When a serious injury happens, the effects go beyond just physical pain. You have to deal with rising medical bills, never-ending fights with your insurance company, and not knowing if you’ll ever be able to go back to the life you knew.
These injuries will change your life forever, so you need more than just a regular personal injury lawyer. You need lawyers who know how to read complicated medical evidence, plan for your future care needs, and understand the long-term financial effects of your case.
At Krasney Law Accident Attorneys, we’ve spent decades fighting for catastrophically injured victims throughout San Bernardino and the Inland Empire. We know that insurance companies treat these high-value claims differently, deploying teams of adjusters and defense attorneys to minimize or deny the compensation you desperately need.
Your injuries may include traumatic brain damage, spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis, severe burns, amputations, or other permanent disabilities that require lifelong medical care and support.
Our San Bernardino catastrophic injury lawyers bring the resources, medical expertise, and trial experience necessary to build cases worth millions of dollars. We work with life care planners, vocational experts, and medical specialists to document every aspect of your current and future needs.
While you focus on recovery and adapting to your new reality, we handle the legal complexities and fight for compensation that genuinely reflects the devastating impact on your life and your family’s future.
Why Hire a San Bernardino Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?
A catastrophic injury is one that permanently changes your life and prevents you from working or living as you did before. These injuries often require lifelong medical care and support.
Catastrophic injury cases are much more complex than regular personal injury claims. You need specialized legal expertise because insurance companies will fight harder to deny or minimize these high-value claims.
Complex Medical Evidence:
Your case requires detailed documentation from multiple medical specialists and life care planners
Future Cost Projections:
We must prove what your care will cost for decades to come
Multiple Insurance Policies:
Large claims often involve several insurance companies that will try to shift responsibility
Higher Stakes:
The compensation needed can reach millions of dollars, making insurers more aggressive in their defense.
Why Choose Krasney Law Accident Attorneys for Catastrophic Injuries?
At Krasney Law Accident Attorneys, we have decades of experience handling the most serious injury cases in San Bernardino and throughout California. We provide personalized, one-on-one attention that ensures your case receives the focus it deserves.
Our firm has the resources to take on insurance companies and their teams of lawyers. We work with life care planners, medical experts, and economists to build the strongest possible case for your future needs.
- Hospital and Home Visits: We come to you when you cannot travel to our office
- No Upfront Costs: We advance all case expenses and only get paid if we win
- Bilingual Services: Our team speaks both English and Spanish fluently
We can meet you at the hospital today. Call (909) 442-0357 for help right away.
What Injuries Count as Catastrophic?
Catastrophic injuries cause permanent disabilities that fundamentally alter your ability to work and live independently. These injuries typically require ongoing medical treatment and personal care assistance.
The most common catastrophic injuries include:
Traumatic Brain Injuries:
Damage that affects memory, speech, movement, or personality
Spinal Cord Injuries:
Paralysis affecting your arms, legs, or both
Severe Burns:
Third or fourth-degree burns requiring skin grafts and causing permanent scarring
Amputations:
Loss of arms, legs, hands, or feet
Multiple Complex Fractures:
Broken bones that require numerous surgeries and may never heal properly
Organ Damage:
Injuries to your heart, lungs, liver, or kidneys that affect their function
Loss of Vision or Hearing:
Permanent blindness or deafness
What Causes Catastrophic Injuries in San Bernardino?
San Bernardino’s location at the crossroads of major highways makes it a hotspot for serious accidents. The heavy truck traffic on Interstate 10 and Interstate 215 creates dangerous conditions for all drivers.
Our industrial areas and construction sites also present risks for workers and visitors. Many catastrophic injuries happen when safety protocols fail or equipment malfunctions.
Common causes in our area include:
- Large truck and commercial vehicle crashes
- High-speed car and motorcycle accidents
- Construction site accidents and falls
- Pedestrians struck by vehicles
- Defective products that cause serious harm
- Dangerous property conditions leading to severe falls
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Catastrophic injury cases involve much higher compensation amounts than typical personal injury claims. You can recover various damages in personal injury cases, including economic damages for financial losses and non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
California law does not cap most types of personal injury damages. This means your compensation can reflect the actual cost of your injuries and their impact on your life.
Your compensation claim may include full reimbursement for all past and future medical expenses, compensation for lost wages and reduced earning capacity, and the cost of necessary home and vehicle modifications for accessibility.
