Pennsylvania Serious Injury Lawyers

Catastrophic Injury Attorneys Serving Carlisle, Hanover, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Schuylkill County & York, Pennsylvania

There are accidents that change everything—accidents that end our careers, that take away our mobility, and that rob us of our ability to provide for our families or be self-sufficient members of society. These accidents often leave us emotionally scarred, forcing us to process the trauma of our accident for years to come. Even when we’re physically able to work, we may be mentally unable to make a living. 

These are what legal and medical authorities call “catastrophic injuries” or “serious injuries.” Whatever name they go by, they mean the same thing: an injury that changes your life—for the rest of your life. The cost of treatment alone for most serious injuries can be six or seven figures, and that’s not counting the years of diminished earning capacity and lost wages most survivors are facing.

The Pennsylvania serious injury attorneys at Handler, Henning & Rosenberg have spent more than a century representing people after life-changing accidents. Since 1922, we’ve helped thousands recover their medical care, lost wages, and more. Our firm regularly handles workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, and insurance claims, maximizing every possible source of relief for our clients’ sake.

If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury, now is the time to act. Contact a Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyer now for a free consultation: (888) 498-3023.

3 Signs That You Need to Call a PA Serious Injury Attorney

There are times when the stakes are so high that the moment calls for special measures. This isn't just a fender bender or a small healthcare claim—the money you get for your accident could be the only money you receive for the rest of your life. Are you prepared to fight (and win) against an insurance company all on your own? Here are the signs that you need to hire a Pennsylvania serious injury attorney.

#1: Your Injuries Will Last for the Rest of Your Life

Permanent injuries are life-changing in more ways than one. Physically, you may not be as mobile as you once were; serious injuries often cause problems like chronic pain, paralysis, nerve damage, or loss of neurological function. For people who need to stand, move, lift, or do anything physical for a living, loss of mobility also means loss of income. Considering that serious injuries often incur incredible healthcare costs, loss of income would be even more devastating than it normally would.

An experienced catastrophic injury lawyer has the resources to calculate how much your future medical care and lost income is worth, ensuring that your potential settlement or verdict could cover all of your losses for the rest of your life. If you’re facing a lifetime of impairment, a catastrophic injury lawyer might be one of the few people who could make sure you have everything you need to provide for yourself.

#2: It's a Complex Accident with Multiple Parties

Minor accidents usually involve two people, plus the at-fault person’s insurance company. Serious accidents are rarely that simple. In accidents that cause catastrophic injury (e.g., trucking accidents, construction site accidents), there are usually multiple parties involved: contractors, owners, and insurers for each. It can be difficult to determine liability—especially as every party insists that they aren’t at fault.

Complex accidents mean you may even be subject to counter-claims or cross-claims, especially if there is more than one injured party. If you’re one of many plaintiffs, having an experienced Pennsylvania catastrophic injury attorney makes it more likely that your voice will be heard.

#3: Your Insurer Isn't Playing Fair

Insurers often use tactics that delay or deny claims outright. For instance, some insurers will rotate or remove insurance reps from cases on a frequent basis, forcing claimants to restart the claims process multiple times. In other cases, insurers may attempt to pressure claimants into accepting a low offer, knowing they’ll accept out of desperation as the bills pile up.

Having a lawyer means you can spend less time arguing with insurance reps, tracking down paperwork, or making endless calls with customer service departments. Catastrophic injury lawyers cut through bureaucratic insulation to get to the truth: who was at fault, why the accident occurred, and what can be done to help you recover. While you focus on healing, your claim will be in competent hands.

What Warrants a Catastrophic Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Catastrophic injuries, per the law, are injuries that affect your cognitive abilities or physical mobility either permanently or on a long-term basis. Apart from that definition, there's no "kind" of injury that qualifies as a serious injury—anything that impedes your brain or body's function long-term is a serious injury.

Some examples of serious injuries include the following:

If you have a serious injury that is impacting various aspects of your life, filing a catastrophic personal injury claim is absolutely warranted.

Serious injuries are guaranteed to affect your quality of life physically, socially, and financially. Earning a living may be many times more difficult, if not impossible. Most people with serious injuries are unable to enjoy their lives the way they used to, and they often suffer from long-term mental anguish or physical pain. Serious injuries are also some of the most costly injuries a person can endure, costing hundreds of thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars to treat or accommodate. When you're facing a lifetime of uncertainty and recovery, you must hold the at-fault party accountable.

