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Trey justin hero edit far too often, negligence is to blame for catastrophic injuries. When it does, you can get experienced help recovering and seeking justice from morris & dewett injury lawyers. Backed by more than 20 years’ experience, our ruston catastrophic injury lawyers have vast experience representing people just like you in all types of catastrophic injury cases.

RUSTON CATASTROPHIC INJURY LAWYER

a full service legal team DEDICATED to personal injury

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CATASTROPHIC INJURY ATTORNEYS

Fierce Representation & Compassionate Counsel in the Pursuit of Justice

Catastrophic injuries can devastate victims and families, causing profound, debilitating pain while upending lives forever. The physical and psychological impacts of catastrophic injuries are often matched by crippling financial stresses, especially in the face of expensive medical care when victims can no longer earn a living.

Far too often, negligence is to blame for catastrophic injuries. When it does, you can get experienced help recovering and seeking justice from Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers. Backed by more than 20 years’ experience, our Ruston catastrophic injury lawyers have vast experience representing people just like you in all types of catastrophic injury cases.

Relentless, sharp, and skilled at winning, we are highly effective at providing persuasive representation when it matters most — and we know how to obtain the maximum available recoveries.

No matter how challenging your case may be, we are here for you, ready to answer your questions and help you 24/7.

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Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers has recovered millions for the injured and their families.

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Click on a link below to jump directly to a section and learn more about catastrophic injury causes, lawyers, cases, and compensation.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury?

Physical injuries caused by trauma or disease are generally categorized as catastrophic injuries when they cause painful, irreversible disabilities. Typically, catastrophic injuries impact key aspects of life, like mobility, perception, cognition, memory, and/or quality of life.

Sometimes, these injuries prevent people from being able to take care of themselves and live independently. In the worst cases, catastrophic injuries cut lives short with deadly complications.

Below is a deeper look at some of the most common catastrophic injuries caused by negligent acts.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Blows to the head and violent shaking of the head can damage the brain, causing traumatic brain injury. Whether mild, moderate, or serious, TBIs can be difficult to diagnose in their early stages. That’s generally due to the fact that TBIs can have hidden, mild, or generic symptoms early on.

Nonetheless, traumatic brain injuries can still have devastating effects. In fact, every week in the U.S., TBI complications kill nearly 1,200 people while causing more than 4,300 others to be hospitalized (source: CDC).

Even in milder forms, like concussions, TBIs can cause lasting damage that accumulates with subsequent concussions. In more severe TBI cases, the damage can be far greater, interfering with the abilities to communicate, coordinate movement, control moods, and more.

Consequently, those living with traumatic brain injury often need care from various medical professionals, including surgeons, physical therapists, speech therapists, psychiatrists or psychologists, and others.

Physician giving to patient pills for headache

Spinal Cord Injury

Compressing, tearing, or completely severing the spinal cord can result in spinal cord injury (SCI). The severity of these injuries will depend on a couple of factors, including:
  • Whether the SCI is incomplete versus complete: Complete injuries, which are generally more severe, involve the total severing of the spinal cord. An incomplete SCI means that the spinal cord is still intact but that it has been pinched, torn, or otherwise damaged.
  • The precise location of the damage: From the neck through the lumbar region, the point at which the spinal cord is damaged dictates which regions of the body are afflicted with paralysis and/or loss of sensation.
Every day in the U.S., 49 people are newly diagnosed with a spinal cord injury (source: NSCSC). The most severe SCIs are generally diagnosed as:

Other Physical Injuries

Brain and spinal cord damage are just two types of life-altering injuries that negligence can cause. Others can include (and are not limited to):
These and other catastrophic injuries can shatter lives. From surgery, routine therapies, and palliative care to medications, assistive equipment, and more, victims can have complicated, expensive medical needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic injury.

What Causes Most Catastrophic Injuries?

Negligence plays a role in causing most catastrophic injuries. This negligence can look different in different settings. On the roads, at home, and at work, however, the negligent acts that cause catastrophic injuries usually take the forms described below.
Asian young professional female practitioner doctor in white lab coat with stethoscope holding skull model showing explaining to unrecognizable male patient sitting on wheelchair after brain surgery.
Motor Vehicle Accidents

Traffic collisions are one of the top causes of many catastrophic injuries. In fact, it may only take one serious motor vehicle wreck to cause multiple, life-threatening catastrophic injuries. In many cases, these severe impairments involve factors like (but not limited to):

  • Driver negligence: Motorists who are fatigued, distracted, impaired, or inexperienced may simply cause crashes or make them much worse. For instance, a negligent driver may fail to step on the brakes or try to avoid a collision, resulting in far more serious injuries than if the motorist were responsive and able to take some crash avoidance measures.
  • High speeds: When vehicles are moving faster at the time of an accident, the possibility of catastrophic or deadly injuries skyrockets. That’s especially true if these high-speed crashes involve head-on collisions or T-bone accidents.
  • More vulnerable victims: This can include pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcycle riders who don’t have the same protections as those in passenger vehicles (like seatbelts and airbags). When vehicles hit these vulnerable travelers, there’s nothing to absorb or deflect that impact but the victims’ bodies, which can result in devastating injuries.
  • Horrific crashes: Rollovers, jackknife truck accidents, and underride crashes are some of the worst wrecks that can occur on Ruston’s roads. They usually lead to vehicles getting crushed, ripped apart, or otherwise totaled, and that often means catastrophic injuries for the occupants of those vehicles.
Dangerous & Defective Products

Various products, appliances, and equipment can pose threats of catastrophic injury, especially when:

  • Corners are cut during the design or manufacturing process.
  • Companies fail to use safe, quality materials, or they fail to test the safety of their products.
  • Manufacturers do not provide the proper instructions, safety warnings, or safety mechanisms for their items.

