Knoxville Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Let Knoxville’s premier legal team be your voice in Maryville, Sevierville, Clinton, Lenoir City, and Loudon

Serious trauma to the brain, neck, or back can result in disability and lifelong pain. If another driver, product manufacturer, or other party is responsible for your condition, our attorneys at Banks & Jones can help you fight back. Aggressive and unyielding, we are dogged when pursuing damages on behalf of catastrophic injury victims.

If you or your loved one is seriously injured in any type of accident in or around Knoxville, our highly qualified team of professional injury lawyers can provide you with passionate and experienced counsel. For nearly 30 years, the lawyers at Banks & Jones have earned the respect of satisfied clients and the legal community for their dedication and persistence in helping personal injury victims.

T.Scott Jones and his firm have been very professional and pleasant to work with. He is the best at what he does! Would highly recommend.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [Google Review]

What is a catastrophic injury?

A catastrophic injury is a life-altering one – the type of injury that flips your world upside down, usually on a permanent basis. It might require a lifetime of care, multiple surgeries or medical treatments, daily medication for the rest of your life, or the use of adaptive technologies: wheelchair ramps, prosthetic limbs, breathing tubes, etc. Our lawyers have the resources, skills, and experience to help clients who have sustained:

  • Head and brain injuries. Serious head and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can cause motor-skill impairment, long-term pain, insomnia, comas, and death. Symptoms of a TBI include irritability, nausea, clear liquid draining from the ears, loss of consciousness, slurred speech, and loss of coordination.
  • Neck and back injuries. A severe injury to the neck or back can lead to partial or full paralysis and, in some cases, death. It can cause chronic pain, or leave you unable to work, spend time with family, or be self-sufficient.
  • Burn injuries. Serious burn injuries often leave permanent scarring. The risk for infection is high, and some people are left unable to regulate their own body temperatures, which means additional risk of overheating or hypothermia. Many burn victims suffer prolonged emotional trauma, too.
  • Loss of sight or hearing. Chemical spills, constant exposure to loud noises, injuries to the face and head – any of these could leave a person permanently deaf or blind.
  • Loss of limb. Car crashes and work-related injuries can cause parts of the body to be crushed. Undiagnosed infections, and other types of medical negligence, can also necessitate amputations.
  • Birth injuries. There are few things more tragic than permanent damage done to an innocent, newborn baby. A birth injury which leads to brain damage means a lifetime of medical care and stress, on the baby and on his or her caregivers.

Other catastrophic injuries include paralysis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and loss of one or more of the senses such as vision loss or hearing loss.

Causes of catastrophic injuries

After receiving proper medical care, you may be wondering why your accident happened. Was it an accident? Was it preventable? If so, who is responsible? We recognize the seriousness of your situation, and our lawyers are prepared to help. During the course of our practice, we have assisted clients injured in such accidents as:

  • Car accidents. Passenger car accidents occur every day. While fender benders rarely result in serious injuries, highway collisions of any kind can cause serious disabilities.
  • Motorcycle accidents. Many drivers fail to treat motorcyclists with courtesy and respect and do not realize that even a minor accident can result in serious head or back injuries to riders.
  • Truck accidents. Since tractor-trailers and large trucks weigh many tons more than other vehicles, accidents involving trucks often result in catastrophic injury or death.
  • Defective products. If a product malfunctions, especially a vehicle, it can result in the serious injury or death of many victims.
  • Medical malpractice. Mistakes made during medical treatments of procedures can have life-altering consequences. In the case of “never events,” or events that should (literally) never happen, you could be left with permanent injuries.

What makes catastrophic injury cases different from “regular” personal injury cases?

Let’s say you trip and fall, and break your leg. It’s a clean break, there are no complications, and in 6-8 weeks, you’re out of your cast and back to your normal life. Yeah, those 6-8 weeks really stunk, but you recovered from the injury and you’re fine now.

There’s no “fine now” with a catastrophic injury. These are the types of injuries that, over the course of a lifetime, will cost millions of dollars to treat and manage. They leave people unable to walk, to talk, or to breathe on their own. They lead to the death of a loved one. They keep people in hospitals for months, maybe years. And during that time, here’s what happens:

  • The medical bills never end
  • The daily expenses keep on coming
  • Your kids need new shoes and clothes school supplies
  • Your car still needs oil changes and gas and tires
  • You whole house has to be renovated to adjust to the injured person – or you have to move
  • You permanently become a one-income household

Forever. All of these things? They’re forever. One person doesn’t just go back to work in two months. The pills and the therapy may never stop. And the insurance company will fight you as hard as it can, for as long as it can, to keep the money you paid to it.

When an injury is catastrophic, you need a lawyer who fights back harder, and who doesn’t quit until there is justice for you and your family. You need a dedicated team of Knoxville trial attorneys who can go the distance with you. Banks & Jones has built its reputation on taking cases like these, on behalf of people who want what is fair and right. We know what it takes to be successful, and we want to help.

What types of health providers help catastrophic injury patients?

Patients with brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, burns, and other catastrophic injuries often need immediate surgeries to stabilize their condition. They then need to treat with different specialists and therapists to help their condition improve as much as possible. Many catastrophic injury victims need a lifetime of care just to function and to prevent their medical condition from worsening.

Some of the short-term medical providers catastrophic victims need to see are:

  • Neurologists
  • Neurosurgeons
  • Cardiologists
  • Orthopedists
  • Pain management doctors
  • Plastic surgeons
  • Psychiatrists
  • Psychologists

Some of the long-term and lifetime medical providers catastrophic victims work with according to Neu Life Rehab are:

  • Physical therapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Speech therapists
  • Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurses
  • Cognitive therapists
  • Recreational Therapists
  • Dieticians
  • Neuropsychologists
  • Community Reintegration Specialists

Additionally, patients with catastrophic injuries may need home health workers to take care of the accident victim, feed the person, do the person’s laundry, and handle other daily activities for the victim.

What factors must be considered in settling a catastrophic injury case?

For most every client, a settlement is a more comfortable solution than going to trial. There’s less stress with a settlement and there is certainty about the amount of damages. All settlements should include payment for economic losses (medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage) and pain and suffering damages. In some cases, punitive damages may be warranted.

Catastrophic injury cases require a few unique challenges that require the assistance of skilled trial lawyers.

  • The patient’s medical needs. Generally, personal injury cases shouldn’t be settled until the future medical bills are reasonably known. When patients have a TBI or spinal cord damage, there can often be complications such as infections down the line that can make the victim’s condition worse. Some patients improve with extensive therapy. For other patients, the hope is just that their condition doesn’t worsen.
  • What the future employment losses are. If the victim was young, had a well-paying job, and/or served as the primary breadwinner, those future economic losses must be calculated into the final settlement. This is especially true for victims whose injuries are so severe that they will never be able to work again.
  • Whether a trustee or guardian is hired. If a patient is cognitively disabled, he or she will likely need someone to act on his or her behalf so that the medical and other lifetime bills are paid, and that required services are provided.
  • What will happen if the victim’s caretakers pass on. Young catastrophic injury victims will need a long-term care plan for after their parents (or potentially their spouses) die. A life care plan has to be part of the settlement package discussion.

Zealous advocacy for seriously injured victims in Knoxville

If you suffer a head, neck, back or other type of catastrophic injury, the legal team at Banks & Jones will fight for you. We know what you’re facing, and we don’t back down. To speak with a skilled catastrophic injury attorney who always Fights 2 Win, contact us or call 865-546-2141 to schedule  a prompt appointment.