Seeking a Serious Injury Settlement in Pennsylvania

Working toward a settlement in a Pennsylvania catastrophic injury case typically has three distinct stages: the treatment phase, the negotiation phase, and the pre-litigation phase.

Step 1: Ensuring You Get Medical Treatment

Our firm connects our clients with some of the best medical practitioners and specialists in Pennsylvania (and the country) to make sure they get the best medical treatment possible. High-quality care means an accident victim can heal and recover as much as physically possible; once they reach that point, then we can calculate the cost of their care so far as well as estimate healthcare costs for the rest of their life.

If you are unable to afford medical treatment, your Pennsylvania serious injury lawyer may be able to arrange a medical lien, which would allow you to receive medical care without paying any upfront costs. Instead, your medical costs are paid from the result of your claim.

Step 2: Negotiating the Size of Your Settlement

Once you’ve physically recovered as well as you can, your attorney will gather up every document associated with your claim—medical bills, police reports, expert witness testimony, financial forecasts, pay stubs, and more—and create a demand package for the at-fault insurance company. Once they review it, the insurance company will either accept it, reject it, or provide a counteroffer.

You’ll have the final decision about whether to accept a counteroffer or reject it, though your attorney will be advising you on the pros and cons of every option.

Step 3: Pre-Litigation Settlement

If you and the insurer come to an agreed settlement amount, you’ll sign a settlement release that resolves your claim. Once that’s done, our law firm will do everything we can to maximize how much of it you receive, like negotiating with medical providers to shrink your bill or lower the final cost of your treatment.

If your insurer rejects our demand package or does not offer a settlement that meets your needs, Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC is prepared to take your case to court. As experienced courtroom litigators, we’re equally comfortable negotiating your settlement as we are trying a case to verdict.

Causes of Catastrophic Injuries & Who Is Liable

Catastrophic injuries may occur as a result of accidents at work, at another's property, at home, or on the road. Their causes are widely varied, but most have one thing in common: they could have been prevented. Most serious injuries are caused by some form of negligence or wrongdoing, such as a drunk driver who strikes a pedestrian in a crosswalk or an employer who ignores safety standards. 

Our Pennsylvania serious injury law firm takes on cases involving such causes as:

• Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Construction accidents

We also help after people are seriously injured by professionals or products they trust, as in cases of medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, and defective medical devices or other dangerous products.

Individuals and companies can be held legally accountable for conduct that causes a person to suffer serious harm, even when that conduct or the result of it was unintentional. Catastrophic injury claims most often arise out of instances of negligence, where a person or company failed to act with reasonable care. An example may be a hotel owner who failed to repair a broken stair, causing a guest to slip and fall. In this and similar scenarios, the at-fault party can be held accountable for the injured party's losses.

Determining fault is one of the most important parts of handling a serious injury lawsuit. Our Pennsylvania catastrophic injury lawyers at Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC take care to identify any parties that contributed to our client's injuries. In some cases, this may be more than one individual or business. 

How Much Is My Serious Injury Case Worth?

How much your case is worth is entirely dependent on a few key details, particularly how much money you’ve lost as a result of the accident; this is what the law calls “damages.” However, severe accidents also include damages that aren’t able to be measured in dollars lost—that’s where having an aggressive and experienced litigator makes an enormous difference.

Your case’s value will be primarily determined by:

• Your medical costs
• Cost of future care
• Lost income
• Lost earning ability

For catastrophic injuries, your claim will also include damages for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, and other non-economic damages. In wrongful death cases or cases where the defendant is found criminally negligent, you may be entitled to punitive damages.

To learn the specific amount your case might be worth, you’ll need to speak with an attorney at Handler, Henning & Rosenberg LLC so we can take a look at your medical records, police report, statements, and other evidence. Call (888) 498-3023 today to learn your legal and financial options.

Contact a Pennsylvania Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Today

Who you choose to represent you after a catastrophic accident will determine what the rest of your life looks like. This may be your only chance to replace your lost income, pay off your present and future medical care, and provide for your family. Would you want to entrust your case to someone who doesn’t regularly win life-changing verdicts—who hasn’t investigated serious cases before?

When you’re facing a heavyweight problem, you need a heavyweight contender to face it. Our Pennsylvania serious injury firm has won thousands of results and secured tens of millions of dollars for our clients, helping them get their lives back after devastating accidents. For generations, Pennsylvania has relied on Handler, Henning & Rosenberg to protect them, fight for them, and secure their futures.

Review your options for free: call (888) 498-3023 or contact us online. We have offices in Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Hanover, Carlisle, and Schuylkill County to serve you.