These and other oversights can end up putting toxic and unsafe products in consumers’ homes and hands. While that can increase the risk of serious accidents and injuries, it may also end up exposing people to dangerous substances, like cancer-causing asbestos or benzene, for instance.

In many cases, the companies that design, manufacture, market, and/or distribute these dangerous items can be liable for the harm their unsafe products cause.

Unsafe Premises

No matter where life takes you day to day, you don’t expect to get hurt at the places you patronize or visit. And, yet, some of those places may not be as safe as you’d like to believe. If property owners, landlords, or others are not doing what they should to maintain safe premises, accidents and catastrophic injuries can happen.

In fact, the risk of suffering a catastrophic injury at a dangerous property will typically spike when factors like (but not limited to) the following are at play:

  • Insufficient lighting
  • Broken elevators, escalators, or stairs
  • Cluttered, slippery, or uneven flooring
  • Defective skylights
  • Poorly maintained balconies
  • Failures to provide sufficient security (which could mean broken door locks, a lack of security cameras, or untrained security staff)
Work Accidents

The most dangerous jobs tend to expose workers to perilous environments where just one mistake can cause catastrophic injury or even death. From industrial equipment and hazardous substances to high elevations and long hours, on-the-job dangers can vary by profession — and they are not limited to those working blue-collar jobs outdoors.

Whenever work accidents cause catastrophic injuries, it’s crucial to investigate the incident to see if third-party negligence (i.e., the negligence of parties other than an employer or coworker) was involved.

Who Can I Sue After a Catastrophic Injury?

You may be able to sue the parties at fault for your accident and injuries. It’s best to consult with a Ruston catastrophic injury lawyer when you’re asking this question because:
  • Liability can be very complex:
    Several parties can share fault for your accident, and deeper investigations may be needed to figure out who all of those parties may be. Additionally, if you (or any victim) are among those liable parties, you could still be entitled to compensation (as long as you are not the primary at-fault party). It usually takes the skilled eye of an attorney to dice out liability and help victims avoid being wrongly blamed for accidents.
  • Liability is not the only factor you need to consider:
    There are time limits for filing catastrophic injury claims in Louisiana, and missing the filing deadline could mean losing the chance to seek compensation. While Louisiana law provides one year to file these claims, the starting point for that timeframe can vary, depending on when catastrophic injuries were diagnosed.

When Should I Talk to a Ruston Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?

Talk to an attorney as soon as you can.

Insurance companies and others may already be working to build a defense against claims of liability. Plus, you have limited time to file a claim, and the chances of losing key evidence go up the longer you wait to take legal action.

A Ruston catastrophic injury attorney at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers can be your trusted advocate, working immediately to protect your rights and start building your case. That can give you far better chances of winning fair compensation while providing important peace of mind that your claim is in experienced hands.

What Happens After I File a Catastrophic Injury Claim?

It depends on your accident and the type of claim you end up filing. That’s because different types of accident and injury claims can involve distinct processes and different parties. Additionally, there can be different statutes of limitations, depending on how the injuries were discovered or if the at-fault party is a public (government) entity.

Nevertheless, once most catastrophic injury claims have been filed, the process that follows is generally marked by:

  • Insurance companies:
    No matter who the liable party may be, the chances are that at least one insurance company will be involved at some point in a catastrophic injury claim. When insurers are part of a claim, it’s essential to remember that they are not your partner or advocate. Insurers are usually working against you when you’ve filed a catastrophic injury claim.
  • Settlements out of court:
    Most claims aren’t tried in court. To avoid the expense, uncertainty, and delay of trial, most parties find it favorable to work out settlement agreements outside of court.
A Ruston catastrophic injury lawyer at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers can help you figure out what type of claim(s) you may have during a free, no-obligation consultation. This meeting is 100% confidential.

What Damages Are Included in Catastrophic Injury Compensation?

Compensation, like the claims process, can hinge on case-specific factors. That means financial recoveries will vary by case, depending on the type of catastrophic injury involved and the impacts it has had.

Still, most of these claims cover similar types of damages, which can be pivotal to helping the injured and their families focus on healing and rebuilding their lives. Those damages tend to include some combination of:

A Ruston Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Is Ready to Help You

If you or a loved one has suffered severe injuries due to negligence, you can find out more about your rights and legal options from a Ruston catastrophic injury lawyer at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.

We have earned a reputation for excellence, integrity, and success after decades of winning the most challenging catastrophic injury cases. Discover the difference our team can make in your case and recovery by contacting us today.

Call (318) 221-1508 or Email Us for a Free, Confidential Consultation. Your path to justice can start with a call or an email.

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