Although many injuries can be painful and dramatically change your life for a period of time, some injuries will never fully heal and can make those life changes permanent.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured because of the negligent or reckless actions of another, an experienced Memphis catastrophic injury lawyer at Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi, PLC will need to seek justice and compensation. Contact our office for a free consultation to learn more about how to recover maximum compensation for your damages.
How a Catastrophic Injury Lawyer in Memphis Could Help You
A catastrophic injury can change your life in many different ways. Our goal is to get you as much compensation as we can. However, the sooner you contact us after your accident, the better our chances will be to do that.
All it takes is one phone call. The consultation is free, and we’ll arrange a time and place for you to meet our Memphis catastrophic injury lawyers. We have a second office located in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
What Makes an Injury “Catastrophic”?
Based on the definition used by the American Medical Association (AMA), a catastrophic injury is a severe injury to the spine, spinal cord, or brain, and it may also include skull or spine fractures. These injuries are severe, life-threatening, and debilitating — often for the rest of your life.
Since you’ve lost a portion of your life because of your injury, we are dedicated to getting you the most money possible to help you cope with your injury. We know you’re hurting – physically and emotionally — and we are here to help.
Our experience includes handling serious injury cases involving:
- Brain damage (TBI)
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis
- Second- and third-degree burns
- Severe fractures
- Amputation injuries
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Blindness
- Hearing loss
Our lawyers have been handling cases of serious personal injury and wrongful death in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi since 1970.
Get a free case review today. There`s no fee unless we win!
How to Recover Compensation for a Catastrophic Injury
There are multiple ways in which you could recover maximum compensation after suffering a catastrophic injury in Memphis. Two of the most popular ways include filing a claim with the insurance company and bringing your case to civil court. Here is more about each of these options:
Filing an Insurance Claim
Tennessee is a fault state for accidents and insurance purposes. This means when you are involved in an accident, and someone else is responsible for causing your injuries, you will file a claim with their insurance company. This is true whether you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, slip and fall accident, or any other type of accident.
In most catastrophic injury claims, the liable party is represented by some type of insurance policy. This might include renters insurance, homeowner’s insurance, general liability insurance, or malpractice insurance, to name a few.
When filing a claim with the insurance company, you should be prepared for some pushback. The insurance company is going to lose money if they approve your claim. For this reason, you can expect them to look for opportunities to deny you the benefits you deserve.
It may be in your best interests to have your catastrophic injury attorney step in and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. This way, you do not have to worry about being taken advantage of in your greatest time of need.
Filing a Civil Lawsuit
Filing a civil claim against the liable party is another way you can recover maximum compensation for your damages. In many cases, injury victims are unable to recover the compensation they need through an insurance settlement. This could be because the insurance company is not required to compensate you beyond the limits of the policyholder’s policy, or the liable party does not have an insurance company for you to file a claim with.
Fortunately, since insurance settlements often limit the amount and types of damages you can recover, bringing your case to court may be your best option if you hope to recover maximum compensation for your damages. At trial, you have the opportunity to be made whole. This means you should be repaid for every single loss you suffered as a result of your injuries. At trial, you can recover your economic and non-economic damages In their entirety.
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Deadlines for Memphis Catastrophic Injury Claims
If you are interested in pursuing your catastrophic injury claim in Memphis, it is important that you get started on your claim as soon as possible. This is because the statute of limitations for catastrophic injury claims is based on the one-year statute of limitations under Tennessee law.
One year is not a lot of time to build a powerful case against the liable party. That does not mean it cannot be done, but the sooner you get your attorney on your case, the more likely it is we can recover the time-sensitive evidence that we need to prove liability.
If you attempt to file your lawsuit once the statute of limitations has expired, the defense will simply file a motion to dismiss your case. Sadly, the judge will have no other choice than to grant their motion and bar your case from the Memphis civil court system.
Fortunately, when you retain an experienced catastrophic injury attorney to advocate for your rights, the statute of limitations will not have a negative impact on your ability to get justice.
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How to Win Your Catastrophic Injury Case
If you hope to recover total compensation for your damages, your attorney will need to prove that someone else is at fault for your injuries. For any personal injury or catastrophic injury claim to be successful, liability will need to be proven based on a preponderance of the evidence.
This is different from the burden of proof at criminal trials, where the prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil court, your catastrophic injury attorney in Memphis will need to show that the evidence supports the defendant’s liability. To prove negligence, your attorney will need to show that the four following elements have a met:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
There are countless types of evidence that could be used to support your case. The type of accident you were involved in could provide your attorney with the evidence needed to establish liability.
For example, if you were struck by a commercial truck, your attorney will look to the tractor-trailer’s blackbox data to uncover vital information that supports the truck driver’s negligence. Other types of evidence that could be used to prove fault in a catastrophic injury claim include:
- Cell phone records
- Police reports
- Accident reconstructionist reports
- Chemical blood alcohol test results
- Police and crash reports
- Forensic evidence
- Photos of the accident scene
- Photos of your injuries
- Photos of property damages
- Dash or body cam footage
- CCTV footage
- Witness statements
- Expert testimony
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Our lawyers understand that getting you appropriate compensation for these kinds of serious injuries requires all the more effort. We have had extensive experience and success with these types of cases and can work closely with medical specialists, accountants, life care planners, and other experts to make sure that you’ll have enough resources to provide for your medical care needs, dignity, and quality of life when all is said and done.
Economic and Non-Economic Damages
You have the right to be compensated for every single loss that relates to your catastrophic injury. That includes both economic (financial) and non-economic (non-financial) damages.
Your attorney will need to closely examine these losses to ensure no loss goes on accounted for. Some of the more commonly awarded types of damages include:
- Emotional distress
- Skin scarring, dismemberment, and disfigurement
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of future potential earnings
- Loss of income
- Property damages
- Medical expenses and equipment costs
- Reputational damages
- Inconvenience
- Costs of increased insurance premiums
- Loss of household services
Punitive Damages
You might also be awarded punitive damages depending on the details of your case. These are not a type of special damage you have the right to recover, but are instead used as a means of punishing the defendant beyond the damages they are obligated to repay you. The courts in Memphis will only award punitive damages when they find the defendant’s actions grossly negligent or egregious.
Meet with a Memphis Catastrophic Injury Attorney Today
Whether you come to see us in Memphis or we travel to meet with you in your home or at the hospital, the consultation is free with no strings attached. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days each week.
Our Memphis catastrophic injury lawyers at Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi PLC handle cases on a contingency basis, which means we do not charge any legal fees unless we obtain a settlement or verdict on your behalf. You have nothing to lose by speaking with our attorneys.
Schedule your no-cost, risk-free consultation when you complete our convenient contact form or call our office to get started on your case.