West Virginia Catastrophic Injury Attorneys

A serious injury, such as a broken bone, may require hospitalization, surgery, therapy and time to heal. Many people who suffer serious injuries recover almost completely, even if it takes a few months or a year or longer. But at some point, they are usually able to return to what seems like a normal life again.

How Does a Catastrophic Injury Differ?

A catastrophic injury, on the other hand, dramatically and radically changes a person’s life permanently. For example, with a spinal cord injury comes paralysis and disability requiring accommodations and personal care assistance. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) may leave a person unable to speak, may damage bodily functions and typically leaves a person unable to work full time. An amputation or severe disfigurement will dramatically alter a person’s physical life.

At Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C., we have five decades of experience standing up for those who have suffered severe and catastrophic injuries in West Virginia. Our lawyers have a successful track record with even the most complex injury cases, and we work closely with our clients, putting our extensive experience to work to provide the strong personalized representation they need and deserve.

We represent individuals who have suffered from all types of serious, severe and catastrophic injuries. These include:

• Brain injuries
• Burn injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Burn injuries caused by fires or explosions
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Amputation
• Loss of sight
• Loss of hearing due to explosions or other accidents

We admire our clients’ bravery and determination in the face of serious challenges and handicaps. Their courage motivates us to work even harder as we pursue compensation for them. Whether the cause of an accident was Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Mine Safety and Health Association (MSHA) violations of safety regulations or a motorist texting while driving or drunk driving, we are prepared to advocate zealously on your behalf. Our goal is to help you obtain the compensation that you need to cope with your injuries and losses.

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries

There are a wide range of accidents and events that can result in a severe and catastrophic injury, which may include:

• Motor Vehicle Accidents: Hundreds of thousands of individuals are killed or severely injured in vehicle accidents every year. Those involved in auto accidents are more likely to suffer catastrophic injuries if the crash occurs at a higher speed. Those with less protection are also more susceptible to severe traffic accident injuries, such as pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and motorists that are involved in collisions with buses or large commercial trucks.
• Other Motorized Accidents: In addition to automobile collisions, catastrophic injuries can result from other types of motorized crashes, such as boat accidents, train accidents, and aviation accidents.
• Workplace Accidents: The workplace can be a dangerous environment, especially in certain industries such as construction, mining, oil and gas, logging, agriculture, and manufacturing. OSHA has industry safety regulations in place, but unfortunately, companies do not always follow them. Failure to ensure the safety of the worker has led to countless severe workplace injuries. In addition, a lot of these injuries happen because of the negligence of third parties such as contractors, subcontractors, and product manufacturers.
• Premises Liability Accidents: Some catastrophic injuries happen when an individual is on the property of another party. It is the responsibility of the property owner or caretaker to take reasonable steps to ensure that the premises are safe and free of known hazards for visitors who have permission to be there. When these steps are not taken, a number of accidents can occur. Examples include slips, trips, and falls, animal attacks, swimming pool accidents, escalator and elevator accidents, and injuries resulting from negligent security.
• Product Liability Accidents: As we talked about with workplace accidents, a number of catastrophic injuries result from defective or dangerous products. Numerous products hit the marketplace every year, but not all of them are properly vetted. For example, machinery and equipment that is designed to make a workplace more efficient might have inherent dangers that lead to a severe injury during the course of regular use. Or a new toy that parents give their child for Christmas turns out to have a fatal flaw. When this occurs, it may be possible to bring a product liability lawsuit against the designer, manufacturer, distributor, or any other party within the faulty product’s supply chain.

Catastrophic Injury Claims in West Virginia

Severe and catastrophic injuries typically result in losses that can exceed seven and even eight figures for victims. With years of lost earnings and ongoing medical care usually required, victims and their households often find themselves facing extreme financial difficulty. On top of all this, there are the incalculable costs of the injury; such as the excruciating pain that the victim has to go through day after day and the seemingly endless number of sleepless nights worrying about when and how things will ever get back to normal.

Unfortunately, insurance companies usually have very little sympathy for the plight of catastrophic injury victims. In fact, it is usually the opposite. Because these are high-dollar cases, insurers tend to expend more resources pushing back against the claim and trying to diminish its value.

Because of the complexities involved with pursuing catastrophic injury claims and the fierce opposition victims are likely to receive, it is very important to work with attorneys who have in-depth experience with these types of cases. There are so many possible factors that go into accurately calculating damages, and there also may be a number of different parties that could be held liable for damages.

Our seasoned attorneys will handle your claim from start to finish, so you can focus on getting recovered as much as possible and adjusting to your new normal. We will thoroughly assess the specifics of your case and explore every potential legal avenue toward recovering maximum compensation. And once we have identified the most effective legal strategy, we will go to work immediately to put together a rock-solid case that will stand up at trial (if it gets that far).

Free Initial Consultation with a Charleston, WV Severe Injury Attorney

If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury because of someone else’s negligence, you deserve to be fully compensated. For skilled legal guidance with all types of personal injuries in West Virginia, contact Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C. at (800) 497-0234 or (800) 296-6979 or message us online for a free consultation. We look forward to serving you!

We work on a contingency basis. We don’t get paid unless you do.