What is a catastrophic injury?
A catastrophic injury is a severe, life-altering injury with permanent consequences - spinal cord injury with paralysis, severe traumatic brain injury, amputation, severe burns, or blindness. These injuries require lifelong medical care and typically eliminate or drastically reduce the ability to work.
How is the lifetime cost of a catastrophic injury calculated?
A life-care planner itemizes every future need - attendant care, surgeries, medications, equipment, home modifications - over the plaintiff's life expectancy. An economist adds lost earning capacity and reduces the total to present value using a net discount rate. Catastrophic life-care plans routinely total several million dollars.
Are catastrophic injury damages capped in the US?
Economic damages, including future medical and lost earnings, are generally not capped. Many states cap non-economic damages (pain and suffering), particularly in medical malpractice cases. The uncapped economic component usually dominates a catastrophic award.
What is the collateral source rule's effect on catastrophic claims?
In traditional collateral source states, the defendant cannot introduce evidence that insurance or public benefits will cover the plaintiff's future care, so the full cost is recoverable. States that abrogated the rule may offset benefits. This can materially change a multimillion-dollar catastrophic award.
How does lost earning capacity factor into catastrophic damages?
A vocational expert assesses the plaintiff's pre-injury earning path and post-injury capacity (often zero for catastrophic cases), and an economist projects the lost income stream to retirement age, discounted to present value. For a young, high-earning victim this alone can reach millions.