When a catastrophic injury strikes, your life changes in an instant. A severe accident, workplace incident, or medical error can leave you or a loved one facing permanent disability, chronic pain, cognitive impairment, or life-altering physical limitations.
Beyond the immediate medical crisis, catastrophic injuries create long-term challenges. These include mounting medical bills, lost income, ongoing rehabilitation needs, and emotional trauma that affects your entire family.
At Gibson Hill Personal Injury, we understand the profound impact catastrophic injuries have on your life. Our Houston personal injury law firm handles complex, high-value catastrophic injury cases with the attention they deserve. Our lawyers bring decades of combined experience litigating serious injury claims. They handle your case personally—not through paralegals or case managers.
We work hard to fight for the compensation you deserve. This supports your recovery and secures your family’s future. Our track record with serious injury cases demonstrates our commitment to maximizing recovery for our clients.
Why Choose Gibson Hill Personal Injury for Your Catastrophic Injury Case
When you suffer a catastrophic injury, you need a law firm with the experience, resources, and commitment to handle your complex case. Gibson Hill Personal Injury offers distinct advantages:
Direct Attorney Involvement
Ty Gibson and Brett Hill handle your case personally. You work directly with experienced trial lawyers, not paralegals or case managers. This personal attention ensures your case receives the strategic focus and advocacy it deserves. Learn more about our attorneys.
Experience with Complex, High-Value Claims
Catastrophic injury cases involve sophisticated legal and medical issues. Our attorneys bring years of experience handling serious injury litigation. We work with cases involving traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, permanent disabilities, and wrongful death. Our personal injury attorneys have successfully resolved hundreds of cases.
Willingness to Take Cases to Trial
Many law firms pressure clients to accept inadequate settlements. Gibson Hill Personal Injury is prepared to litigate aggressively and take cases to trial when necessary. Insurance companies know we’re willing to fight in court, which strengthens our negotiating position. Learn about why some personal injury cases go to trial.
Contingency Fee Structure
We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no upfront costs or fees. We only recover a fee if we obtain compensation for you. This aligns our interests with yours—we succeed only when you succeed. Understand how much lawyers usually take from settlements.
Multilingual Staff
Our team speaks Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. We serve Houston’s diverse community and ensure language barriers never prevent you from receiving quality legal representation.
Personalized Client Attention
As a boutique firm with two attorneys and a dedicated support team, we provide personalized attention that larger firms cannot match. You’re not a case number—you’re a valued client whose recovery and well-being matter to us.
Track Record with Serious Injury Cases
Gibson Hill Personal Injury has successfully represented clients in complex personal injury cases. We handle cases involving catastrophic injuries, workplace accidents, and wrongful death. Our experience demonstrates our ability to handle the most serious cases. See our client testimonials.
What Qualifies as a Catastrophic Injury?
Under Texas law, a catastrophic injury refers to a severe, life-altering injury. It results in permanent disability, significant functional impairment, or long-term medical needs.
Unlike minor or moderate injuries that may heal within months, catastrophic injuries fundamentally change a person’s physical, cognitive, or emotional capabilities.
Catastrophic injuries typically involve:
- Permanent or long-term disability that prevents return to work or normal activities
- Significant medical expenses extending over years or a lifetime
- Chronic pain or ongoing treatment requirements
- Cognitive, physical, or emotional impairment affecting quality of life
- Loss of earning capacity due to the inability to work in the previous occupation
Difference Between Catastrophic Injuries and Personal Injuries
What distinguishes catastrophic injuries from standard personal injury claims is the scope of damages. A broken arm that heals within weeks is a serious injury, but not catastrophic. A spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis, however, creates permanent life changes. This requires ongoing care, home modifications, specialized equipment, and vocational rehabilitation.
This fundamental difference affects how your case is valued, investigated, and litigated. Understanding types of damages is crucial to your case.
Texas courts recognize that catastrophic injury victims deserve compensation reflecting the true, long-term impact of their injuries. This includes not just immediate medical costs, but future medical care, lost earning potential over a lifetime, pain and suffering, and the emotional toll on family members.
Types of Catastrophic Injuries We Handle
Gibson Hill Personal Injury represents clients suffering from a wide range of catastrophic injuries. Each case presents unique challenges requiring specialized knowledge and aggressive advocacy.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and Cognitive Impairment
Traumatic brain injuries occur when sudden impact or penetrating trauma damages brain tissue. TBI can result in memory loss, difficulty concentrating, personality changes, impaired judgment, and reduced cognitive function.
