Catastrophic Injury Lawyer in Lakewood, WA
When a catastrophic injury changes your life in an instant, you need more than a standard personal injury attorney. You need someone who understands the complexity of severe, life-altering injuries and knows how to fight for the full compensation you deserve. The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs has represented catastrophic injury victims throughout Washington since 1952, securing millions in settlements and verdicts for clients facing permanent disability, ongoing medical needs, and profound life changes. Our experienced attorneys understand that catastrophic injury cases require a distinct approach. One that accounts for lifetime care costs, lost earning potential, and the emotional toll of permanent injury.
Why Choose The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs for Your Catastrophic Injury Case
When your injury changes everything, you deserve an attorney with the experience and resources to match the complexity of your case. The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs brings over 70 years of proven success in catastrophic injury litigation. Attorney Shawn Briggs has spent nearly 40 years representing catastrophic injury victims and has earned recognition as a Super Lawyer and top trial lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Attorney Marie Docter brings over 20 years of experience, including extensive work with class-action litigation and complex injury claims.
Together, our team has recovered millions for clients facing traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, severe burns, and other life-altering conditions. We work on a contingency fee basis—you pay nothing upfront, and we only get paid if we win your case. Our commitment to personalized representation means you work directly with experienced attorneys, not junior staff, and we keep caseloads manageable so your case receives the attention it deserves. View our case results and settlements to see the compensation we’ve secured for catastrophic injury clients.
What Constitutes a Catastrophic Injury
A catastrophic injury is fundamentally different from a typical personal injury claim. These injuries result in permanent or long-term disability that significantly impacts your ability to work, care for yourself, and enjoy life. Catastrophic injuries often require ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, and home care for the rest of your life. Washington law recognizes the unique nature of these claims, and compensation must reflect not just immediate medical costs but lifetime care needs. The severity of a catastrophic injury means that standard settlement calculations don’t apply—your case requires expert analysis of future medical expenses, lost earning capacity, and quality-of-life damages that extend decades into the future.
Common Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries take many forms, each presenting unique challenges for recovery and compensation:
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Brain injuries range from moderate concussions to severe damage affecting cognition, memory, personality, and physical function. Many TBI survivors require years of rehabilitation and ongoing cognitive therapy. Traumatic brain injury cases demand specialized legal representation to account for long-term cognitive and behavioral changes. These injuries often qualify for the highest damage awards due to their permanent nature.
Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage to the spinal cord often results in partial or complete paralysis, affecting mobility, sensation, and bodily functions. Victims may require wheelchairs, home modifications, and 24-hour care. These injuries create lifetime medical and accessibility needs that must be fully compensated. Spinal cord injury cases require detailed life care planning to calculate future expenses.
Severe Burns: Extensive burns cause scarring, disfigurement, infection risk, and require multiple surgeries and long-term wound care. Psychological trauma often accompanies physical recovery. Burn injury cases involve complex calculations for cosmetic reconstruction and psychological counseling. Burn victims often face years of painful rehabilitation and skin grafting procedures.
Amputations and Limb Loss: Loss of a limb creates permanent disability requiring prosthetics, physical therapy, and lifestyle adaptation. Many amputees face chronic pain and phantom limb sensations. Amputation injuries require compensation for prosthetic devices, ongoing medical care, and lost earning capacity. Prosthetic technology advances mean lifetime replacement costs are substantial.
Multiple Fractures: Complex fractures involving multiple bones often require extensive surgery, prolonged immobilization, and intensive rehabilitation to restore function. Fractured bones from high-impact accidents can result in permanent disability and chronic pain. Some fracture victims never fully regain mobility or function.
Organ Damage: Internal injuries affecting vital organs can result in chronic health conditions, reduced life expectancy, and ongoing medical management. Organ damage from accidents requires expert medical testimony to establish future care needs and reduced life expectancy. Damage often creates lifelong medication requirements and specialist care.
Long-Term Medical Needs
One critical difference between catastrophic injury cases and standard personal injury claims is the scope of medical care required. Catastrophic injury survivors often face a lifetime of medical needs that extend far beyond the initial hospitalization and recovery period.
Ongoing medical care typically includes specialist appointments, physical and occupational rehabilitation, home health aides or in-home nursing care, assistive devices and mobility equipment, home modifications to accommodate disability, mental health counseling and therapy, medication management and pain control, and future surgeries or medical procedures. The cost of this care accumulates dramatically over a lifetime. A 30-year-old spinal cord injury victim might require 50+ years of care, with costs potentially exceeding $1 million or more. Your compensation must account for these long-term expenses, not just the medical bills from your initial treatment. Life care planners help calculate these costs with precision.
How Compensation Is Calculated
Calculating fair compensation for a catastrophic injury requires more than adding up medical bills. Washington courts and insurance companies use established methods to estimate the full value of your damages, including both economic losses and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
The Multiplier Method takes your total economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages, property damage) and multiplies that figure by a number between 1.5 and 5. Catastrophic injuries typically receive higher multipliers, often 4 or 5, because the severity and permanence of the injury justify greater compensation for pain and suffering. A victim with $500,000 in economic damages and a multiplier of 4 would receive $2 million in total compensation. Understanding how pain and suffering is calculated helps you evaluate settlement offers fairly.
The Per Diem Method assigns a daily dollar amount to your pain and suffering, then multiplies that amount by the number of days you experience pain. This method works better for injuries with clear recovery timelines, though catastrophic injuries often make this calculation more complex since pain may be permanent. Courts in Washington recognize that catastrophic injuries warrant substantial per diem awards.
