Like most states, Illinois has fault-based injury laws that hold a negligent or wrongful party financially accountable for the harm they caused to someone else, or the “damages,” in a personal injury claim. Damages in most personal injury claims cover common, injury-related losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. While the damages in many personal injury claims are substantial, a catastrophic injury claim has a much higher value than typical personal injury claims.
Before moving forward on a personal injury claim in Illinois, it’s helpful to understand when a claim is considered “catastrophic.” Reach out to our catastrophic injury attorney in Chicago today for a free consultation.
What Types of Injuries Are Catastrophic?
While all sudden injuries are painful and distressing, the resilient human body can fully recover from most injuries. Unfortunately, there are some types of injuries from which an individual cannot ever fully recover. For instance, we cannot regrow a lost limb. A catastrophic injury is one that adversely affects the rest of the injury victim’s life. Common examples of catastrophic injuries in Illinois and elsewhere include the following:
- Spinal cord injuries with paralysis
- Traumatic brain injuries with impaired function
- Loss of limb
- Severe burns
- Disfigurement
- Multiple bone fractures
- Loss of vision or hearing
- Organ damage or organ loss
The effects of catastrophic injury impact the injury victim’s earning capacity, ability to complete routine daily tasks, and even their personal relationships and ability to enjoy their lives as they did previously. These are catastrophic injury damages.
What Causes Catastrophic Injuries In Illinois?
There are many events that cause severe or catastrophic injuries. An injury victim may only make a claim against another party’s insurance if the other party caused their injury through careless, reckless, or wrongful actions—all examples of legal negligence in Illinois. The most common causes of catastrophic injuries include the following:
- Car accidents
- Commercial truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability cases, such as dangerous staircase falls, pool accidents, and structure fires
- Defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Workplace injuries
- Acts of violence
Personal injury law centers on the common understanding that we all owe a legal duty of reasonable care to others around us; for example, a driver’s duty to follow traffic laws to avoid causing a car accident. When someone breaches this duty of care and causes injury, they can be held legally responsible for damages, including catastrophic injury damages.
What Are the Exceptional Damages In a Catastrophic Injury Claim In Illinois?
Catastrophic injury claims are high-value claims that often seek the policy limits of the at-fault party’s insurance, or include other measures to obtain compensation, such as direct litigation against the responsible party or a third-party claim against another entity that contributed to the accident.
Catastrophic injury claims often seek the following damages:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical expenses
- Projected future costs for economic damages, such as household assistance, home health aid, and adaptive equipment (life-plan projections)
- Compensation for pain and suffering
Depending on the individual circumstances, a catastrophic injury victim may seek compensation for the emotional trauma associated with a life-altering injury, or damages for PTSD, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and depression.
An experienced injury lawyer in Chicago pursues all available avenues for compensation and defends their client against common tactics used by insurers to devalue claims.
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “BlogPosting”,
“headline”: “What Makes a Personal Injury “Catastrophic” In Illinois?”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Legal Team”
},
“publisher”: {
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Smith LaCien”,
“url”: “https://www.smithlacien.com”
},
“description”: “Like most states, Illinois has fault-based injury laws that hold a negligent or wrongful party financially accountable for the harm they caused to…”
}
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What Types of Injuries Are Catastrophic?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “While all sudden injuries are painful and distressing, the resilient human body can fully recover from most injuries. Unfortunately, there are some types of injuries from which an individual cannot ever fully recover. For instance, we cannot regrow a lost limb. A catastrophic injury is one that adversely affects the rest of the injury victim’s life. Common examples of catastrophic injuries in Illinois and elsewhere include the following: • Spinal cord injuries with paralysis • Traumatic brain injuries with impaired function • Loss of limb • Severe burns • Disfigurement • Multiple bone fractures • Loss of vision or hearing • Organ damage or organ loss The effects of catastrophic injury impact the injury victim’s earning capacity, ability to complete routine daily tasks, and even their personal relationships and ability to enjoy their lives as they did previously. These are catastrophic injury damages.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What Causes Catastrophic Injuries In Illinois?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “There are many events that cause severe or catastrophic injuries. An injury victim may only make a claim against another party’s insurance if the other party caused their injury through careless, reckless, or wrongful actions—all examples of legal negligence in Illinois. The most common causes of catastrophic injuries include the following: • Car accidents • Commercial truck accidents • Motorcycle accidents • Pedestrian accidents • Premises liability cases, such as dangerous staircase falls, pool accidents, and structure fires • Defective products • Medical malpractice • Workplace injuries • Acts of violence Personal injury law centers on the common understanding that we all owe a legal duty of reasonable care to others around us; for example, a driver’s duty to follow traffic laws to avoid causing a car accident. When someone breaches this duty of care and causes injury, they can be held legally responsible for damages, including catastrophic injury damages.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What Are the Exceptional Damages In a Catastrophic Injury Claim In Illinois?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Catastrophic injury claims are high-value claims that often seek the policy limits of the at-fault party’s insurance, or include other measures to obtain compensation, such as direct litigation against the responsible party or a third-party claim against another entity that contributed to the accident. Catastrophic injury claims often seek the following damages: • Reimbursement for medical expenses • Anticipated future medical expenses • Projected future costs for economic damages, such as household assistance, home health aid, and adaptive equipment (life-plan projections) • Compensation for pain and suffering Depending on the individual circumstances, a catastrophic injury victim may seek compensation for the emotional trauma associated with a life-altering injury, or damages for PTSD, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and depression. An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer in Illinois pursues all available avenues for compensation and defends their client against common tactics used by insurers to devalue claims.”
}
}
]
}