When catastrophic accidents happen, the victims and their families often face significant hardships and limitations that are devastating and long-lasting.

When you suffer significant injuries in an accident, your life may never be the same again or it may take a long time and a lot of hard work to get back to normal. You may experience chronic pain, physical limitations, disfigurement, or even more serious consequences depending on the nature of your injuries.

Regardless of your specific injury, your focus should be on your physical recovery and on trying to restore as much normalcy to your life as you can. You might be plagued with worries about medical bills or about being unable to work while you recover. The financial stress you experience after a serious accident may overshadow your ability to focus your efforts on healing.

At The Krist Law Firm, P. C., our experienced Houston serious injury lawyers know what you are dealing with and that no two injuries are alike. Contact us at 281-283-8500 to discuss your unique set of challenges and how we can help your recover the compensation you need.

Getting Medical Help and Determining The Extent of Your Injury

After any serious accident, it is critical to immediately seek medical attention to have your injuries properly assessed. This is not only important for effective treatment, but when a claim is submitted to an insurance company, you will need to show medical documentation regarding the extent of your injuries. This is especially vital if your injury resulted in any degree of disability.

While you will need medical records as evidence, it is also necessary to show how your injuries impacted your everyday life. For instance, have you lost the ability to work or do you need permanent accommodations? Have you lost the ability to enjoy activities that you had prior to being injured?

Any financial recovery pursued through an insurance company or the responsible party should take all of these factors into account, particularly if your injury led to an ongoing disability. With a network of qualified medical professionals, our Houston personal injury attorneys have the experience to ask the right questions and the resources you need to help present your case and fight for what you deserve.

Primary and Secondary Injuries

As veteran legal professionals, The Krist Law Firm, P. C. knows that after a serious accident, addressing your primary or main injuries should always be your chief focus. However, sometimes other injuries are not immediately apparent and not diagnosed until later. For example, if you were involved in a catastrophic car accident that caused severe physical injuries, after some time you may begin experiencing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This would be considered a secondary trauma and can have just as much of an impact on your life as the primary injuries. Our serious injury attorneys will strive to ensure all of your injuries are properly diagnosed and treated as well as pursue maximum compensation for your needs.

How Will You Pay for Medical Care?

Aside from your physical discomfort after a catastrophic accident, a lot of stress stems from worrying about paying for your medical care. Medical costs can add up quickly and often include:

  • Emergency room treatment
  • Medication
  • Costs of hospital stay
  • Diagnostic tests such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans
  • Cost of surgery
  • Casts, braces, or splints
  • Physical therapy and rehabilitation
  • Psychological counseling

It is also very important to consider whether you will have additional medical expenses going forward. Future medical bills can be a significant cost factor, depending on the severity and type of your injury. If you have suffered a catastrophic injury and are now paralyzed, you will face life-long and substantial costs. Illustrating your past and future medical needs will require medical expert testimony and extensive documentation to create an accurate estimate, which your dedicated Houston personal injury lawyer will use in any negotiations on your behalf.

Proving Liability and Obtaining Compensation

Calculating the value of your injury is not an easy task and there is no simple answer to what your claim is worth. In order to create a strong case, your attorney will need to show that the party in question was at fault, which in turn caused your injuries. You must also show how those injuries negatively affected your life. When you and your attorney assess the possible damages, you should consider the following, both in the past and future:

  • Medical costs
  • Loss of earning capacity
  • Physical pain
  • Mental anguish
  • Disfigurement
  • Physical limitations

There are a lot of factors to consider, but essentially your financial recovery will be largely based on the severity of your injury, your ability to work, your quality of life after the accident, and the long-term effect and impact on your family.

Dealing with the complex facets of a personal injury case can be overwhelming for anyone, especially while you are focusing on recuperating and rebuilding your life. You don’t need to go through this alone. Our skilled Houston personal injury lawyers can shoulder the work of pursuing a claim for compensation, including:

  • Conducting an extensive investigation
  • Compiling all of the available evidence
  • Handling the details of legal paperwork
  • Negotiating with insurance companies or other parties
  • Fighting on your behalf for the best possible outcome, in court if necessary

Our goal is to be there through every step of the process and to give you the peace of mind you need to recover following the trauma of your accident. We’re in the business of helping when bad things happen to good people. Let us help you move forward after a serious accident.

Types of Serious Injuries

At The Krist Law Firm, P.C., our attorneys have extensive experience and a history of success pursuing a broad range of claims in virtually every type of personal injury case. We invite you to review some of our successful cases and the results we achieved, which show our commitment to providing effective representation and achieving maximum compensation for our clients. Some of the most common significant injuries we’ve seen in more than 40 years of Houston personal injury practice include:

Polytrauma

In a serious accident or collision, it’s likely that you won’t sustain just one type of injury. For example, you may have a traumatic brain injury, a broken leg, torn ligaments, and herniated discs in your spine all from the same accident. Suffering at least two or more traumatic injuries is known as polytrauma.

Polytrauma requires multiple treatments and a long period of recovery. How you experience polytrauma will depend on the nature of your individual injuries.Beyond the symptoms of your injuries themselves, medical research shows some of the overall effects of polytrauma on your body may include:

  • Chronic pain
  • Higher risk of infection
  • Organ failure
  • Metabolic changes, including insulin resistance
  • Depression

Neck, Back & Spinal Cord Injuries

Neck, back, and spinal cord injuries are common in serious collisions such as trucking accidents or motor vehicle accidents. When you hurt your neck or back or suffer a spinal cord injury, your entire wellbeing can be affected. You may experience chronic pain, damage to your nervous system, loss of range of motion, or even paralysis. These types of injuries often require invasive surgery and long, painful recovery times.

