A catastrophic injury can change how you work, move, and care for your family in a single moment. Injuries such as paralysis, severe brain trauma, and limb loss often bring years of medical treatment, lost income, and difficult changes at home. If someone else’s negligence caused your injury, Texas law may allow you to seek compensation for those losses, both now and in the future.
Founded in 1959, Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP, is the oldest plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm in Austin. Our Austin personal injury lawyers handle catastrophic injury claims with the care and attention these cases demand. While you focus on healing, we manage the legal process and work to hold the responsible party accountable.
Time-Sensitive: Texas Law Limits Your Window to File
Injured in Austin? Texas’s 2-year statute of limitations begins from the date of your accident. After that window closes, your right to sue may be gone permanently.
Austin’s oldest plaintiffs’ personal injury law firm, founded in 1959. Board Certified trial attorneys. No fees unless we win.
Schedule an Initial ConsultationWhat Qualifies as a Catastrophic Injury in Texas
A catastrophic injury is a severe injury that causes permanent disability, long-term impairment, or a lasting loss of quality of life. These injuries often prevent a person from returning to work, require ongoing medical care, and change daily routines for the entire family. Texas law does not use a single legal definition, so the severity and long-term effects of the injury usually determine whether a claim is treated as catastrophic.
The financial impact can be enormous. According to spinal cord injury statistics from The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, first-year expenses for a person with high tetraplegia average more than $1.4 million, with costs of more than $250,000 in each year after. These figures show why a catastrophic injury claim must account for your future needs as well as the bills you face today.
Types of Catastrophic Injuries We Handle
Catastrophic injuries take many forms, and each one affects your claim differently. Our attorneys handle cases involving the following types of life-altering harm.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
A severe blow to the head can cause memory loss, cognitive problems, personality changes, and difficulty with speech or movement. Learn more about our traumatic brain injury cases.
Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis
Damage to the spinal cord can cause partial or complete paralysis, chronic pain, and loss of bodily function. Learn more about our spinal cord injury cases.
Severe Burn Injuries
Vehicle fires, explosions, and workplace accidents can cause deep burns requiring skin grafts and multiple surgeries. Learn more about our burn injury cases.
Amputation and Limb Loss
Losing a limb affects your mobility, independence, and ability to work. Prosthetic devices need regular replacement, and many survivors need occupational therapy to adapt.
Crush Injuries and Multiple Fractures
Crush injuries and complex fractures can damage muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. They often require several surgeries and may lead to permanent disability.
Internal Organ Damage
Blunt force trauma can injure internal organs without obvious outward signs. These injuries may require emergency surgery and long-term monitoring.
No matter which injury you suffered, your claim should reflect how it affects every part of your life.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in Austin
Catastrophic injuries usually result from high-force events where the body absorbs tremendous impact. Our firm focuses on catastrophic cases involving commercial vehicles, motorcycles, drunk drivers, dram shop claims, and construction sites. Common causes include:
- Commercial truck crashes involving 18-wheelers, delivery trucks, and company vehicles
- Car accidents, including rollover crashes
- Motorcycle accidents and pedestrian accidents
- Collisions caused by drunk drivers
- Construction site accidents, including falls and equipment failures
- Defective products and defective vehicles
Many of these accidents involve heavy vehicles, high speeds, or reckless conduct. When multiple factors contributed to your injury, a thorough investigation can uncover every party who may share responsibility.
Who May Be Liable for Your Catastrophic Injury
Responsibility for a catastrophic injury often extends beyond one person. A negligent driver may be liable, but so might the company that employed that driver. Under the legal concept of vicarious liability, employers can be held responsible for the actions of their employees while on the job.
Other potentially liable parties include vehicle and parts manufacturers, property owners under premises liability law, and bars that overserve drunk drivers under dram shop liability rules. Identifying every liable party matters because it can increase the insurance coverage available to pay for your losses. If a catastrophic injury proves fatal, surviving family members may have a wrongful death claim.