Moderate to severe TBI often prevents victims from returning to their previous employment. These injuries require ongoing neurological care and cognitive rehabilitation. Learn what you need to prove your traumatic brain injury. Our traumatic brain injury attorneys understand the complexities of these cases.
Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis
Spinal cord injuries frequently result in partial or complete paralysis, loss of sensation, and loss of bodily function. Victims may require wheelchairs, home modifications, attendant care, and lifelong medical management. The financial and emotional impact extends across decades. Discover five ways to prove your spinal cord injury.
Severe Burn Injuries
Extensive burns cause permanent scarring, disfigurement, loss of function, and chronic pain. Burn victims often require multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and long-term wound care. Psychological trauma and social stigma compound the physical injuries. Our burn injury lawyers have handled complex burn cases.
Permanent Disability and Loss of Function
Catastrophic injuries may result in permanent loss of limb function, chronic pain syndromes, or systemic organ damage. These injuries prevent victims from working, caring for themselves, or engaging in activities they previously enjoyed. Understanding permanent partial disability is important for your claim.
Multiple Trauma Injuries
Some accidents cause multiple serious injuries simultaneously. For example, a severe truck accident victim may suffer both spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. These complex cases require coordinated medical expertise and sophisticated legal strategy.
Amputation and Loss of Limbs
Loss of one or more limbs creates immediate and lifelong challenges. Beyond the initial trauma, amputees face phantom pain, prosthetic costs, mobility limitations, and psychological adjustment. Vocational rehabilitation becomes essential.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in Houston
Catastrophic injuries result from various accidents and incidents. Understanding the cause of your injury is crucial because it determines liability, available insurance coverage, and the legal strategy we employ.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Houston’s busy highways and urban streets create conditions for serious collisions. Catastrophic injuries commonly result from:
- 18-wheeler and semi-truck accidents: Commercial trucks weigh 80,000 pounds or more. Collisions with passenger vehicles often cause severe injuries or death.
- Underride accidents: where a passenger vehicle slides under a truck’s trailer, frequently result in catastrophic head and spinal injuries. Learn how truck accidents differ from auto accidents.
- Head-on collisions: Direct impact between vehicles traveling at highway speeds creates extreme forces that cause severe trauma.
- Rollover accidents: Vehicle rollovers can trap occupants, cause ejection, or result in crushing injuries.
- Multi-vehicle pile-ups: Chain-reaction accidents on congested highways often involve catastrophic injuries.
Workplace and Industrial Accidents
Houston’s industrial economy creates workplace hazards that cause catastrophic injuries:
- Oil field and offshore injuries: Falls from heights, explosions, equipment failures, and chemical exposure cause severe injuries to oil and gas workers. Federal maritime law (Jones Act, OCSLA, LHWCA) governs these claims. Our offshore injury attorneys handle these specialized cases.
- Refinery and chemical plant accidents: Explosions, fires, toxic exposure, and equipment failures create catastrophic injury risks.
- Construction accidents: Falls, electrocution, equipment failures, and structural collapses cause severe injuries.
- Heavy equipment accidents: Machinery failures, inadequate training, or safety violations result in crushing injuries, amputations, and death.
Premises Liability Incidents
Property owners have a duty to maintain safe premises. Catastrophic injuries from premises liability include:
- Falls from heights: Inadequate railings, broken stairs, or unsafe conditions cause falls resulting in spinal injuries, head trauma, and fractures.
- Inadequate security: Violent assaults on poorly secured properties cause severe injuries.
- Structural failures: Building collapses or falling objects cause catastrophic trauma.
Product Defects and Failures
Defective products cause catastrophic injuries when manufacturers fail to design safely, warn of dangers, or manufacture products properly. Examples include defective machinery, faulty vehicle components, and dangerous consumer products.
Medical Negligence
Healthcare providers have a duty to provide competent care. Medical errors causing catastrophic injuries include surgical mistakes, medication errors, failure to diagnose serious conditions, and birth injuries.
Compensation Available for Catastrophic Injury Claims
Catastrophic injury victims deserve comprehensive compensation reflecting the full scope of their damages. Texas law recognizes multiple categories of recoverable damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate for quantifiable financial losses:
- Past and future medical expenses: All reasonable and necessary medical treatment, including emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, therapy, medications, medical equipment, and ongoing specialist care.
