Personal injuries can vary significantly in terms of severity. In car crashes and other types of accidents in Poway and throughout Southern California, people can suffer harm that ranges from a mild injury to a debilitating or even fatal injury. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the word ‘catastrophic’ often means “causing sudden and very great harm or destruction.” In the realm of personal injury law, we often think of catastrophic injuries as those that result in disabilities and those that may be life-threatening. The following are examples of different kinds of catastrophic injuries that often lead to successful personal injury lawsuits.
Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs)
Spinal cord injuries frequently result in permanent paralysis. According to the Mayo Clinic, a spinal cord injury is a term that refers to “damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal.” Even if a spinal cord injury does not result in paralysis, the Mayo Clinic underscores that these types of injuries frequently cause “permanent changes in strength, sensation, and other body functions below the site of the injury.” In addition, these injuries can require medical support for the rest of the injured person’s life, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars (and often much more).