Compensation Available After a Catastrophic Injury
Texas allows injured people to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Because catastrophic injuries affect the rest of your life, your claim may include costs you have not yet incurred. The table below shows how the two categories differ.
| Economic Damages | Non-Economic Damages | |
|---|---|---|
| What they cover | Financial losses with a measurable dollar value | Personal losses without a set dollar value |
| Examples | Past and future medical bills, rehabilitation, home modifications, assistive equipment, in-home care, lost wages, and lost earning capacity | Pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium |
| Common evidence | Medical bills, wage records, life care plans, and economic projections | Medical records, testimony about daily limitations, and accounts from family members |
Lost earning capacity is often one of the largest parts of a catastrophic injury claim, and it differs from the wages you missed while recovering. You can learn more about the difference between lost wages and lost earning capacity in Texas and how pain and suffering is calculated. When a defendant acted with gross negligence, such as driving while intoxicated, you may also be able to pursue punitive damages in a Texas injury lawsuit.
How We Build a Catastrophic Injury Case
To recover compensation, we must show the other party owed you a duty of care, failed to meet it, and caused your injuries through that failure. Our process is designed to prove both fault and the full value of your losses.
Initial Consultation
We listen to your story, review the facts, and explain your legal options.
Investigation and Evidence
We collect police reports, medical records, witness statements, and photographs. In crash cases, accident reconstruction can help show how the collision happened.
Documenting Future Losses
Proving future losses often requires input from treating physicians, life care planners, and economists who can project long-term needs.
Negotiation
We handle all communication with insurance companies. As true personal injury trial lawyers, we have leverage that often helps us resolve cases without going to court.
Trial if Necessary
If the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, we are prepared to present your case to a jury.
Our attorneys are skilled in every stage of trial practice, from pretrial discovery and settlement negotiations to trial and appellate advocacy, so your case is prepared for trial from the start.
Protecting Your Claim From Insurance Company Tactics
Insurance companies know catastrophic injury claims can be costly, and adjusters may try to limit what they pay. Common tactics include pushing for a quick settlement before the full extent of your injuries is known, requesting recorded statements, and questioning whether your injuries are as serious as you claim.
Before accepting any offer, read about what to do when an insurance company offers a quick settlement. An early settlement may not cover future surgeries, therapy, or lost earning capacity. Having an attorney handle insurance communication can protect your claim from these strategies.
Statute of Limitations for Austin Catastrophic Injury Cases
Under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you generally have two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If a catastrophic injury results in death, the family’s wrongful death claim must generally be filed within two years from the date of death.
Certain circumstances can shorten or extend these deadlines, so it helps to learn how the Texas statute of limitations for personal injury applies to your situation. Missing the deadline can permanently bar your claim, so contact an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights.
How Shared Fault Affects Your Claim in Texas
Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule. You may still recover compensation if you are found 50% or less responsible for the accident, but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Insurance companies sometimes use Texas comparative negligence laws to shift blame onto injured people. A careful investigation can counter these arguments and protect the value of your claim.
Why Choose Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP
Our firm pioneered personal injury and wrongful death law in Austin and Central Texas, and we have built a national reputation for handling important and complex cases. Our attorneys hold board certifications from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Double Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
View Full Bio →Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
View Full Bio →Our firm is recognized by U.S. News & World Report among the Best Law Firms, and our attorneys are listed in Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers. You won’t see us on TV commercials or billboards. Clients hire us based on our reputation, word of mouth, and the experiences of past clients.
Serving Austin and Central Texas
We represent catastrophic injury victims throughout Austin and the surrounding communities. Our attorneys help clients in Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, and San Marcos.
If your injury happened elsewhere in Central Texas, you can view all of our areas served or contact us to discuss your case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injury Claims
These are some of the questions we hear most often from catastrophic injury victims and their families.
Contact Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP, for an Initial Consultation
A catastrophic injury can affect your health, income, and family for years, and the claim that follows deserves careful attention. Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP, has handled serious injury cases in Austin for more than six decades, and our Board Certified trial attorneys are ready to put that experience to work for you.
We work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney’s fees unless we win your case. If you suffered a life-changing injury because of someone else’s negligence, we can review your options and explain the next steps. To schedule an initial consultation with an Austin catastrophic injury lawyer, complete our contact form.