Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law FirmCommon Injuries

New York Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Suffering a catastrophic injury in New York can derail your life, leaving you to deal with growing medical bills, lost income, and even permanent disability. Our dedicated New York catastrophic injury attorneys have decades of experience helping victims recover compensation after catastrophic injuries, and we want to help you.

The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm team
The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm team
The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm team

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Our Notable Catastrophic Injury Lawsuits

Workplace Accident

Confidential

A woman sustained extensive orthopedic injuries requiring multiple surgeries and rehabilitation after a truck struck her vehicle head-on.

Medical Misdiagnosis

$1.5 Million

Unwarranted surgery for a misdiagnosed condition left a young man with brain damage, paralysis, and the need for a tracheostomy.

Construction Accidents

$1.45 Million

A collapsing store shelf caused traumatic brain injury, leaving a welder in a vegetative state and resulting in a significant recovery for his family.

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Fighting for Catastrophic Injury Victims and Their Families for 40 Years

The New York personal injury lawyers at Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm have been fighting for victims of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death for more than three decades. Founded by renowned trial lawyer Jacob D. Fuchsberg, our firm has recovered hundreds of millions for injured clients and families.

Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm

Our dedicated team of attorneys has a proven record of success in litigating complex injury and malpractice cases. We handle cases involving spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, construction accidents, medical errors, and other debilitating injuries caused by carelessness and negligence.

Contact our NYC firm online or by phone at (212) 869-3500 for a free consultation on your catastrophic injury case.

What Qualifies as a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury is any severe, debilitating injury that permanently affects a person's ability to function and live independently. These life-changing injuries typically involve damage to the brain, spinal cord, or vital organs, leading to long-term or permanent impairment of mobility, cognition, or physiological processes.

Catastrophic injuries require intensive, ongoing medical care and rehabilitation and profoundly impact the victim's quality of life and financial stability. In New York, these injuries often result in substantial compensation claims to cover lifetime care needs.

Your Injury Is Lifelong. Your Legal Team Should Be Lifelong Fighters.

A catastrophic injury case requires a firm with the resources, experience, and resolve to see it through. Contact our dedicated legal team today to secure the powerful representation your family deserves.

Schedule a Free Consultation

#cta_start

Your Injury Is Lifelong. Your Legal Team Should Be Lifelong Fighters.

A catastrophic injury case requires a firm with the resources, experience, and resolve to see it through. Contact our dedicated legal team today to secure the powerful representation your family deserves.

Schedule a Free Consultation

#cta_end

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in NYC

Catastrophic injuries often happen in an instant but leave victims facing a lifetime of consequences. From Manhattan traffic accidents to construction site mishaps in Brooklyn, several common scenarios can produce these devastating injuries:

  • Medical malpractice: This is a leading cause of catastrophic harm. Surgical errors, medication mistakes, anesthesia errors, and delayed diagnosis can result in permanent disability or brain damage.
  • Car accidents: Head-on collisions, rollover crashes, and high-speed impacts can cause spinal cord and brain injuries.
  • Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: Unprotected collisions with vehicles in busy NYC intersections frequently cause severe brain and orthopedic injuries.
  • Construction accidents: Falls from heights, electrocution, and heavy equipment accidents often lead to disabling traumatic injuries.
  • Workplace accidents: Industrial machine accidents, falls, and electrical accidents are among the leading types of accidents in the workplace.
  • Sports/recreation injuries: Football, snowboarding, ATV riding, and other activities can result in brain, organ, and/or spinal cord injuries.
  • Police and prison brutality: Officer-involved shootings, severe beatings, and use of excessive force often produce catastrophic harm.

The common thread in these accidents is that they typically involve significant blunt force trauma, penetrating trauma, or prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain. The result is damage to critical anatomical structures that profoundly impairs the victim's ability to function.

Police and Prison Brutality

Types of Catastrophic Injury Cases We Take on in New York

When bad things happen to good people in New York, our NYC catastrophic injury lawyers take action. We're fully committed to helping accident victims and their families get the compensation they desperately need.

From brain trauma to paralysis, here are some of the serious injury cases we take on in New York City and beyond.

Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)

Our firm aggressively litigates traumatic brain injury cases, including those caused by falls, workplace accidents, and medical malpractice. We fight tenaciously for New York clients left with cognitive, behavioral, and physical impairments through no fault of their own.