Additionally, you can recover damages for the price of in-home care and nursing assistance, extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation, and non-economic losses like severe pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress and mental anguish.
How We Build Catastrophic Injury Cases
Our approach focuses on documenting every aspect of how your injury affects your life now and in the future. We begin preparing for trial immediately, which gives us maximum leverage during settlement negotiations.
Emergency Response and Evidence Preservation
We act quickly to preserve crucial evidence before it disappears. Our investigators photograph the accident scene, interview witnesses, and secure important documents like vehicle maintenance records or safety inspection reports.
Time is critical because surveillance footage gets erased, witnesses forget details, and physical evidence can be destroyed or altered.
Medical Documentation and Life Care Planning
We work with your doctors and retain independent medical experts to document your injuries fully. A certified life care planner creates a detailed report outlining all your future medical needs and their costs.
This plan becomes the foundation for proving how much compensation you need for lifetime care. Insurance companies cannot argue with evidence-based medical projections from qualified experts.
Economic Loss Analysis
Vocational and economic experts calculate your lost earning capacity by analyzing your work history, education, and career potential. They project what you would have earned over your working lifetime, including salary increases, promotions, and benefits.
These calculations often reach millions for younger victims with significant earning potential.
Settlement Strategy and Trial Preparation
We present insurance companies with overwhelming evidence of your damages and our readiness to take the case to trial. Most cases settle when insurers realize they face a strong case and experienced trial lawyers.
However, we never recommend settling for less than your case is worth to avoid a trial.
Call or complete our online form for a free case evaluation.
Who Pays Medical Bills During Your Case?
Medical bills can quickly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars after a catastrophic injury. You need treatment immediately, but you may not have health insurance or enough coverage for such extensive care.
We can arrange for medical providers to treat you on a “lien” basis. This means doctors and hospitals agree to wait for payment until your case resolves.
Your San Bernardino catastrophic injury attorney handles all communication with medical providers about payment arrangements. This allows you to focus on recovery while we manage the financial aspects of your care.
Can Medical Liens Be Negotiated After Settlement?
Yes, and this is a crucial part of maximizing your recovery. After we secure your settlement, medical providers and health insurers will seek reimbursement for the bills they covered.
Our attorneys regularly negotiate these liens down by 25% to 50% or more. Reducing what you owe means more money stays in your pocket where it belongs.
We have established relationships with hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies throughout San Bernardino County. These relationships help us achieve better results for our clients.
How Long Do You Have to File in California?
There are time limits for filing a lawsuit after an injury in California, so contact an attorney promptly to protect your rights. However, this deadline can be shorter in certain situations.
If a government entity caused your injury, you must file a formal claim within six months. This applies to accidents involving city vehicles, dangerous public roads, or government employees.
Missing these deadlines usually means losing your right to compensation forever. Contact us immediately to protect your legal rights.
What If You Share Some Fault for the Accident?
California follows pure comparative negligence rules. This means you can still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for the accident.
Your percentage of fault reduces your total compensation after determining fault in the accident. For example, if you were 20% at fault and your damages total $1 million, you would receive $800,000.
Insurance companies often try to blame victims to reduce their payouts. We fight these tactics and work to minimize any fault assigned to you.
What If a Government Entity Caused Your Injury?
Claims against government agencies involve special rules and procedures. You must file a formal notice within six months or lose your right to sue.
Government entities have certain legal protections that do not apply to private parties. However, they can still be liable for dangerous conditions, negligent employees, and policy violations.
- Our firm has successfully handled complex claims against numerous public bodies, including San Bernardino County and city governments, the California Department of Transportation, local public school districts, and various transit authorities.
Will Your Case Go to Trial?
Most catastrophic injury cases settle before trial, but insurance companies only offer fair settlements when they know you are prepared for court. Our trial experience gives us credibility during negotiations.
Trial timelines vary depending on the complexity of the case, the number of parties involved, and court scheduling. The timeline depends on the complexity of your injuries, the number of defendants, and court scheduling.
We keep you informed throughout the process and never pressure you to accept an inadequate settlement offer.
What Results have Krasney Law Accident Attorneys achieved?
Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for catastrophic injury victims throughout San Bernardino and the Inland Empire. We have secured settlements that provide lifetime security for families facing overwhelming medical expenses.
