Atlanta Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Working with a catastrophic injury lawyer makes the claim, settlement, and litigation processes more accessible and allows injured accident victims to focus on their physical and emotional recovery. If you’ve just begun to research your rights and options after a catastrophic accident, the information below can provide valuable insight as you determine the best way forward.

While Georgia doesn’t provide an official legal definition of what makes an injury catastrophic for personal injury cases, 42 USC § 3796b of the United States Code defines catastrophic injury as one that permanently prevents the injured party from performing gainful work. Further, the Georgia Department of Public Safety defines a serious bodily injury as one that causes serious permanent disfigurement or impairment or loss of any bodily organ or member.

While these definitions are not directly related to Georgia personal injury claims, they can provide some guidance in the absence of any specific state legislation defining catastrophic injury. A catastrophic injury lawyer is your best resource for individualized guidance on your injury case.

This list is not exhaustive. You may still be entitled to file a catastrophic injury claim if you’ve suffered an injury not included above. If you have questions about your catastrophic injuries, a lawyer with experience in similar cases can clarify the requirements and processes you’ll likely face in your Georgia accident claim.

Catastrophic injuries harm more than the accident victim. The long-term and life-altering effects of such injuries also impact families and loved ones. Recovering fair compensation for the harm that’s been caused does more than provide much-needed financial relief in a time of immense stress and upheaval; it also provides the justice and closure that people need to motivate them forward in their healing process.

Any personal injury claim in Georgia must be initiated within two years. This timeframe for filing a lawsuit is called the statute of limitations, and there are limited exceptions to this two-year rule. The filing deadline is different for cases that involve injuries to reputation and loss of consortium, which is when the victim’s injuries deprive them of companionship, intimacy, and affection associated with close relationships. However, most catastrophic injury victims have two years from the date they were injured to file a claim for damages. A judge may toll or pause the statute of limitations in Georgia in some circumstances, such as:

Economic damages compensate victims for financial losses, such as lost income, medical expenses, and property damage. Non-economic damages involve losses that do not have an easily quantifiable value. Damages like diminished quality of life, mental anguish, and chronic pain are non-economic. Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party for intentional, malicious, or egregiously negligent behavior, but courts rarely award punitive damages in personal injury cases.