Spinal Cord Injuries & Paralysis

We represent New Yorkers who have suffered spinal cord injuries resulting in paraplegia, quadriplegia, or partial paralysis. Our catastrophic injury attorneys understand the enormous financial burden these injuries create and work diligently to secure compensation for specialized equipment, home modifications, and lifetime care.

Birth Injuries

Our New York medical malpractice attorneys pursue cases where substandard medical care before, during, or after birth causes catastrophic birth injuries like cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, hypoxic brain damage, and other life-altering conditions.

Birth Injuries

Our accomplished trial lawyers know how to achieve substantial results in these complex catastrophic injury claims and are committed to holding negligent healthcare providers accountable.

Amputation Injuries

We represent clients in catastrophic injury cases who lose limbs as a result of vehicular accidents, machinery accidents, or medical negligence, seeking fair compensation for medical costs, prosthetic devices, and disability.

Severe Burn Injuries

Our attorneys handle claims for clients who suffer disfiguring burns in explosions, electrocutions, chemical spills, and other incidents across New York City. We can help you obtain the resources you need to cover necessary medical treatments, including reconstructive surgeries, skin grafts, and psychological counseling.

Multiple Trauma Injuries

Many catastrophic injury victims suffer multiple serious injuries simultaneously, requiring complex medical care and rehabilitation. Our catastrophic injury lawyers work with medical experts to document the full extent of these injuries and their combined impact on your life and future.

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Don't Let the Story of Your Injury End in Tragedy — Let Us Help You Move Forward

If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury, contact our dedicated legal team today to secure dependable representation. We'll work diligently to advance your claim, allowing you to focus on recovery.

Schedule a Free Consultation

#cta_end

Damages You Can Recover for a Catastrophic Injury in New York

While no amount of money can reverse the harm, a successful lawsuit is critical to providing financial stability and ensuring access to the best possible care. In New York, we can fight to recover compensation for:

  • Medical expenses (past and future): Including all hospital bills, surgeries, medications, and projected costs for future rehabilitative care.
  • Lost income and earning capacity: Compensation for the income you have already lost and for the wages you will be unable to earn in the future.
  • Life-care and home healthcare: The costs of daily assistance, in-home nursing, and other services required for activities of daily living.
  • Rehabilitation and assistive devices: The cost of physical and occupational therapy, wheelchairs, prosthetics, and home and vehicle modifications.
  • Pain and suffering: Substantial compensation for the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of quality of life resulting from the injury. New York does not cap these damages.
  • Loss of consortium: Compensation for the spouse of an injured person for the loss of the marital relationship.

In order to document your losses and pursue fair compensation through settlement negotiations or trials, it's crucial to work with a skilled catastrophic injury attorney. The damages you recover can go toward your recovery and help you support your loved ones.

Life-Care and Home Healthcare

What to Do After Suffering a Catastrophic Injury in NYC

In the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic injury, it's crucial that you take the appropriate steps to protect your rights. While such experiences can be overwhelming, staying focused on the following key actions will help your case down the road:

1. Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Go to the emergency room to get evaluated and treated for any injuries as soon as possible after the incident. Prompt medical care can make all the difference when it comes to your prognosis for recovery.

2. Document the Scene

When you're able, take photos or video footage of the accident site, including any hazardous conditions that contributed to the incident. Keep all medical records, accident reports, and witness contact information. This evidence will be crucial once you begin your claim.

3. Report the Incident

File an official report with the appropriate authorities, such as the NYPD, building management, or OSHA. These reports will also serve as vital evidence in your case.

4. Avoid Speaking with Insurance Companies

Do not provide recorded statements or accept quick settlement offers before consulting with a catastrophic injury lawyer. Insurance companies often try to minimize serious injury claims.

5. Contact an Attorney

Reach out to the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm as soon as possible. Our New York catastrophic injury lawyers can immediately begin investigating your case, preserving evidence, and protecting your rights.

6. Focus on Recovery

Once you've hired our catastrophic injury attorneys and given them all the information they need, concentrate on following your doctor's orders regarding treatment and rehabilitation. Adhering to the medical advice you're given is the key to a speedy recovery.

