A catastrophic injury is one that changes a person’s life for the long term: a brain or spinal cord injury, an amputation, severe burns, or injuries that leave permanent disability. These cases often involve years of medical care, lost income and big changes for the whole family.
Attorney Suzannah Tafreshi leads Tafreshi Law Group, with a team that has over 14 years of combined experience. We help injured people and their families through the claim, step by step.
Catastrophic injuries often come from car crashes, truck crashes, motorcycle crashes, pedestrians being hit, and falls from heights or on unsafe property. In our area, high-speed freeway crashes on roads like the 91, 15 and 5, and crashes on fast arterials, are common causes.
These events can lead to traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, amputations and paralysis, which can affect a person’s ability to work, care for themselves and enjoy daily life.
To recover compensation, the injured person generally must show that someone else was careless (negligent) and that this caused the injury. Depending on the facts, that may be a driver, a trucking company, a property owner, or the maker of a defective product. More than one party can share responsibility, and California’s comparative fault rule divides responsibility based on each party’s share of fault.
Finding every responsible party, and every available insurance policy, matters a great deal when the losses are lifelong.
A lawyer can take on the legal and insurance work while you and your family focus on recovery. That includes gathering evidence, working with your doctors to document future care needs, finding all available insurance, dealing with adjusters, and going to court if needed.
At Tafreshi Law Group, Attorney Suzannah Tafreshi works directly on client cases, and we keep you updated by phone, text or in person.
The largest part of a catastrophic injury claim is often the future: ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, home modifications, in-home help, and lost earning capacity. These are usually shown through treating doctors and, where appropriate, outside professionals such as life-care planners, vocational counselors and economists. Building that record takes time, and settling too early — before the full extent of the injury is known — can leave a family short years later.
We also look at liens from health insurers, Medi-Cal or Medicare, and any disability or workers’ compensation benefits, because these can affect how much of a recovery the injured person actually keeps.
A catastrophic injury affects the whole household. Spouses and children often become caregivers, and income may stop overnight. We try to take the legal and insurance work off the family’s plate: gathering records, dealing with adjusters, and keeping everyone informed in English, Spanish or Farsi. If an injury results in death, certain family members may bring a wrongful death claim (Code of Civil Procedure 377.60).
Most California personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years (CCP 335.1). Claims against a city, county or state agency often require a written claim within six months (Government Code 911.2). California uses pure comparative fault, so a person who was partly at fault can usually still recover a reduced amount. We cannot promise any outcome; every case depends on its own facts and the available insurance.
Generally an injury with long-term or permanent effects on a person’s ability to work or live independently, such as a brain or spinal cord injury, amputation, or severe burns.
Be careful. Once you sign a release, you usually cannot reopen the claim. Talk to a lawyer before accepting an early offer.
A spouse may have a claim for loss of consortium, and in a death case certain family members may bring a wrongful death claim.
No. We work on contingency in personal injury cases — no attorney fees unless we recover money for you.
Orange County: call (949) 989-2511. Riverside, the Inland Empire and the Coachella Valley: call (951) 583-1900. Text (949) 776-8964 any time — we answer 24/7 and the first consultation is free. Our office staff speaks Spanish and Farsi. We work on contingency, so you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. Related: truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, case results, en español.
Attorney Advertising. General information only, not legal advice; contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Contact us for a free consultation about a catastrophic injury. We work on contingency, so you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you.
We have offices in Fountain Valley (18837 Brookhurst St, Ste 207), Lake Forest (22600 Lambert St, Ste 1501) and Riverside (4121 Brockton Ave, Ste 101). Call (949) 989-2511 in Orange County or (951) 583-1900 in the Inland Empire, or text (949) 776-8964.
Related reading: how a lawyer can help after a brain injury, the process for filing a wrongful death claim, and catastrophic injury claims.
