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A catastrophic injury claim is not a larger version of an ordinary injury claim. It is valued over a life, not over a treatment period that ends. Much of the claim is for care and losses that have not happened yet and may not happen for decades.
That single fact changes what has to be proven, who has to prove it, and when the work has to be done. The evidence of how the injury happened is disappearing while your family is at the hospital. Vehicles are repaired, video is erased and scenes change within weeks. Call 713-521-0059.
There is no single legal definition, but in practice it is an injury that permanently changes what the person can do for the rest of their life.
That includes spinal cord injury and paralysis, severe traumatic brain injury, amputation, severe burns, loss of vision or hearing, and injuries requiring lifelong attendant care. If you or someone in your family has one of these injuries, the claim will likely be built very differently from a typical car wreck claim.
The future is most of the value, and the future has to be proven. A life care plan is a formal projection, built by a qualified professional, of every element of care the person will need over a lifetime, priced.
It covers surgeries, equipment, replacement of that equipment on its actual schedule, home modification, attendant care hours, medications and therapy. An economist then reduces it to present value. Without that work, the future is a number a jury is asked to guess at, and juries often guess low.
Lost earning capacity is not lost wages. Wages are what was earned, while earning capacity is what the person could have earned over a working life, in the occupations available to them. Proving it usually requires a vocational expert and an economist.
Medical bills are measured a particular way in Texas. Section 41.0105 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code limits recovery of medical expenses to amounts actually paid or incurred. That affects how past medical bills are proven.
Commonly covered expenses and damages include:
Liability is contested harder. The size of the exposure means the defense investigates more, spends more, and settles later. Cases with modest exposure settle on the adjuster’s authority, while cases with severe exposure go up the chain and are defended.
Expect the defense to argue that you share the blame for what happened. Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant found more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing (Section 33.001). Otherwise, the award is reduced by the claimant’s percentage (Section 33.012), even at exactly 50 percent.
Coverage is layered. Serious cases frequently involve a primary policy, one or more excess layers, an employer’s policy, and sometimes coverage the injured person did not know existed. Finding every layer is part of the work, and it needs to happen early, because it may not be possible later.
Vehicles get repaired or salvaged, and electronic control module data is overwritten. Surveillance video is purged on a fixed cycle, often within thirty days. Scenes change and witnesses move away or forget what they saw.
In the first weeks, your family’s whole attention is on an intensive care unit. During that time, the physical proof of what happened is quietly disappearing. Preservation letters and, where necessary, an inspection before anything is moved need to happen early, because the evidence they protect often cannot be recovered later.
You can help without leaving the hospital. Write down the names of anyone who saw what happened. Keep photographs, clothing, equipment and any damaged property exactly as they are, and save text messages.
You generally do not have to give a recorded statement to another party’s insurer. Your own policy may require you to cooperate with your own insurer.
In a catastrophic case the medical record does two jobs. It establishes what happened, and it establishes what the rest of the injured person’s life looks like.
Gaps in treatment, inconsistent histories and undocumented complaints become the defense’s argument years later. Keeping appointments, telling each provider the same history, and reporting every symptom all help. A complete and consistent record is evidence, and building it starts on the first day of treatment.
In most cases, under Section 16.003(a) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, suit must be brought within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. Exceptions can shorten or extend that period, so ask about your dates.
The legal deadline is rarely the one that matters first, because the deadline for saving the evidence is usually far shorter.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
These cases are usually decided by preparation done in the first months. The claim cannot be valued until the medical picture is stable enough to project. The liability evidence has to be secured long before then. Both parts of the case have to be worked at the same time.
We handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in Houston and across Texas. We start with written notice to whoever holds the evidence of how the injury happened, so it is kept. Then we gather the medical record, identify every layer of insurance, and work with qualified professionals on the life care plan and the economic losses.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
An injury valued over a lifetime rather than a treatment period. That changes the proof, the professionals involved and the timing.
A projection by a qualified life care plan expert of the care, equipment and services the injury will require for life, priced year by year. An economist then reduces it to present value.
Because the case cannot be valued until the medical picture is stable enough to project, and evidence on the liability side is disappearing the whole time.
Section 41.0105 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code limits recovery of medical expenses to amounts actually paid or incurred. How that applies depends on your insurance and your bills.
Under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, you recover nothing if you are found more than 50 percent responsible. Otherwise, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of responsibility, even at exactly 50 percent.
Generally within two years after the day the claim accrues under Section 16.003(a) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which is usually the date of the injury. Exceptions can apply, so ask about your dates.