When you are involved in an accident, seeking immediate medical attention is crucial in determining the severity of your injuries. Based on your doctor’s findings, you might have suffered either serious or catastrophic injuries.
Understanding the distinctive differences of both can help you grasp the significant impact on your life and the complexity of your legal claim.
Defining serious vs. catastrophic
Serious injuries are physical injuries that can prevent you from performing daily and working activities for a short time. This state allows you to recover fully or mostly within months or a few years. Examples of serious injuries include minor burns, broken bones and deep lacerations.
Catastrophic injuries result in long-term or permanent disabilities, such as loss of limb, spinal cord injury and loss of hearing. These injuries are severe enough to prevent you from recovering to your full pre-accident health.
Outlining the consequences of a catastrophic injury
Catastrophic injuries can leave you with these:
- Loss of earning capacity: Catastrophic injuries prevent you from earning a stable income for life.
- Continuous medical expenses: Catastrophic injuries require future medical expenses to ensure the stability of your health.
- Non-economic damages: Catastrophic injuries can trigger mental illnesses and intense pain and suffering.
The extent of catastrophic injuries can last for a lifetime, which is why their case valuation is often higher than serious injuries.
Protecting your right to a future
Filing for an injury claim in Oregon can be a detailed process, especially with the state’s modified comparative negligence law. Beyond proving the at-fault party’s full negligence, you need to provide extensive documentation of your injuries and how they have altered your life. Given the complexity and high stakes, seeking legal counsel can help you navigate the claims process with confidence and meet crucial state deadlines for filing.