Washington’s comparative negligence law (RCW 4.22.005) allows you to recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for the accident. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still recover. For example, if you were 20% at fault and your total damages are $1 million, you would receive $800,000. The statute of limitations for catastrophic injury claims in Washington is three years from the date of injury (RCW 4.16.080(2)), so time is critical. Contact us immediately to protect your rights.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries result from many types of accidents, often involving negligence or failure to follow safety protocols:
Motor Vehicle Accidents: Car accident injuries, truck collisions, and motorcycle accidents frequently cause catastrophic injuries, especially at high speeds or involving commercial vehicles. High-impact collisions create the severe trauma that results in permanent disability. Truck accidents in particular cause catastrophic injuries due to the weight and force involved.
Construction Site Accidents: Falls from heights, equipment failures, and unsafe working conditions create serious injury risks on construction sites. Construction accident victims often face catastrophic injuries that prevent them from returning to work. It has strict safety regulations under OSHA that, when violated, create liability.
Slip and Fall Incidents: Falls on poorly maintained property, especially for older adults, can result in severe injuries and long-term disability. Premises liability cases involving catastrophic injuries require proof of negligent property maintenance. Property owners have a duty to maintain safe conditions under Washington law.
Medical Malpractice: Surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and medication mistakes can cause permanent injury or worsen existing conditions. Medical negligence that results in catastrophic injury demands accountability and full compensation. Healthcare providers must meet the standard of care required by their profession.
Workplace Accidents: Industrial equipment, chemical exposure, and unsafe conditions injure workers despite safety regulations. Workplace catastrophic injuries may involve workers’ compensation claims and third-party liability. Employers must provide safe working conditions under Washington’s safety laws.
Defective Products: Dangerous products cause injuries when manufacturers fail to warn consumers or design products safely. Product liability cases involving catastrophic injury require expert analysis of design defects and failure to warn. Manufacturers have a duty to produce safe products.
Police Negligence: High-speed pursuits and excessive force sometimes result in catastrophic injuries to civilians. These cases involve complex liability issues and significant damages. Law enforcement must follow constitutional standards in their interactions with the public.
The Legal Process for Catastrophic Injury Claims
Catastrophic injury cases follow a structured legal process, though each case is unique based on the circumstances and parties involved.
Investigation and Evidence Gathering begins immediately. The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs investigates the accident scene, collects police reports, gathers witness statements, and preserves evidence like vehicle data or surveillance footage. Early investigation is critical because evidence can disappear and memories fade. The sooner we begin, the stronger your case becomes. We work with accident reconstruction experts when necessary.
Medical Documentation comes next. We work with your medical team to document the full extent of your injuries, treatment received, and prognosis for recovery. Expert medical testimony often becomes necessary to establish the severity of your injury and project future medical needs. This documentation forms the foundation of your compensation claim. We coordinate with life care planners to project lifetime costs.
Demand and Negotiation follows once medical treatment stabilizes. We prepare a detailed demand letter outlining your injuries, damages, and the compensation you deserve. Insurance companies often make low initial offers, and skilled negotiation can significantly increase settlements without going to trial. Understanding the steps in a personal injury lawsuit helps you prepare for this process. We leverage our experience to maximize your recovery.
Settlement or Trial Preparation depends on whether the insurance company offers fair compensation. Many catastrophic injury cases settle during negotiation, but The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs prepares every case for trial. We gather expert witnesses, prepare demonstrative evidence, and develop trial strategy to maximize your recovery if litigation becomes necessary. Mediation and arbitration often provide alternatives to trial. We have extensive trial experience in catastrophic injury cases.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injuries
What is the difference between a catastrophic injury and a serious injury?
Serious injuries cause significant pain and require medical treatment, but catastrophic injuries result in permanent disability or long-term care needs that fundamentally change your life. A serious injury might heal within months or a few years, while catastrophic injuries often require lifetime care and adaptation. The legal and financial implications are vastly different.
How long do catastrophic injury cases take to resolve?
Timeline varies based on case complexity, how long medical treatment continues, and whether settlement or trial is necessary. Simple cases might resolve in 6-12 months, while complex catastrophic cases often take 2-3 years or longer. The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs works efficiently to resolve cases while ensuring you receive full compensation. We never rush settlements to meet arbitrary deadlines.
What damages can I recover in a catastrophic injury case?
You can recover economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages, future lost earning capacity, home modifications, assistive devices) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of consortium, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life). Calculating lost wages is a critical component of your total damages. Future earning capacity losses often exceed current medical expenses.
Do I have to go to trial for my catastrophic injury case?
Many catastrophic injury cases settle through negotiation, but The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs is fully prepared to take your case to trial if the insurance company refuses fair compensation. We never pressure clients to accept inadequate settlements. Our trial record demonstrates our commitment to maximizing recovery.
What if I was partially at fault for the accident?
Washington’s pure comparative negligence law allows you to recover even if you were 50% or more at fault. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still receive compensation. This is a significant advantage in Washington compared to many other states. We aggressively defend against comparative negligence claims.
How much does it cost to hire The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs?
We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing upfront. We only get paid if we win your case or reach a settlement. This ensures that cost is never a barrier to getting experienced legal representation. You have no financial risk in hiring us.
Contact The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs for Your Free Consultation
If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury due to someone else’s negligence, you have rights. The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs offers free, confidential consultations to discuss your case and explain your legal options. We work on a contingency fee basis—no upfront costs, no recovery, no fee. Don’t wait. Washington’s statute of limitations gives you three years to file a claim, but the sooner you contact us, the sooner we can begin investigating your case and protecting your rights. Call (253) 588-6696 today or complete our online contact form to schedule your free consultation. Let The Law Offices of Briggs & Briggs fight for the compensation you deserve.