How Our NYC Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Can Help to Win Your Case

An effective legal strategy is critical to securing the compensation you need. Here is our proven approach:

  • Immediate investigation: We move quickly to preserve crucial evidence, whether it's from an accident scene or within complex medical records. We identify every potentially liable party to maximize your recovery.
  • Collaboration with world-class professionals: We work with trusted medical specialists, life-care planners, and economists to prove the extent of the negligence and accurately document the full, long-term financial impact of your injuries.
  • Aggressive negotiation: We handle all communications with insurance companies, armed with a powerful, evidence-based case. We fight for a full and fair settlement that covers all your current and future needs.
  • Trial-ready representation: While many cases settle, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial. Opposing counsel knows our reputation as formidable litigators who are not afraid to take a case before a jury to achieve justice.

The legal guidance and advocacy an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer can provide are indispensable after a serious accident in New York. Having such an ally on your side can mean the difference between a paltry payout and significant compensation that reflects the seriousness of your situation.

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Our Clients’ Reviews

Stars

I cannot rate the firm any higher! we are extremely happy with the service we received from Brad, Chris and the team. We are northern Irish citizens and as such had no experience of the US justice system, Chris and Brad helped us navigate this and made sure we understood every step of the process and we were kept informed of what would happen with the case.

We also felt that Brad and Chris had a genuine interest in our story, what the implications for us as a family were and they were genuinely invested in how they could help our situation.

We were reassured by the manor in which Chris and Brad dealt with us and trusted that the advice we were given was always well balanced and in our best interests. We were extremely happy with the outcome the firm achieved for us and feel that we only got this outcome due to the hard work of Chris and Brad. I would not hesitate to recommend the firm to anyone who is considering a case and wants to feel as though they are really valued as a client.

Many thanks to the firm for all of their hard work on our behalf it truly is appreciated.

Leanne Montgomery

Citizen

5

Stars

Let’s go to the beginning when I realize that I was going to need legal assistance because I was shocked that I was actually injured I called my fiancé and told her that I was going to need a lawyer, so she googled the top 5  personal injury law firms in NY and The Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm came up. One of the representatives from the firm took the time to come personally to my home to see me, that immediately showed me that I was going to be able to make it through my pain and suffering they understood what I was going through and with patience, persistence, and diligence they were able to get the best results possible in settling my case. I highly recommend the Jacob Fuchsberg Law firm when the unexpected happens you will not be dissatisfied with the kind, courteous and professionalism that you would expect from a law firm.

Keith Middleton

Citizen

5

Stars

Very satisfied with the representation I was given from this law firm.  I would recommend Fuchsberg to anyone with a unique situation such as mine. My attorney went above and beyond to ensure everything was done thoroughly and in a timely manner! Everything about this firm exceeded my expectations! Very special thank you to Chris,  Allison, and Brad!

Marie Price

Citizen

5

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You Deserve Justice — Our New York Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Can Help You Get It

If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury due to someone else's negligence in New York City, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, or anywhere in New York State, the experienced attorneys at Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm are ready to help.

Our catastrophic injury lawyers offer free, no-obligation consultations to discuss your case and explain your legal options. We handle all catastrophic injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win compensation for you.

  • We are available to you 24/7

  • Compassionate in our approach

  • Don’t Pay Unless We Win

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Background

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the timeline for filing a catastrophic injury lawsuit in New York?

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In New York, you generally have three years from the accident date to file personal injury claims, but only 2.5 years for medical malpractice cases. Important exceptions include government cases (with a 90-day notice requirement) and claims involving minors. Consult our catastrophic injury lawyers immediately to protect your rights.

Are there caps on damages for catastrophic injury victims in New York?

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No. Unlike some states, New York imposes no caps on non-economic damages for pain and suffering. This allows juries to award substantial compensation that genuinely reflects the devastating impact of a catastrophic injury.

How much does it cost to hire a catastrophic injury lawyer in New York?

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At Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm, we handle catastrophic injury cases on a contingency fee basis, where you pay nothing up front and only pay attorney fees if we win your case. Our fee comes as a percentage of your recovery, eliminating financial stress during this difficult time.

What is the difference between a personal injury and a catastrophic injury case?

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While both involve harm caused by negligence, a catastrophic injury case involves permanent, life-altering impairment that requires extensive, lifelong medical and financial support. These cases are far more complex and demand a higher level of legal and medical expertise to calculate the immense future damages.

How long does a catastrophic injury case take in New York?

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Case timelines vary based on complexity, injury severity, and whether settlement is possible. While some cases resolve within a year, complex catastrophic injury cases typically take 1 to 3 years, especially with extensive medical documentation or multiple defendants. Our attorneys work efficiently to advance your case without compromising the quality of representation.

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