The basics of a catastrophic injury lawsuit are not unlike those in a standard fender-bender lawsuit. The plaintiff’s attorney must demonstrate that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, and that this duty was breached. The plaintiff’s lawyer then must show that the breach of duty was the cause of the injuries. Then, the process goes to calculating the damages.

The same process might be followed when the injury is catastrophic, but the severity of the injuries means adding up damages is likely to be more complex and require more experience on the part of the attorney. 

In a standard car accident case, you can just add up the costs of repair, along with medical bills and missed time at work. But what if the injury means the victim now needs a wheelchair, for example? 

In this case, the following must be addressed:

• Suitability of the home: It’s more likely than not that a victim’s house is not wheelchair accessible. Now, rampways need to be installed and accessibility must be dealt with. It’s possible the needed renovations won’t work on the current house and a new property will need to be purchased. Damages must include the costs of relocation and renovation, as well as some type of compensation for the hassle the victim must go through during an already awful period in their life.
• Career impact: This will depend on the age and profession of the victim, and it goes well beyond compensation for missed time at work. Putting in the extra work necessary to advance might now be impossible. Expert witness testimony as to the lost possibilities in their field, along with testimony from supervisors and colleagues, can help gauge just how much money will be lost over the years.
• Mental trauma: How do you place a monetary value on a good night’s sleep, free of recurring nightmares about the accident? How do you fairly compensate someone for the loss of peace of mind and the sufferings that can come with post-traumatic stress disorder? In a literal sense, you can’t, but a court must at least try to come up with a figure that factors in mental trauma.
• Loss of joy: Similar to the above, how do you put a dollar value on the inability of a person to do their hobbies and activities they love? How do you monetarily assess the fact that simply being with family and friends is often a physical burden? Again, no amount of money can make up for these losses, but the legal system owes it to the victim to offer something.

It’s the job of our Little Rock catastrophic injury lawyers to develop the appropriate evidence and witness testimony that will give a jury real insight into how much a person has lost because of their injuries and how many invisible wounds they suffer from, in addition to the injuries that are plain for all to see.