Personal injury - catastrophic claims

Catastrophic claims is the area of legal practice that is concerned with major injuries requiring ongoing treatment and allegedly resulting primarily from the negligence of another party. Given that such severe injuries can occasion both drastic reductions in earning capacity and extensive and often specialised treatments, catastrophic claims cases often bear a high financial stake.

Examples of injuries commonly comprising catastrophic claims cases include:

• Severe brain injury resulting in substantial loss of function
   
• Severe spinal injury causing full or partial paralysis
   
• Loss of hearing or vision
   
• Injury to limbs necessitating amputation
   
• Severe burns
   

Legal practitioners involved in this area of law will often specialise to act for either persons who they allege suffered catastrophic injury, or the organisations that are claimed to have been responsible for the impairment (and their insurers).

Two cornerstones of catastrophic claims are the assessment of liability, with cases usually resulting from alleged circumstances of either public or industrial liability, and the determination of value, as the myriad of financial implications as a result of such an injury are considered.

At the bottom of this profile are brief details of a number of the experts that Expert Experts represents. Call our office to discuss your requirements and to obtain a recommendation that suits your needs and budget.

As catastrophic claims often rest on complicated questions of liability and the extent of injuries, the opinions of experts are regularly sought. These experts generally have extensive experience in the relevant field.

Catastrophic claims can arise from:

• Work place accidents
   
• Motor vehicle accidents
   
• Aviation accidents
   
• Slip-and-falls
   
• Negligence of medical practitioners
   

This variety of circumstances is reflected by the experts engaged in the area, with specialties ranging from accident reconstruction and engineering concepts to industrial cleaning procedures and toxic exposure.

For some fields of expertise we have some sample sections of de-identified reports. Please contact our office if you are interested in a sample.

The overall cost of expert opinion depends on the services required. Some of the key factors that affect the cost of advice include:

• The need for a view or inspection of a location
• The quantity of documentary material to be reviewed
• Whether there are reports of other experts to be reviewed and commented on in detail
• Whether there is a need for conferences with the expert either in person or by telephone/Skype