What Makes an Injury Catastrophic?

If you’ve been seriously injured, you may wonder whether your injury classifies as catastrophic.

Read on to learn what makes an injury catastrophic.

Catastrophic Injury Defined

According to 42 U.S.C. § 3796b, “‘catastrophic injury’ means consequences of an injury that permanently prevent an individual from performing any gainful work.”

Said simply, an injury is catastrophic when it’s so serious that its impacts cause you to sustain permanent damage.

Sustaining a Catastrophic Injury

If you endure a catastrophic injury, you lose a crucial part of your person, whether it’s your limb, walking capabilities, or facility to construct a complete thought.

Most catastrophic injuries are the result of physical harm to the brain and/or spinal cord. This damage can have significant short- and long-term impacts on your functional capabilities.

Most catastrophic injuries tend to fall under one of the following three categories:

Physical injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Cognitive injuries

Physical Injuries

Catastrophic physical injuries include the following:

Amputation
Severe burns
Severe fractures
Organ damage
Orthopedic function damage
Orthopedic tissue damage

Spinal Cord Injuries

In order for a spinal cord injury to be catastrophic, it must exclusively impact the spinal cord and cause permanent mobility complications.

Cognitive Injuries

Cognitive injuries come about as a result of brain damage and impact your ability to work, speak, or create new memories.

Costs Associated with Catastrophic Injuries

There are always significant costs associated with catastrophic injuries. If you sustain a catastrophic injury due to the negligence of another person, you may be able to collect compensation for the following:

Medical expenses - The more severe your injury is, the more expensive your medical expenses will be. You may need to endure surgeries or rehabilitation. You may need to use a medical device or medication for the rest of your life due to your injuries.
Lost wages - If you sustain a catastrophic injury, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to immediately return to work. That means you could be entitled to compensation for your lost wages.
Emotional harm - Enduring an accident that caused you to sustain catastrophic injuries can be very traumatic. You may be entitled to compensation for any emotional damage you incur as a result of the accident.

Not Only the Injured Person is Impacted

If you sustain a catastrophic injury, it’s likely that your entire family will be impacted in one way or another. You’ll probably need someone to care for you while you’re recovering from your severe injuries.

It can be very emotionally challenging to care for someone with mobility or cognitive impairment. Your spouse or another family member may need to leave their job in order to devote themselves to your full-time care.

If your spouse or family member is unable to stop working in order to care for you, then you’ll need to be able to afford to hire a caregiver, which can be very costly.