Long Island Personal Injury Lawyers

Put Decades of Legal Experience in Your Corner

Although minor injuries can certainly affect your quality of life, some physical traumas are graded as catastrophic injuries due to their life-changing nature. From rigorous emergency treatments to lengthy hospitalizations, catastrophically-injured victims and their families must adjust to a new way of life marred by pain, inconvenience, and long-term disabilities.

Every year, catastrophic injuries occur throughout New York City from fraud, swimming pool accidents, construction accidents, manufacturing accidents, and organized sports accidents. Catastrophic injury incidents generally share two common characteristics: negligence or reckless behavior was the cause, and the at-fault party was not the victim.

At Beston International Law Firm, our firm represents clients with catastrophic injuries – and no injury is too serious for us to handle. We believe that negligent or reckless parties should pay for the injuries they cause. Our attorneys commit all their legal experiences, resources, and tireless efforts to recovering multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for severely injured victims. We’ve also helped families recover damages when catastrophic injuries caused their loved ones’ wrongful deaths.

Do you think you have a catastrophic injury claim on Long Island, New York State, or nationwide? Call Beston International Law Offices at (929) 841-6928 or contact us online today. 

What Injuries Are Considered Catastrophic?

The term catastrophic injury encompasses a wide range of life-changing medical conditions. Brain and spine injuries are the most widely recognized as “catastrophic,” but the category also encompasses traumatic amputations, severe burns, and any other condition that leaves an injured person with a serious – and possibly permanent – loss of bodily function.

Some of the most common catastrophic injury cases we handle include:

• Closed and open traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Crushing head injuries
• Serious burns
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis (tetraplegia, paraplegia, and triplegia)
• Amputations

Medical expertise often saves catastrophic injury victims’ lives, but it can’t always restore them to full health, cognition, and mobility. When people sustain catastrophic injuries, their new normal must integrate daily living with ongoing care, therapeutic maintenance, family assistance, and a serious financial commitment.

Liability Determination for Catastrophic Injury in New York State

New York's comparative negligence doctrine holds that liability for the same injury is generally shared among multiple people or entities if the accident was caused by someone's negligence. (In contrast, strict liability standards apply to product defect cases, meaning that in most cases when a product causes an injury, anyone in the product's production and distribution chain is liable, regardless of whether negligence was involved.)

For example, several parties may share liability in the following cases:

• Vehicle accidents
• Falls
• Sports injuries
• Construction accidents
• Violent acts
• Product defects

Of course, the potential for sharing liability also allows opposing parties to claim that the victim contributed to the injuries. At Beston International Law Firm, we prepare our cases diligently to defend against these sorts of claims. If the negligent party is trying to shift blame for your injuries to you, give us a call.

Investigation and Evidence in New York Catastrophic Injury Cases

At Beston International Law Firm, our in-house investigators have worked hard to help us maintain professional investigative standards. In past cases, our investigation team has helped us to obtain:

• Witness statements: Witness statements can prove critical in catastrophic injury cases. As with most people, however, a witness may forget details as time passes. Our investigators have worked hard to quickly obtain eyewitness testimony to corroborate our clients’ versions of the events that led to their injuries.
• Site investigations: Whether a truck accident, product malfunction, construction site injury, or other event caused our client’s injuries, when appropriate, our investigators have visited the location of accident scenes, producing photographs, descriptions, and diagrams to help us better present our cases.
• Truck activity recording devices: Commercial truck drivers present such high risks on the highway that they are legally required to document their activities via paper logs, black boxes, or Congressionally-mandated Electronic Logging Devices.
• Equipment maintenance records: Manufacturers often maintain maintenance logs for the machines on their production floors, especially the older equipment.
• Product retrieval: Our investigators have retrieved defective products for nondestructive testing. We have stored defective products in an evidence warehouse where we have conducted demonstrations for judges, juries, and opposing counsel that proved how those products injured our clients.

Unique Needs for Catastrophic Injury Cases

Life Care Planning

If you have been seriously injured as a result of the negligence of another, the attorneys at Beston Law Firm will aggressively seek financial compensation for the full extent of your losses. But how do we quantify those losses? How do we estimate the lifetime cost of a permanent disability, such as a brain injury or spinal cord injury?

That is where life care planning comes in. Our law firm sometimes works with certified life care planning specialists to assess your current and future needs for medical treatment, from office visits to surgeries to prescription medications.

