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The term “catastrophic injury” is common in both personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. However, New York law doesn’t actually define this term. 

Instead of meeting a specific definition, therefore, your attorney will attempt to prove that you suffered catastrophic injuries by pointing to their impacts on your life, health, and finances. 

FAQ: Catastrophic Injuries in New York 

What is considered a catastrophic injury in New York?
A catastrophic injury in New York is not legally defined. It generally refers to injuries that severely impact your life, health, and finances, such as spinal cord injuries, brain trauma, severe burns, or amputations. 

How do lawyers prove an injury is catastrophic?
Attorneys use factors like injury type, severity, medical costs, and the long-term impact on daily life to demonstrate that an injury is catastrophic for claims or lawsuits. 

Do catastrophic injuries affect compensation?
Yes. Injuries considered catastrophic often result in higher compensation because they lead to extensive medical care, lost income, and long-term life changes. 

Can temporary injuries be catastrophic?
Yes. Even temporary injuries can be catastrophic if they threaten life or cause long-term health issues, such as severe blood loss or permanent damage to vital organs. 

Who can help with catastrophic injury claims in New York?
Experienced personal injury and workers’ compensation lawyers, like the team at Silberstein & Miklos, P.C., can guide you through claims and help maximize compensation. 

Factors That Determine Whether an Injury Is Catastrophic 

Since catastrophic injuries don’t need to meet any specific criteria, insurers and jurors will often look at the nature, severity, and effects of the injury to determine whether it should be considered catastrophic. 

Your attorney may use the following factors to advocate for you as part of an insurance claim, lawsuit, or workers’ compensation claim: 

Injury Type 

Certain injuries are considered worse than others because of the body systems they affect. 

For instance, neurological injuries, such as brain damage or spinal cord injuries, are often permanent and affect some of the body’s most important functions, such as cognition, memory, and movement. Similarly, severe burns can cause permanent disfigurement, even if the face isn’t injured. 

Injury Severity 

In addition to the nature of your injuries, fact-finders will also look at their severity. Severe injuries might have any of the following characteristics: 

• Permanent disabilities, such as paralysis 
• Disfigurement or scarring 
• Amputation of a body part or loss of an organ 
• Permanent impairment of a body system, such as vision loss 

However, even temporary injuries might be catastrophic if they threaten your life or lead to long-term health issues. 

For example, a severe laceration might heal, but you may have lost massive amounts of blood, which could have been fatal. Similarly, a back injury might permanently damage your vertebrae and discs, leaving you with chronic back pain for the rest of your life. 

Cost of Medical Care 

One of the most significant challenges you’ll face when dealing with any injury is the costs of the following: 

• Diagnostic tests 
• Medical treatment and procedures 
• Surgery 
• Hospitalization 
• Medication 
• Physical therapy 
• Mental health counseling 

Catastrophic injuries often require more costly treatment. This may be because the victim needs extensive treatment to stabilize. It can also happen when the patient requires long-term rehabilitation and therapy. 

For example, doctors frequently treat third-degree burns with skin grafts. A patient may need several rounds of skin grafts and other treatments to protect them from dehydration and infection. As a result, these burns may be considered catastrophic because of the cost involved with the ongoing treatments. 

Impact on Your Life 

Some injuries will have a greater impact on your life than others. For example, an injury that causes permanent blindness might be considered more serious than one that causes permanent deafness because humans rely on their sense of sight more than their sense of hearing. 

Similarly, the loss of a hand might have a greater impact on your life than a foot amputation. Even though both involve the loss of an appendage, they affect your ability to live independently and adapt to a prosthetic differently. 

Effects of a Catastrophic Injury on Your Case 

Generally, your lawyer won’t need to prove that you have a catastrophic injury to win a personal injury or workers’ compensation case. Any injury that causes economic and non-economic losses can provide the basis for a claim. 

Economic losses are the financial costs associated with the injuries, such as medical bills, lost income, and reduced earning capacity. Non-economic losses, meanwhile, reflect the personal costs of your injuries. They might include pain and suffering, disability, and disfigurement. 

You can pursue compensation for all these losses for both catastrophic and non-catastrophic injuries. However, the value of your case will depend largely on whether you suffered catastrophic injuries. 

These injuries may necessitate extensive medical care that lasts for the rest of your life. They’ll affect your ability to work and care for yourself over a longer period. They’ll often have a greater impact on your physical and mental quality of life as well. 

Therefore, rather than focusing on whether the injury meets a particular definition of “catastrophic,” it’s often more worthwhile to prepare evidence showing the financial and human costs associated with it. 

Learn About Catastrophic Injuries When You Ask4Sam 

Regardless of the definition, catastrophic injuries can have a profound effect on your health, quality of life, and finances. If you decide to pursue an injury or workers’ compensation claim, the resulting compensation could relieve much of your financial pressure and help you obtain necessary medical treatment and therapy. 

Silberstein & Miklos, P.C., has successfully handled cases involving a wide range of injuries. We can provide personalized legal services for the losses you’ve suffered. Contact us today to start the fight for fair catastrophic injury compensation.