Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injuries in New York City

If you or someone you love has suffered a catastrophic injury, you likely have more questions than answers right now. Below, are answers to the questions asked most often by our clients.

When facing the aftermath of serious, life-altering injuries feels like too much to take on alone, Douglas & London is here to help. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation.

What counts as a catastrophic injury?

A catastrophic injury is one that permanently and severely disrupts a person’s ability to work, care for themselves, or live the way they did before the accident. Common examples include:

  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
  • Spinal cord injuries (SCIs), especially those resulting in paralysis
  • Amputations or crushed limbs leading to limb loss
  • Severe burn injuries, especially third or fourth-degree burns covering large parts of the body
  • Herniated disc injuries
  • Loss of vision or hearing
  • Paralysis: including: Monoplegia (one limb), Hemiplegia (one side), Paraplegia (legs/lower body), and Quadriplegia/Tetraplegia (all from the neck down/four limbs)
  • Multiple broken bones or fractures leading to loss of mobility
  • Organ damage that requires long-term care, especially to the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and intestines
  • Injuries that result in a permanent coma or vegetative state

What sets these cases apart from other personal injury claims isn’t just the severity of the initial trauma. It’s also the lifelong consequences victims and their families face.

A catastrophic injury typically requires ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, assistive devices or technology, home modifications, and long-term support that can cost millions of dollars over a lifetime.

What types of accidents cause catastrophic injuries?

Catastrophic injuries can result from any serious incident, such as:

No matter how the injury occurred, the central question in a civil claim is whether another party’s negligence, or the negligence of multiple parties, caused or contributed to what happened.

How is a catastrophic injury claim different from a standard personal injury claim?

The core legal principles are the same: you must establish that someone else’s negligence caused your injuries. But catastrophic injury cases are more complex in several ways.

The damages at stake are significantly larger, which means insurance companies and defense attorneys fight much harder to minimize or defeat the claim. Proving the full value of a catastrophic injury often requires medical experts who can speak to the long-term prognosis, as well as life care planners or economists who can calculate decades of future costs and lost earning capacity.

Building and presenting that case requires experience and resources that not every personal injury firm has.

What compensation can a catastrophic injury victim recover?

Depending on the circumstances of the case, recoverable damages may include:

  • Past and Future Medical Expenses: Emergency care, surgeries, hospitalization, rehabilitation and physical therapy, medications, medical devices, prosthetics, and all anticipated future treatment
  • Home and Vehicle Modifications: Ramps, widened doorways, accessible vehicles, and other accommodations required by the injury
  • Lost Wages and Diminished Earning Capacity: Income already lost during recovery as well as future earnings the victim will no longer be able to earn
  • Cost of Long-Term Care: Home health aides, personal care attendants, and residential or institutional care if needed
  • Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the injury and its lasting effects
  • Loss of Enjoyment of Life: For activities, hobbies, relationships, and experiences the victim can no longer participate in as before
  • Wrongful Death Damages: If a catastrophic injury proves fatal, compensation for surviving family members

New York doesn’t cap damages in most personal injury cases, which means a well-built case can fully account for the injury’s actual lifetime costs.

What if I was partly at fault for the accident that caused my injury?

New York follows a rule called pure comparative negligence, which means you can recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for what happened. However, your damages are reduced in proportion to your share of fault. For example, if it’s determined that you were 20% at fault and the damages total $5 million, you would receive $4 million.

This is an important protection for injured people, but it also means that defendants and their insurers will look aggressively for ways to assign you a share of the blame. An experienced NYC injury attorney knows how to anticipate and counter these arguments.

What if the injured person cannot speak for themselves or make legal decisions?

When a catastrophic injury leaves someone unable to communicate or make decisions, as can happen with severe TBIs, spinal cord injuries, or conditions resulting in a coma, a family member or other appropriate person can typically bring a lawsuit on their behalf. An attorney can help the family navigate this process as part of pursuing the injury claim.

Who can be held liable for a catastrophic injury?

That depends entirely on how and where the injury occurred. In a construction accident, potential defendants might include the property owner, general contractor, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers. In a car accident, liability could fall on the at-fault driver, a trucking or delivery company, or a vehicle manufacturer. In a medical malpractice case, the responsible parties may include individual providers, a hospital, or a healthcare system.

One of the most important things an experienced catastrophic injury attorney does early in a case is conduct a thorough investigation to identify every party whose negligence contributed to the injury.

How long do I have to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit in New York?

In NYC, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is three years from the date of the accident.

If the injury resulted in death, surviving family members generally have two years from the date of death to bring a wrongful death claim.

There are important exceptions:

  • Medical malpractice claims have a shorter deadline of two years and six months.
  • If the defendant is a government entity, such as the City of New York, a city agency, or another public body, you must file a Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident before you can sue, and the lawsuit itself must be filed within one year and 90 days.

Three years may sound like a long time, but catastrophic injury cases require immediate evidence preservation, extensive investigation, expert analysis, and case preparation that takes time. The sooner you have an attorney working on your case, the better protected your claim will be.

Where are catastrophic injuries treated in New York City?

For the most severe injuries, Level I trauma centers provide the highest standard of emergency and critical care. Within the five boroughs, these include:

In addition, the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center is one of the most renowned burn care programs in the world. And for longer-term rehabilitation following a catastrophic injury, Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Center offers inpatient specialty programs specifically targeting spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and amputations.

How much does it cost to hire Douglas & London for a catastrophic injury case?

Nothing upfront. Douglas & London handles catastrophic injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no legal fees unless and until we recover compensation for you.

How do I get started with a catastrophic injury claim?

Contact Douglas & London today for a free, confidential consultation. We’ll listen to what happened, answer your questions honestly, and help you understand your legal options. If we believe we can help you, we’ll tell you exactly how we intend to pursue the case and what you can expect along the way.