Catastrophic Injury Specialists
Catastrophic injuries are those injuries which generally have catastrophic consequences to those who suffer them and to their families and loved ones. They are usually confined to the most serious of injuries and include:
- Severe brain injuries
- Spinal injury causing quadriplegia or paraplegia
- Severe fractures to limbs
- Severe scarring or burns
- Loss of limbs/amputation
- Loss of sight or hearing
- Multiple severe injuries
Evidence and reports required to support claims for catastrophic injuries can be extensive and expensive. It is reassuring to know that we pay for all report fees and give our clients our recommendations on which are the best specialists to see to obtain them. In some cases we have gone outside of the state or Australia to obtain the necessary supporting reports.
Catastrophic injuries generally result in expenses being required for the rest of the injured person’s life and detailed calculations are required to be made. Each claim is assessed on its own individual circumstances. The payments for catastrophic injuries may include:
- Past and future pain and suffering/loss of enjoyment of life/reduced life expectancy
- Past loss of earnings (including benefits like car and petrol allowances, mobile phone, lap top and employee shares) and superannuation
- Past gratuitous (voluntary) services by family and friends
- Past expenses (eg. Travel, chemist, aids and appliances)
- Future loss of earnings (including benefits above) and superannuation
- Future medical treatment (including medications, investigations, surgery, physiotherapy, dental etc.)
- Future aids and appliances (eg electric and manual wheelchair, air conditioning)
- Future care services
- Future home/domestic services (eg cleaning, ironing)
- Other future services (eg gardening, lawn mowing, home maintenance, painting)
- Future travelling
- Car and home modifications – past and future
- Extra costs of holidays – past and future
- Future extra clothing expenses or modifications
- Case management expenses – past and future
- Interest on all past losses
- External manager expenses for fee to manage compensation
We have assisted our clients with obtaining advances for things such as home modifications or to build a new home to accommodate their needs and improve their quality of life.