Catastrophic Injury Attorneys

Serving Chicago, Surrounding Suburbs and all Surrounding Counties of DuPage, Will & Lake.

All personal injuries are serious and have a far-reaching impact on your life and the lives of your loved ones. This is the core focus of our practice at Sklare Law Group. All of our clients deserve individual attention and representation. Still, some injuries are more devastating than others.

Catastrophic injuries severely affect the quality of life of the victim, and their lives will never be the same. They will forever struggle with work, income, relationships and self-care. Some victims will never again know a day without pain. All because another party behaved negligently and failed to live up to the basic duties we all have to each other. This is unacceptable.

Our personal injury lawyers are prepared to fight for you and the compensation you deserve for your catastrophic injury. Whether it’s the fault of an employer, a manufacturer or the actions of another individual, we will aggressively pursue your case and ensure you have the means to pay for any past, present or future medical expenses as well as any pain and suffering you and your family have endured.

If you've suffered a catastrophic personal injury in the Chicago, Illinois area, our lawyers want to help. Please call Sklare Law Group today at (312) 759-1616 for a FREE case evaluation.

Catastrophic personal injuries involve a number of long-term problems resulting from an accident. It’s important to know the details of cases involving these injuries such as:

What Is A Catastrophic Personal Injury?

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The term catastrophic injury is used for injuries that will permanently impact the lives of the victim and their loved ones. There is not a specific definition when it comes to these injuries, but there are a number of factors that come together to constitute one. Catastrophic injury typically includes long-term or permanent disability and disfigurement. These types of claims seek higher amounts of compensation because the victim’s life is forever changed.

Long-lasting disabilities, be they mental or physical, can impact your ability to work, cause relationships to fail and often involve costly medical treatments and medications that need to be followed for the rest of your life. In addition, you may need to make alterations to your house to accommodate wheelchairs and other assistive devices.

Severe disfigurement can cause mental distress and affect your ability to maintain a job or relationship. Disfigured victim’s suffer significantly with the emotional side effects of disfigurement and may even be afraid to go out in public. Additionally, treatments for disfigurement injuries (such as those from a fire, chemical or amputation) are expensive. For example, skin grafting or artificial limbs.

Examples Of Catastrophic Injuries

The human body is remarkable and remarkably resilient. It can take an extraordinary amount of punishment and keep on ticking. So, when it suffers a truly catastrophic personal injury, you know the accident that caused the injury was serious.

Specific examples of catastrophic personal injuries that our clients have suffered include: ANCHOR LINK

  • Burn injuries
  • Brain injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Amputations

Treating these injuries requires extensive medical care from skilled, dedicated medical professionals. Such care isn't cheap, especially when the treatments and therapy involved go on for the rest of your life. This makes the pursuit of compensation all the more important.

Common Causes Of Catastrophic Injuries

There's something undeniably frustrating about suffering a catastrophic injury as a result of someone else's mistake. You do everything right, act according to the laws and you still have to live with immense pain because someone else failed to show you the same courtesy.

Negligence can take many specific forms. Our attorneys have helped clients who suffered these devastating injuries in:

Catastrophic injuries can be caused by the accidents listed above, but they may also occur due to medical malpractice or any number of negligent circumstances. If you have a long-term or permanent injury from an accident, the best way to find out if you have a viable claim is to discuss your case with our experienced lawyers in Chicago.

Burn Injury Lawyers

When a person sustains a burn injury, often times it can cause life-changing disfigurement, expensive medical treatment bills, as well as the emotional distress that goes along with it. According to the American Burn Association, nearly half a million people are treated for burn injuries each year, close to 40,000 of those people require hospitalization. When an injury takes a toll on your ability to work because of the rehabilitation and treatment that lay ahead of you, it is possible that you may be due compensation for your injury.

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Our attorneys at Sklare Law Group recognize the staggering physical and financial impacts that burn injuries have on victims. These can include, but are not limited to:

  • Emergency care
  • Medical treatment
  • Rehabilitation
  • Loss of wages
  • Ongoing medical care
  • Emotional distress

Burn injuries cause immediate, severe pain and trauma. They also cause long-term, devastating effects such as muscle and organ damage, deep scarring and loss of feeling in the area. Many burn victims have a significant change of perspective when it comes body image and self-concept due to scarring or disfigurement. The trauma of healing from your burns is difficult enough without having to worry about the financial burden that may come along with it.

Levels And Types Of Burn Injuries

When someone is burned, the degree of that burn has to do with the damage to the skin. The pain that is felt is not an indicator of the severity of the burn, as some severe burns can actually damage the pain receptors and burn through nerve cells.

There are four different levels of burns that one can sustain, three of them being primary and the fourth extending beyond the skin.

First-degree burns: The most minor level burn one can get, a first-degree burn affects the surface layer of skin. These burns typically cause redness of the skin, but do not blister.

Second-degree burns: A burn of this degree penetrates the deep epidermal layers of the skin, causing redness, some thickening of the skin and blisters.

Third-degree burns: This level of injury reaches all layers of the skin and is distinguished by widespread thickness of the skin with a leathery, white appearance. Third-degree burns need medical treatment and are considered severe.

Fourth-degree burns: The most serious burn one can get, these burns go beyond the skin into the muscles and involve injury to organs and bones. Severe cases such as these require immediate hospitalization.

