintiffs are unaware of the extent of their injuries or unable to initiate legal proceedings immediately, for example, when a brain injury leaves a patient in a comatose state that lasts weeks or months.
Maximum Medical Improvement
In the aftermath of a catastrophic event, doctors are working to determine the extent of a patient’s injuries and the likelihood that they will achieve full recovery. Victims and their attorneys need time to assess the long-term consequences and future needs associated with these injuries in order to gauge how much their case is worth.
Maximum medical improvement (MMI) is a term used to describe an injury that is unlikely to improve further, regardless of additional medical intervention or therapy. For example, a patient with a TBI may plateau in their recovery and still not return to the state they were in prior to their accident. MMI affects the value of personal injury lawsuits as some patients require lifelong care due to their incomplete return to normalcy.
Recovery is a long, slow process, and determining a patient’s MMI can take months or even years. A lawsuit may need to be delayed beyond the statute of limitations. Consequently, both Louisiana and Texas make exceptions to the statute of limitations when a catastrophic injury is involved.
Louisiana
Louisiana law allows one year following the date of injury or death to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in the state. There are exceptions to this rule, and victims and their attorneys have the option of filing a formal claim to extend the statute of limitations. Exceptions in Louisiana include the following:
- For injuries that aren’t discovered at the time of an event or don’t develop immediately following an accident, the statute of limitations begins at the time of discovery or development. Plaintiffs then have three years from the date of accident to file a claim. This exception is common in worker’s compensation suits.
- Minors under 18 are exempt from the statute of limitations entirely. Instead, they have one year after they reach 18 to file a claim, even if the accident occurred many years prior. Adults filing suit for a minor in their care can also seek damages outside of the statute of limitations.
Texas
Chapter 16 of Texas state code addresses both personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Texas gives victims two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury claim. For wrongful death suits, a victim’s family also has two years to file a claim, but the statute of limitations doesn’t begin until the date of the victim’s death. Like Louisiana, Texas makes exceptions to its two-year statute of limitations:
- The statute of limitations is different for plaintiffs with a legal disability, defined as those under 18 years of age or not of sound mind to make legal decisions at the time of their injury. Victims have two years from the time they reach 18 or regain mental competence to file suit.
- If a defendant leaves the state, the clock stops on the two-year statute of limitations and resumes when they return.
- Victims who are unaware of the potential for a personal injury claim have two years from the time they discover or should have discovered their injury, or discover that a would-be defendant was at fault for the damages. This circumstance often applies to product liability lawsuits.
A personal injury attorney is required to petition the court on behalf of their client to extend the statute of limitations when exceptions apply. The presiding judge ultimately decides whether a plaintiff is mentally competent enough to pursue legal action and when the clock begins running on the statute of limitations.
