Cincinnati Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
A catastrophic injury causes incredible pain and can leave you with lasting limitations. If you have suffered a life-altering injury, turn to the catastrophic injury lawyers at Slater & Zurz for professional and competent assistance.
A catastrophic injury could be an injury to your brain, skull, neck, or spine. It could also be the loss of a limb in an auto accident or a commercial truck crash. These are just some of the ways you or your loved ones can suffer a severe injury in Cincinnati.
Recovering from a catastrophic injury accident can be a lifelong challenge. Aside from the physical and mental wounds inflicted on you, there are the financial costs of your recovery. Some of these costs may last a lifetime.
Slater & Zurz’s team of experienced personal injury lawyers in Cincinnati are skilled at navigating Ohio’s court system and will help you reach a positive outcome. We will fight for you every step of the way as we seek to get you fully and fairly compensated for what happened to you.
Contact Slater & Zurz to get started.
Catastrophic Injuries in Ohio
A catastrophic injury can be considered any injury that affects a major body part or organ. These injury events are often violent and can lead to considerable medical bills and other expenses. Depending on the trauma inflicted and the body part affected, some catastrophic injuries do not fully heal, even with appropriate medical intervention.
Not only can these injuries be life-altering or life-threatening, but they can also require ongoing care to properly manage. In other words, even after you leave the hospital room, you may never reach a point where you do not need some type of medical care for your catastrophic injury.
Elements of a Successful Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit
Just because you suffered severe harm in an accident does not mean you are automatically entitled to receive compensation. You and your catastrophic injury lawyer must prove your case by showing that you have been the victim of negligent conduct under the law. This burden can be met by producing the following types of evidence and testimony.
Legal Duty and Breach of Duty
First, you must show that the party you have sued owed you a legally recognized duty and then breached that duty by not fulfilling it. While there are some situations when a person owes you a special duty of care, in most cases, you meet this obligation by asserting that the person owed you an obligation to behave in a reasonably careful manner.
Next, you must show that the party you sued breached their legal duty. This element is known as establishing a “breach” of duty — you must prove that the other party did not live up to their legal obligations toward you. In most cases, this means showing that the other party acted in a negligent or reckless manner.
“Negligence” is taking actions that a reasonable person would not have engaged in under the circumstances of your injury accident.
For example, speeding on the highway is negligent behavior because no reasonably careful person would exceed the speed limit due to the increased risk of a serious crash.
Similarly, a reasonably careful worker would not be distracted on a worksite by a cell phone because of the increased risk that they might run into a ladder and knock someone off of it.
Causation of Injuries
It is not enough that the available evidence in your case shows that a legal duty existed and the defendant you sued breached that duty. You must next show that this breach of duty caused your injury accident. This means that your accident or crash would not have happened had the negligent conduct not occurred.
For example, if you were involved in a car accident and the other party crashed into you because they were on their cell phone, it would be reasonable to assume that the distracted driver’s decision to use their cell phone was both careless and the cause of your crash and resulting injuries.
The picture becomes more complicated, though, if the other driver was distracted, but the crash happened because you ran a stop sign.
There may be multiple causes of your accident and resulting catastrophic injuries. In order to obtain an accurate and complete compensation award, your catastrophic injury attorney in Cincinnati will identify each responsible party and determine their contribution to the overall accident as a part of their investigation into your case.
Compensable Injuries and Losses
Last, you must prove the amount of loss you suffered as a result of your crash. This element is usually proven through medical bills, invoices, insurance statements, and testimony or sworn statements about your expenses and losses.
Each of the losses or injuries you claim to need compensation for must be caused by the other party’s negligence.
These elements may seem burdensome and complicated to prove, especially if you are recovering from a head injury or other catastrophic injury. But when you hire Slater & Zurz, meeting your legal burden of proof becomes our priority and our job. You can simply focus on healing.
Let our Cincinnati catastrophic injury attorneys go to work for you and help you get the financial damages you deserve.
You and your personal injury attorney can file a lawsuit and pursue compensation against any person or entity that caused or contributed to your catastrophic injuries.
The person you are bringing suit against must have acted in a careless or reckless manner. This means that they acted in a way that no reasonable person would have or behaved in a way that disregarded your safety or the safety of others.
If you are not sure about your legal rights, a catastrophic injury lawyer in Cincinnati can review your situation and advise you on whether you have grounds to pursue a lawsuit.
Slater & Zurz understands you are eager for your catastrophic injury lawsuit to reach a conclusion, and our catastrophic injury attorneys do all they can to help speed your case along. However, the precise length of time it takes for these cases to reach a settlement or verdict can vary from a few months to a year or more.
The precise time your case will take will depend on the complexity of your injuries, the strength and availability of supporting evidence, and whether you reach a settlement, among other factors.
Ohio’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of your accident to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit. However, there are several advantages to retaining an attorney sooner rather than later.
Ohio’s statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of your accident to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit. However, there are several advantages to retaining an attorney sooner rather than later.
Obtaining the evidence, you need to support your claim is easier if it is done soon after your accident. Similarly, witnesses’ memories are often clearer and more reliable the more recently the incident happened.
If you are pursuing a settlement, your catastrophic injury attorney’s early involvement in your case can help you secure a settlement agreement on favorable terms that offer a fair amount of compensation.
Speak with Slater & Zurz Today About Your Injury Case
With a proven track record of successfully representing injury victims in Cincinnati and throughout Ohio, Slater & Zurz is fully capable of helping you in your search for compensation and accountability following a severe or catastrophic injury.
A financial compensation award will not erase the trauma you have suffered or undo the injuries you have sustained, but it will go toward ensuring you do not suffer financial loss from your injury accident. It can also help ensure that you have the resources you need to access the medical care and ongoing support your injuries will require.
Slater & Zurz is available now to assist you, so do not put off speaking with our Cincinnati Catastrophic Injury Lawyers about your case. Call our office at (513)496-3331 and get started with us by requesting your free initial case evaluation.