Recent results include substantial recoveries for clients with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and severe burns. These settlements enabled our clients to receive proper care and maintain their quality of life.
We measure success not just in dollars recovered, but in how our work helps families rebuild their lives after devastating injuries.
What to Do After a Catastrophic Injury
Your actions immediately after a serious accident can significantly impact your health and legal case.
Get Emergency Medical Care and Follow All Treatment
Your health comes first; prompt medical attention creates essential documentation of your injuries. Follow all doctors’ orders and attend every appointment, even if you feel better.
Missing appointments or ignoring medical advice gives insurance companies ammunition to argue that your injuries are not as severe as claimed.
Preserve Evidence and Keep Detailed Records
Save everything related to your accident and injuries. This includes medical bills, prescription receipts, photos of your injuries, and contact information for any witnesses.
Keep a daily journal documenting your pain levels, limitations, and how the injury affects your daily activities.
Avoid Insurance Company Tactics
Insurance adjusters will contact you quickly after an accident. These friendly adjusters may seem helpful, but their goal is to minimize your claim.
Politely decline to give recorded statements and refer them to your attorney. Anything you say can be used against you later.
Call (909) 442-0357 before contacting insurance companies to protect your rights.
Free Consultation and No Fee Unless We Win
You should never worry about legal fees when facing a catastrophic injury. Krasney Law Accident Attorneys handles all cases on a contingency fee basis.
This means you pay nothing upfront, and we only receive a fee if we successfully recover your money. We advance all case expenses, including expert witness fees, court, and investigation expenses.
Your initial consultation is free, and we provide honest assessments of your case’s strengths and challenges.
Serving San Bernardino and the Inland Empire
Krasney Law Accident Attorneys serves clients throughout San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire from our offices in San Bernardino, Ontario, and Riverside. We understand the unique challenges facing our local community.
If you cannot travel to our office due to your injuries, we will meet you at your hospital, rehabilitation center, or home. Distance should never prevent you from getting the legal help you need.
Our bilingual team ensures clear communication with Spanish-speaking clients and their families throughout the legal process.
Hablamos Español. Call (909) 442-0357 for help in either language.
Catastrophic Injury FAQs
What Makes an Injury Catastrophic Under California Law?
An injury is considered catastrophic when it causes permanent disability, disfigurement, or impairment that prevents you from returning to your previous work and lifestyle. These injuries typically require ongoing medical treatment and personal care assistance for the rest of your life.
Who Creates a Life Care Plan and What Does It Include?
A certified life care planner, usually a registered nurse with specialized training, creates this comprehensive document. The plan details all your future medical needs, equipment requirements, home modifications, and care costs based on your specific injuries and prognosis.
Can You Receive Medical Treatment Without Health Insurance?
Many medical providers will treat catastrophic injury victims on a lien basis, meaning they agree to wait for payment until your case resolves. Your attorney can arrange these agreements with hospitals, doctors, and rehabilitation facilities.
Will Health Insurance or Medicare Seek Reimbursement From Your Settlement?
Most health insurers and Medicare have the right to recover money they spent on your medical care from your settlement or judgment. However, experienced attorneys can often significantly negotiate these reimbursement claims, leaving you with more money.
How Do Courts Calculate Future Lost Earnings in Catastrophic Cases?
Economic experts analyze your work history, education, skills, and career trajectory to project your lifetime earning potential. They consider salary increases, promotions, benefits, and inflation to determine what you would have earned if not injured.
What Happens if a Government Agency Caused Your Catastrophic Injury?
You must file a formal claim with the government entity within six months of your injury, which is much shorter than the standard two-year deadline. Government liability cases involve special procedures and legal protections that require experienced legal representation.
Can You Still Recover Compensation if You Were Partially at Fault?
Yes, California’s pure comparative negligence law allows you to recover damages even if you share fault for the accident. Your percentage of responsibility reduces your compensation, but you can still collect substantial damages for catastrophic injuries.
How Long Do Catastrophic Injury Cases Take to Resolve?
Most cases settle within one to three years, depending on the complexity of your injuries and the number of parties involved. Cases requiring extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation may take longer to ensure all future needs are adequately documented.
Do You Provide Legal Services in Spanish?
Yes, our firm is fully bilingual with Spanish-speaking attorneys and staff members. We ensure clear communication with clients and their families throughout the legal process, from initial consultation through case resolution.
