Categories: Lifestyle

6 Of The Most Catastrophic Injuries That Texans Can Suffer

You might hear the term “catastrophic injury” sometimes. It sounds dire, but what does it actually mean? Usually, when someone says they sustained a catastrophic injury, they mean one so bad that it permanently changes their life.

You may also hear this term in a courtroom setting. If you do, that likely means a lawyer feels they can get their client a substantial settlement if a person or entity harmed them. Catastrophic injury cases usually mean big payouts for the person who hurt themselves.

In Texas, you might pursue a personal injury lawsuit if someone harmed you. We’ll talk about some of the most catastrophic injuries a Texas resident might sustain. If something like this occurs, you can be sure you’ll get a large cash payment if you can prove your case.

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Electrocution Injuries

Understanding catastrophic injury and its impact on victims becomes critical in the legal system. Judges and juries should have empathy when someone shows up in court, and they’ve sustained a devastating, life-changing injury.

Most people have no problems showing compassion. They can just look at the victim and see how this injury impacted their life.

Electrocution injuries can certainly qualify. Maybe you’ve experienced an electric shock from time to time. That hurts a bit, but electrocution hurts much worse and can cause real damage.

If you electrocute yourself, maybe that happens because someone set up a situation where you could not avoid it. Perhaps they knew about some damaged electrical components, but they did not fix them quickly.

If you electrocute yourself, you might survive, but maybe you’re never the same again. A bad enough shock can paralyze you. It can give you seizures for years afterward. You can also sustain permanent brain damage.

If you head into a courtroom following an electrocution, the jury might see that you can’t walk on your own anymore. You may need a wheelchair. It seems likely they’ll award you damages if you can prove that someone else caused this.

Traumatic Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries happen all the time in many different ways. If a Texan suffers a traumatic brain injury, a car wreck might cause it. Maybe someone drinks and drives, and they ram your vehicle while speeding.

If so, your head might strike the steering wheel so hard that you seriously hurt yourself. You may also walk by a construction site, and something falls and hits you in the head. You can probably imagine several other incidents that might cause serious head wounds.

If you sustain a traumatic brain injury, that’s certainly catastrophic. You might experience memory loss. Maybe you’ll have total memory loss, but even partial loss makes your life very difficult.

You may also suffer severe headaches, or you can’t communicate like you once could. You might not have the motor skills that let you drive or operate other machinery.

Amputations

Amputation means an accident happened that severed a limb, like an arm or leg. You may also hurt a limb so badly that the doctors must amputate it. If something crushed your limb, for instance, amputation might become necessary.

Various accidents can cause amputation. A construction site accident or car crash might cause one. Maybe someone mishandles some machinery, and that harms your limb or cuts it off entirely.

If that happens, you’ll survive, but you won’t ever have the same life. You must relearn some basic skills. You probably feel like you’re starting your life over without the same abilities you once had. You can live with a missing limb, but it’s a tougher existence.

Vision Or Hearing Loss

Maybe you will lose your hearing or vision following an accident. Perhaps someone spills a caustic chemical, and it gets in your eyes. If so, you might lose total or partial sight.

You might get too near an explosion that causes extensive hearing damage. Maybe you have tinnitus from now on, or you can’t hear at all.

If this happens, that’s a catastrophic injury that changes your life forever. You might not enjoy your life so much afterward. Your family must help with your care. You can’t drive or do other things that you once enjoyed.

Burns

You might trap yourself in a building that’s on fire. If someone caused that fire, you can sue them later if they showed negligence or carelessness. Maybe you have burns all over your body.

Burn recovery takes a long time, and it is an excruciating process. You might amputate some limbs if the fire burned them too badly. You may also lose some other bodily functions.

If someone else caused the fire or whatever else burned you, you can sue them. You might recover some money, but you may have a harder life from that point forward. You should get cash for your pain and suffering since you will doubtless experience some.

Spinal Cord Injuries

If another car hits your vehicle, or if you sustain some other high-velocity impact, you might damage your spinal cord. If that happens, maybe you can never walk again. Perhaps you can walk, but only with a cane or walker. You might also use a wheelchair for getting around.

Spinal cord injuries sometimes require surgery, but other times, that doesn’t help. You might try physical therapy or stretching exercises every day, but that may not alleviate the pain or discomfort.

If someone caused your spinal cord injury, you can pursue them in court. You might get a settlement that can help you with your medical bills and also other necessities like your rent or mortgage payments.

These catastrophic injuries will change your life, and not for the better. You must figure out whether you can hold anyone responsible financially, but you must also learn some new living and coping methods.

Texans often have great determination, and maybe you can regain your equilibrium after a catastrophic injury. You may need a glass-half-full philosophy, but you might not find positivity easy after your ordeal.