Some common forms of neck, back, and spinal cord injuries include:

  • Herniated, bulging, or ruptured discs
  • Broken vertebrae
  • Severed spinal cord
  • Muscle injuries

Whiplash Injuries

Whiplash is a specific neck injury that often occurs in vehicle accidents when a person’s head is abruptly propelled frontward and then back again.

This sudden and violent motion can cause significant harm to the muscles, nerves, and vertebrae within the neck, leading to various effects, including:

  • Neck stiffness
  • Headaches
  • Loss of mobility
  • Dizziness
  • Fatigue
  • Psychological issues, such as memory loss and diminished concentration

Brain Injuries

Brain injuries often are life-altering. When the brain is injured, there can be short-term or long-term damage that leads to memory loss, loss of motor functions, loss of cognitive functions, headaches, depression, or even personality changes. A brain injury can affect every aspect of your life, including your ability to work or to enjoy hobbies, as well as your relationships with your family and friends.

Brain injuries often require costly care from a neurologist or neurosurgeon.

Some common forms of brain injuries resulting from accidents include:

  • Concussions
  • Hematoma
  • Traumatic brain injuries — mild, moderate and severe

Severed Limbs

The loss of a limb is tragic and can lead to lifelong pain, physical or mental impairments, and depression. A lost limb also can have a significant effect on your financial future because of the costs of long-term care and rehabilitation, expensive prosthetics or wheelchairs, and modifications to your home to accommodate the limits you now face. Additionally, you may face a devastating loss of earning capacity if you’re no longer able to work in your career.

If you were in a serious accident, you may have experienced:

  • Amputated or crushed arms
  • Amputated or crushed legs
  • Amputated or crushed hands or fingers
  • Amputated or crushed feet or toes
  • Full or partial amputation
  • Double amputation

Burns, Electrocutions & Smoke Inhalation

The injuries you suffer because of a fire or when electrocuted can be extremely painful and require long-term treatment and recovery. Very serious injuries related to fires or electrocution can be fatal.

Some of the many varieties of injuries a person may suffer in a fire or because of electrocution include:

  • First-degree burns
  • Second-degree burns
  • Third-degree burns
  • Fourth-degree burns
  • Fifth-degree burns
  • Sixth-degree burns
  • Electrocution burns
  • Internal organ damage from electrocution
  • Cardiac arrest from electrocution
  • Muscle, nerve and tissue damage from electrocution
  • Inflammation and bronchospasm from smoke inhalation
  • Internal heat damage from smoke inhalation
  • Pulmonary edema from smoke inhalation
  • Asphyxiation and hypoxia from smoke inhalation
  • Respiratory arrest from smoke inhalation

Breaks, Sprains and Torn Ligaments

Any kind of accident that involves an impact — whether it’s a vehicle crash or a slip-and-fall — can result in broken bones, torn or sprained ligaments, or muscle injuries. While a broken bone may be felt immediately, injuries to muscles, cartilage or ligaments may take time to show symptoms. A broken bone or a soft-tissue injury can result in chronic, long-term pain and the need for extensive rehabilitation.

Some common types of bone fractures and soft-tissue injuries include:

  • Open fractures
  • Closed fractures
  • Spiral fractures
  • Avulsion fractures
  • Comminuted fractures
  • Greenstick fractures
  • Arm and wrist fractures
  • Hip and pelvis fractures
  • Leg and ankle fractures
  • Rib fractures
  • Skull fractures
  • Neck fractures
  • Collarbone fractures
  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Torn meniscus
  • Knee injuries
  • Shoulder injuries
  • Wrist and ankle injuries
  • Muscle, tendon, and cartilage injuries

Vision & Hearing Loss

We rely on our senses to tell us about the world around us. Our vision helps us know when it’s safe to cross a street. Our hearing tells us when we need to pull over to the side of the road for an ambulance. When we lose one of our senses, we lose access to a part of the world. That loss can make you more vulnerable, but also can result in financial consequences if the loss of vision or hearing affects your ability to earn a living.

Some common ways that an accident may cause vision or hearing loss include:

  • Eye scratches
  • Punctured eyes
  • Swollen or bleeding eyes
  • Punctured eardrums
  • Tinnitus

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A serious accident can cause psychological injuries as well as physical ones. Trauma can actually change the way a person’s brain works and result in long-term consequences that make it harder to hold a job, maintain relationships, or simply to feel safe. If you’ve experienced psychological trauma because of an accident, you may be able to receive compensation for the ways your post-traumatic stress affected your life.

Some of the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder may include:

  • Depression
  • Nightmares
  • Personality changes
  • Anxiety
  • Substance abuse

Chemical Exposure

With the prevalence of the petrochemical industry in and around Houston, injuries involving chemical exposure in plants and refineries, or from accidents involving tanker trucks, are commonplace. For someone exposed to hazardous or toxic chemicals, the results can be excruciating and cause serious permanent damage.

Some of the possible effects of chemical exposure include:

  • Chemical burns
  • Rashes
  • Throat and lung injuries
  • Eye injuries
  • Neurological damage
  • Scars and disfigurement

Contact a Skilled Houston Serious Injury Lawyer Right Away

At The Krist Law Firm, P.C., our Houston personal injury lawyers will aggressively pursue your case with the compassion and skill you need during what is undoubtedly a very stressful time. We’ll make sure that you understand all of your options and are kept informed through the entire process, so that you can make necessary decisions. When we represent you, we’ll fight to get you the maximum possible compensation for your injuries and hold the person or company who caused your accident accountable.

Call us for a free consultation today at 281-283-8500  to see how we can put our knowledge and experience to work for you.