Bakersfield Catastrophic Injury Attorney

What is Considered a Catastrophic Injury? 

A catastrophic injury refers to a severe and often life-altering injury that has a profound and lasting impact on the affected individual's physical, emotional, and financial well-being. These injuries typically result from accidents or incidents such as car crashes, workplace accidents, medical malpractice, sports injuries, or acts of violence.

Characteristics of catastrophic injuries include:

• Severe Physical Damage: Catastrophic injuries often involve extensive damage to one or more body systems, such as the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, or internal organs. Examples include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, severe burns, and multiple fractures.
• Permanent Impairment: Catastrophic injuries typically result in permanent impairment or disability, which means that the individual's ability to perform daily activities, work, or enjoy a normal quality of life is significantly diminished or altered.
• Long-Term Medical Care: Survivors of catastrophic injuries often require extensive and ongoing medical care, including surgeries, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and medication management. The cost of healthcare for these injuries can be exorbitant.
• Emotional and Psychological Impact: Catastrophic injuries can have a profound psychological impact on the individual and their family. This may include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and emotional distress.
• Financial Burden: The costs associated with catastrophic injuries can be overwhelming. Medical bills, ongoing care expenses, adaptive equipment, and modifications to living spaces can lead to substantial financial strain. Additionally, the individual may lose their ability to work and earn a living.
• Loss of Independence: Many catastrophic injuries result in a loss of independence. Individuals may require assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and mobility, which can be emotionally challenging.
• Legal Implications: Catastrophic injuries often lead to legal issues, such as personal injury claims or lawsuits seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

What Are the Most Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries?

The following are the most common types of catastrophic injuries:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): These injuries result from severe blows or jolts to the head, leading to damage to the brain. TBIs can result in long-term cognitive, emotional, and physical impairments.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord can lead to paralysis or loss of function below the site of injury. Paraplegia (paralysis of the lower limbs) and quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs) are common consequences.
• Amputations: The loss of a limb, such as an arm or leg, is a catastrophic injury that can have a significant impact on an individual's mobility and independence.
• Severe Burns: Extensive burns can cause permanent disfigurement and physical disabilities. They often require numerous surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.
• Multiple Fractures: When an individual sustains multiple fractures, especially in critical areas like the skull, spine, or pelvis, it can lead to long-term mobility issues and chronic pain.
• Organ Damage: Damage to vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, or kidneys, can be catastrophic and life-threatening, often requiring transplant surgeries or ongoing medical management.
• Severe Soft Tissue Injuries: Injuries that result in significant damage to muscles, tendons, ligaments, or other soft tissues can lead to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and long-term disability.
• Vision or Hearing Loss: Catastrophic injuries that cause complete or partial loss of vision or hearing can significantly impact an individual's quality of life.
• Severe Orthopedic Injuries: These include injuries like crushed bones or compound fractures that may require multiple surgeries and long-term rehabilitation.
• Internal Injuries: Injuries to internal organs, such as the spleen, liver, or intestines, can be life-threatening and may require extensive surgery and ongoing medical care.
• Severe Neck or Back Injuries: Damage to the neck or back, including fractures, herniated discs, or nerve damage, can result in chronic pain and mobility limitations.
• Severe Joint Injuries: Injuries to major joints, such as the knee or hip, can lead to long-term mobility problems and may require joint replacement surgery.
• Severe Nerve Injuries: Damage to nerves, especially those that control motor or sensory functions, can result in permanent loss of movement or sensation.
• Psychological Injuries: While not always visible, psychological injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe anxiety, or depression can have a profound impact on an individual's well-being.

What Are the Leading Causes of Catastrophic Injury?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects data on the leading causes of “unintentional nonfatal injuries.” They include:

1. Slip and Falls

2. Car / Truck Crashes

3. Motorcycle Crashes

4. Assault / Violence

5. Workplace Accidents

6. Sports / Recreational Activities

How to Find the Best Catastrophic Injury Attorney in Bakersfield?

We understand that finding the best attorney for your case can be difficult. A Google search for Bakersfield lawyers produces countless options. Downtown Bakersfield is inundated with injury attorney billboards. 

With so many options, how do you make the right choice for your injury claim?

Below we discuss some of the most important attributes to look for when researching injury lawyers:

Experience: Experience is key in catastrophic injury cases. An attorney who has litigated these types of cases for years will better understand how to navigate the legal system and handle complex settlement negotiations successfully. If negotiations fail, however, you want a lawyer with trial experience and proven results in court. 

Communication skills: A good injury attorney should have excellent communication skills in and out of the courtroom. He or she should be able to clearly explain legal concepts to clients in a way that is easy to understand.

Empathy and compassion: Injury lawsuits can be emotionally taxing for clients, so a good attorney needs to have empathy and compassion, recognizing what you and your family are going through. 

Commitment and dedication: Injury claims can last months or even years. Your attorney should be committed to obtaining the results you deserve, no matter how long it takes. 

Accessibility: A good injury attorney should be accessible to their clients and responsive to their needs and concerns. That includes his or her legal team. If you have a hard time getting a hold of anyone at a law firm you are thinking of working with, it may be best to keep searching. As the saying goes, the greatest ability is availability. 

Negotiation skills: Most catastrophic injury lawsuits end in a settlement. Your attorney needs to be able to negotiate with any defendants and insurance companies. While many settlement agreements are confidential, you can still ask if the attorney has obtained settlements in cases similar to yours.  

Resources: A catastrophic injury claim can require substantial resources, including expert witnesses. A good attorney should have access to reliable experts, accident reconstructionists, and more. 

Reputation: This is very important. Does the attorney have good legal standing among previous clients and peers? A good catastrophic injury attorney should not only have a strong track record of success, they should also have satisfied clients and peers who like working with them.

Call For a FREE Consultation: (855) 948-5098

Why Choose Wisner Baum?

Wisner Baum has obtained significant results for our clients. Along the way, we have earned countless positive reviews from clients and the respect of our peers in the legal community. 

Our successes have made us one of Bakersfield’s most trusted firms for serious injury cases. When you choose our team, you can be confident knowing that we’re backed by:

• Record results. We’ve set local, state, and national records for verdicts and settlements secured in a range of serious injury cases. 
• Proven trial experience. Collectively, our attorneys have litigated hundreds of cases, including countless trials over major aviation disasters, truck accidents, pharmaceutical injuries, and defective products that resulted in serious injuries. We are not afraid to bring the fight to any corporate defendant.  
• An award-winning team. Our attorneys are consistently recognized among the best in their field in publications such as Southern California Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America® and have helped our firm earn The National Law Journal’s prestigious Elite Trial Lawyers Trial Team of the Year award on two separate occasions. Managing Partner R. Brent Wisner has been recognized as one of California’s Top Plaintiff Lawyers by the Daily Journal.

Our Settlements and Verdicts in Injury Lawsuits

Wisner Baum has recovered more than $4 billion in compensation for clients, including millions of dollars for clients who suffered serious and life-altering injuries. Some examples of our verdicts and settlements in these types of cases include:

$2 billion jury verdict 

$105 million pharmaceutical injury settlement

$15 million catastrophic injury settlement 

$12 million catastrophic injury settlement

$10 million bus accident settlement 

If you or someone you love suffered serious injuries due to another’s negligent or wrongful acts, our team at Wisner Baum wants to help. Our Bakersfield catastrophic injury lawyers proudly serve clients across Kern County and California. We offer FREE and confidential consultations. To speak with a lawyer about your potential case, call (855) 948-5098 or contact us online.