That life care plan will project your needs for the following:

• Rehabilitation therapies (including speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation.)
• Assistive technologies
• Adaptive and prosthetic devices
• Transportation costs
• Home accessibility modifications

In cases where a life care plan is appropriate, once the life care plan is complete, we work with economists to project the lifetime costs of those needs. We consider all costs related to your injury, including pain and suffering, wage loss and loss of future earning potential.

Vocational Rehabilitation

If you have sustained a brain injury or spinal cord injury, you know how profoundly your life has changed. While medical treatments and rehabilitation therapies cannot give you your old life back, they can help give you the skills you need to adjust to your new circumstances.

When representing people who have suffered life-altering injuries, our attorneys will consider the need for vocational rehabilitation as well as medical treatment and other therapies, like physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Vocational rehabilitation specialists can help you explore potential areas of employment, learn new job skills, and provide the support you may need to obtain and keep employment.

Treatment Options for Catastrophic Injury Victims in New York State

It’s vital that catastrophic injury victims receive high-quality medical treatment and rehabilitative care so they have the best chance of regaining what they had lost in their accident.

Below are some common treatments for those who have suffered devastating injuries.

• Surgery: Surgery may be a viable option for those strong enough to undergo such a procedure. Severe burn injury victims, for example, may undergo surgical procedures to have dead skin removed or to reconstruct damaged features.
• Therapy: There are many different types of therapies that can benefit catastrophic injury victims physically and emotionally. Physical therapy, for example, is commonly used for those who have experienced devastating brain injuries or amputations. Cognitive or occupational therapy, on the other hand, can be beneficial for those who need help adjusting their speech or self-care abilities after a brain injury or another traumatic event.
• Medication: Many catastrophic injury victims will need to take medications in order to manage the symptoms that accompany such an injury, such as seizures, personality changes, mood disorders, and more.

We know that a catastrophic injury can be physically, emotionally, and financially devastating, and we’re here to make the legal process as efficient for you as possible. We’re passionate about protecting plaintiffs’ rights, and we have recovered billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury due to the actions of another, our attorneys can help you obtain the damages you deserve, including the cost of quality medical care.

The Lifetime Costs of a Catastrophic Injury

The lifetime costs of a catastrophic injury can be insurmountable for some. Catastrophic injuries are often permanent in nature, which means that those who suffer from them typically require long-term, high-quality medical treatment and rehabilitative care in order to make strides in their recovery.

There are several different elements that add up to make a catastrophic injury so expensive, including the following:

Medical Bills

There is no denying that a catastrophic injury victim may require lifelong care. Such care may differ greatly depending on the type of injury sustained—whether that be a brain injury, a burn injury, an injury requiring amputation, or something else. The common denominator between all of these injuries is that the victims who suffer from them will likely need treatment for the rest of their lives. Such extensive medical treatment can quickly overwhelm a victim and their family financially.

Lost Wages

Since catastrophic injuries are often permanent in nature, most victims will never be able to return to work or support themselves. Or, if they’re able to work, they’re not able to return to their normal job and can only do a job that involves less physical or mental work, and pays less. So, not only do catastrophic injury victims face monumental medical bills, but they also are robbed of the income to pay them.

Live-in Care

Some catastrophic injury victims require 24/7 care and, as such, need to have someone living with them to provide medical care. Others require help with activities of daily living (ADLs) for periods of time during the day or at night. This person could be a family member who is put out of work to do so, or a medical professional who must be paid for their services.

All of these expenses can easily cost a catastrophic injury victim and their family more than they could ever afford on their own.

Given this high financial toll, it’s vital that a catastrophic injury victim and their family retain experienced legal representation so they have a better chance of recovering the compensation they need and deserve to pay for such expenses.

At Beston International Law Firm, our Los Angeles trial attorneys are passionate about protecting plaintiffs’ rights and helping them move forward after a tragedy. We have a strong track record of success in obtaining significant verdicts and settlements for our clients, and we’re here to do the same for you.

We Give Our Clients the Attention They Deserve

While many firms will agree to handle a catastrophic case, few have the experience and resources to produce consistently successful outcomes. That’s why our team handles the complex catastrophic cases that other, less-experienced firms struggle to handle. 

At Beston International Law Firm, our attorneys prepare our clients’ cases from day one as though trial were inevitable. When the opposing party is reasonable, prudent, and fair, we have no problem negotiating a settlement. But if we cannot reach an appropriate settlement for our client’s case, we do not flinch at proceeding to trial and positioning our case for the best results possible.

We are dedicated to representing those who have suffered severe brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and other catastrophic injuries as a result of the negligence or reckless behavior of others.

To file a catastrophic injury claim, contact us today at (929) 841-6928