CATASTROPHIC INJURIES2020-12-23T16:31:02+00:00

NEW YORK CITY CATASTROPHIC INJURY ATTORNEY

When a person sustains a catastrophic injury, it impacts the entire family.  The best outcomes require access to state of the art doctors, hospitals and therapists, which isn’t something that most health insurance will cover. Without the proper legal support, even a well to do family can find themselves on the brink of bankruptcy. That’s why it’s crucial to hire a New York City catastrophic injury attorney that knows how to get your family the money that’s needed as soon as possible. At Wittenstein & Wittenstein we’ve been helping families get money in their pocket quickly, ensuring access to the highest quality care available to treat their physical and psychological injuries, and maintaining financial security for the entire family. We won’t sleep until you get the same care we would expect for our own family. That’s why we’re the New York City catastrophic injury attorney that people call first.

What Is A Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is so severe that it requires extensive and prolonged medical intervention and results in long term or permanent disability. Victims often require multiple surgeries, skin grafts and other painful and prolonged treatment. Rehabilitation may last years or become a permanent part of the victim’s life. Regaining the ability to function may require prosthetics and accommodations such as hand controlled cars and elevators installed in a home. In many cases a person can never return to their former occupation and may never be able to work again at all. These are some example of catastrophic injuries:

In addition to the impact of physical or mental injuries, most victims of catastrophic injuries also suffer from psychological and emotional trauma. These are the symptoms to look out for:

  • Mood swings;
  • Memory loss;
  • Irritability;
  • Difficulty concentrating and
  • Mood swings

It’s important to get treatment as soon as these symptoms appear so that the condition does not escalate into severe crippling depression. When you hire experienced New York City catastrophic injury attorney Wittenstein & Wittenstein, you’re one step closer to the best care possible for your condition.

What Causes Catastrophic Injuries?

Any type of accident or intentional act has the potential to cause a catastrophic injury, but these are the most common causes:

Sometimes an accident has more than one cause. For example, a head on collision could be caused by a drunk driver, but also by faulty brakes. An experienced New York City catastrophic injury attorney knows how to thoroughly investigate the facts surrounding an accident so all parties responsible are held accountable.

How To Get The Most Money For Victims of Catastrophic Injuries

The most significant challenge when seeking a very large amount of compensation that’s appropriate for victims of catastrophic injuries is the amount of insurance coverage available. Finding enough coverage requires an attorney that’s experienced and creative. When motor vehicle accidents cause catastrophic injuries, it’s important to find deep pockets in order to fully compensate victims. The New York minimum for no-fault insurance is $50,000 which is more than enough coverage for medical, lost earnings and out of pocket expenses for most accidents, but it’s grossly insufficient for victims of traumatic brain injuries (TBI,) spinal cord injuries (SCI,) loss of sight, loss of hearing, loss of a limb and other types of catastrophic injuries that require multiple surgeries and long term rehabilitation. Commercial insurance policies of $100,000 required for commercial vehicles are still insufficient. The victim’s own underinsurance policy is helpful, but rarely enough to provide full monetary relief. New York law requires negligent parties to compensate victims even if they were not the major cause of the accident. For example, if the accident was even partially caused by a pothole, malfunctioning traffic signal, missing stop sign, sign obscured by overgrown greenery or other negligence on the part of the city, state or town, they will be required to contribute to the victim’s compensation. When accidents are even partially caused by a design defect, such as an SUV that rolled over, this can be an additional source of coverage. Doctors don’t always carry enough malpractice insurance to fully compensate victims, so it’s worthwhile to explore negligence on the part of the hospital or other facility that may have contributed to the victim’s injuries. At Wittenstein & Wittenstein, we leave no stone unturned in getting our clients the money they need to help themselves and their family get their lives back on track.

Healing Can’t Wait

At Wittenstein & Wittenstein, we understand the importance of getting state of the art treatment as soon as possible. That’s why we’ll work with the responsible parties to set up medical payments, even before the case is settled. We’ll be there for you and your family finding ways to get payments in for lost earnings as soon as possible. As soon as you begin working with Wittenstein & Wittenstein you’ll be able to relax and focus on your healing.

FREE CONSULTATION
NO FEE UNLESS WE WIN

New York No-Fault and Serious Injury Threshold Deciphered

So you’ve been injured in a car accident (truck, bus, etc.) and you are wondering whether or not you have a case.  For car accidents in New York, you can’t sue for minor injuries.  You need to have a “serious injury” - I’ll explain. In the 1970’s the law regarding suing for injuries caused by an accident changed substantially.  Before that, if you had an accident, you would get the medical treatment you needed and sue for the cost of the medical treatment, time lost from work, out-of-pocket expenses (ie: taxis to treatment) and for your injuries.  The “no-fault” law changed all that. Now, the “no-fault” law provides a minimum of $50,000 of insurance coverage [...]

Oh No! – I Had an Accident While Driving a Taxi (Uber, Lyft, Livery)

TAXI ACCIDENT NYC - WE CAN HELP When you have an accident while you are working, your case has two parts.  The first part is to establish how your first party benefits (medical care, lost earnings, out-of-pockets expenses, etc.) will be paid.  In most cases those benefits will be paid by Worker's Compensation, but in some circumstances they are paid by "no-fault" under the car insurance policy of the car you are driving.  Since this is not always crystal clear at first, we always file for no-fault benefits as well as referring our clients to a Worker's Compensation attorney to file a claim there.  There are also situations where it is not clear that you [...]

For Goodness Sake – Don’t Leave Your Car in Storage!

If you have collision insurance (aka full coverage) for your car, your insurance company will inspect your car and pay you promptly for the damage.  If you don't have this coverage, you can make a claim against the car that caused the accident to collect money to fix your car (or the book value of your car if it is "totaled.") This can sometimes happen quickly as well.  If you are hit in the rear by somebody that insured with, let's say, GEICO, they will come and inspect your car and pay you for the damages or book value.  This will seem not much different than if you had full coverage (and there's no deductible.)  That's [...]

When you’ve injured in a car accident – don’t refuse the ambulance!

The other day a client called, telling me that she was very nervous about what to do because she just had a car accident. She said that she had the green light, but the woman that blasted through a red light, lied to the police, and the police report says that the accident is a "question of lights." She said she had a witness, a pedestrian, that had to jump out of the way as that woman sped through a red light. She said she was hurt and so was her mother. I told her she should come in right away. She said she was busy and could not come in until next Tuesday. By the [...]

Load More Posts

ATTORNEY FOR CATASTROPHIC INJURIES

NEW YORK CITY