When it comes to burn claims, each case is different and unique to its own situation. Some of the main types of burns we see at our office are:

  • Chemical burns
  • Scalds
  • Electrical burns
  • Thermal burns

Brain Injury Lawyers

Every year, thousands of Americans suffer traumatic brain injuries. Brain injuries have been in the spotlight the last few years, which is a welcome development. Our lawyers have seen how these injuries can dramatically change a person's personality and negatively affect their ability to live a full, happy and healthy life.

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The cause of a brain injury is quite simple—trauma to the skull or head, causing damage to the brain. Of course, the precise cause of that trauma can vary: Brain injuries are tragically common in motorcycle accidents, for example, but there's a danger of a brain injury in any situation involving collisions and human beings.

It's important to be diagnosed and treated for a brain injury as soon as possible—this is why we always urge you to seek medical attention after an accident. Still, brain injuries can be difficult to detect.

The following are common symptoms of a brain injury:

  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • Personality change
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Disorientation

If you notice any of the symptoms above after an accident, see a doctor as soon as possible.

According to multiple studies, the lifetime cost of a single traumatic brain injury can easily exceed $1 million. The sad fact is that a medical catastrophe is also a financial catastrophe. Skilled medical professionals are not cheap, and treating a serious brain injury requires exceptional medical care.

Why does a brain injury cost so much over the course of a lifetime? There are numerous expenses associated with such an injury including:

  • Surgeries
  • Physical therapy
  • Medication

This doesn't include the difficulty you might experience working and earning a living after your brain injury. Many brain injury victims lose significant earning potential after their accidents.

Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys

A spinal cord injury involves damage to your backbone and the nerves surrounding your spinal column. Your spinal cord is central to several aspects of your bodily functions and health. It sends messages from your brain to the rest of your body, which involve your motor and sensory abilities. Spinal cord injuries are often considered a catastrophic injury because of the devastating affect they have on your quality of life and your family members’ lives.

A spinal injury is considered “complete” or “incomplete,” meaning a complete injury has caused you to lose nearly all feeling and movement below the spot of the injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury may leave you with some motor and sensory ability below the source. There are varying degrees of “completeness.”

Spinal cord injuries can result in partial or full paralysis. You may become paraplegic, and lose your ability to use all or part of your bottom half including your legs and pelvic organs. You could also develop quadriplegia and lose all ability to move your arms, hands and legs.

Types of catastrophic Injuries

These injuries can happen immediately after an accident or progress slowly as pressure or fluid builds around your spinal column. It’s important to seek medical attention after any head, neck or back injury to ensure you don’t have lasting damage.

Motor vehicle accidents are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries. These incidents often involve alcohol or distracted driving, but there are many potential causes. Spinal cord injuries can also be caused by risky behavior such as bungee jumping, acts of violence such as gunshot and knife wounds and certain diseases. Medical procedures involving the neck, back and head carry with them a higher risk of long-term or permanent injury as well.

The impact of a spinal injury reaches into every aspect of your life. You deserve compensation for all of your incurred medical expenses, estimated lifelong medical costs and loss of quality of life. Additionally, you could be eligible for reparations such as:

  • Loss of income
  • Permanent disability
  • On-going medical care
  • Rehabilitation costs
  • Assisted devices (wheelchairs)
  • Necessary home modifications (ramps)
  • Pain and suffering

The degree of your injury or disability will have an impact on the amount of compensation you can recover for your pain and suffering. Spinal cord injury lawsuits are complex and require additional proof than other personal injury cases because of the higher amount of damages associated with these claims.

Amputations

Amputations are not as common as they once were, but they are still necessary after severe accidents such as construction site accidents, auto accidents and industrial accidents. In some cases, victims of wrong-site surgeries have had the wrong limb amputated, which falls under medical malpractice and negligence. Amputations impact your ability to do many functions including walking. These result in on-going medical care and the need for surgical repair or prosthetic limbs.

If you’ve had a limb amputated after an accident, you’re likely eligible to collect compensation for:

  • Medical expenses
  • Hospitalization
  • Surgical costs
  • Assistive devices such as prosthetics, wheelchairs and lifts
  • Physical therapy costs
  • Loss of income
  • Psychological care such as therapy
  • Plastic surgery

Recovering Compensation For A Catastrophic Injury

Catastrophic injury cases seek higher settlements than other injury lawsuits, and it’s vital that you speak with an attorney as soon as possible before agreeing to a settlement amount with the insurance company involved. Our lawyers in Chicago will go over the details of your accident and help you compile any and all evidence available to support your claim including your medical history, physician reports and witness testimony.

How The Catastrophic Injury Lawyers At Sklare Law Group Can Help

Catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord injuries, burn injuries and traumatic brain injuries require a skilled lawyer to piece together all available evidence and build a compelling case. Our injury lawyers at Sklare Law Group know how to fight for you and get you the highest amount of compensation. We have the skill and experience necessary to reach the best possible outcome for your catastrophic injury case.

If you’ve been irreversibly injured due to the negligence of someone else, please contact our lawyers as soon as possible at (312) 759-1616 to schedule your FREE case evaluation. Sklare Law Group serves clients in Chicago and throughout Northern Illinois.

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20 N. Clark St.Ste. 1450
Chicago, IL 60602

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