- Lost wages: Income lost from the date of injury through recovery or permanent disability. Learn how to claim lost wages from a car accident.
- Lost earning capacity: Reduction in lifetime earning potential due to inability to work in your previous occupation or at previous earning levels.
- Home and vehicle modifications: Costs to adapt your home and vehicle for disability (wheelchair ramps, accessible bathrooms, hand controls).
- Ongoing care and assistance: Cost of in-home care, attendant services, or nursing care required due to disability.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for subjective harm:
- Pain and suffering: Compensation for physical pain, discomfort, and suffering caused by the injury. Understand how pain and suffering damages are calculated in Texas.
- Mental anguish and emotional distress: Compensation for psychological trauma, depression, anxiety, and emotional suffering.
- Physical impairment and disfigurement: Compensation for permanent scarring, disfigurement, or loss of bodily function.
- Loss of consortium: Compensation to family members for loss of companionship, intimacy, and support from the injured person.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Compensation for inability to engage in activities and hobbies previously enjoyed.
Calculating catastrophic injury damages requires expert testimony. We work with medical professionals, vocational rehabilitation specialists, life care planners, and economic experts. Together, we build cases demonstrating the full scope of your damages. Learn how to calculate the value of a personal injury claim.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injuries
How long do I have to file a catastrophic injury claim in Texas?
Texas law generally provides a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims. You must file a lawsuit within two years of the injury date. However, exceptions exist in certain circumstances.
It’s crucial to consult an attorney promptly to protect your rights. Don’t delay—evidence can disappear, witnesses’ memories fade, and waiting reduces your case’s strength. Learn when you should call a lawyer after an accident.
What is the average settlement for a catastrophic injury?
Catastrophic injury settlements vary dramatically based on the specific injury, liability strength, insurance coverage, and other factors. Some cases settle for hundreds of thousands of dollars; others exceed millions.
Rather than focusing on “average” settlements, we focus on maximizing your individual case’s value. We base this on your unique circumstances and damages. Learn more about how much to expect from a settlement.
Do I need to go to trial for my catastrophic injury case?
Many catastrophic injury cases settle before trial through negotiation. However, if the insurance company refuses fair compensation, we’re prepared to litigate. Going to trial is sometimes necessary to secure the compensation you deserve. We’ll advise you on the best strategy for your specific case. Understand how long a personal injury lawsuit takes.
How is compensation calculated for permanent disabilities?
Permanent disability compensation considers multiple factors. These include the nature and severity of disability, impact on earning capacity, life expectancy, medical needs, and quality of life effects.
We work with vocational rehabilitation specialists and life care planners. Together, we calculate comprehensive, accurate damage projections.
Can I recover damages if I was partially at fault?
Texas follows a “comparative negligence” rule under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001. Even if you were partially at fault, you can recover damages reduced by your percentage of fault.
For example, if you were 20% at fault and your damages total $100,000, you could recover $80,000. However, if you are found to be more than 50% at fault, you cannot recover any damages. Texas law bars recovery for claimants who bear primary responsibility for their injuries. Learn how to measure shared fault in a car accident.
Get Your Free Catastrophic Injury Consultation Today
When you suffer a catastrophic injury, every decision matters. The choices you make in the days and weeks following your injury can significantly impact your recovery. They also affect your family’s financial security and your long-term quality of life.
At Gibson Hill Personal Injury, we understand the urgency and complexity of your situation.
Ty Gibson and Brett Hill bring decades of combined experience handling catastrophic injury cases. Our lawyers serve clients throughout Houston and Texas. We handle your case personally—not through paralegals or case managers. We take the time to understand your unique circumstances, the full extent of your injuries, and your goals for recovery and compensation.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, which means:
- No upfront costs or fees
- You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you
- We invest our resources in your case because we believe in it
Contact Gibson Hill Personal Injury today for your free consultation.
Our Offices
Houston Office 1: 636 Hawthorne St., Houston, TX 77006 | (713) 659-4000
Houston Office 2: 2610 W Sam Houston Parkway S, Suite 202, Houston, TX 77042 | (713) 659-4000
Austin Office: 1803 West Ave., Suite 200A, Austin, TX 78701 | (713) 659-4000
We serve clients throughout Houston, Austin, and across Texas. Our multilingual staff speaks Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin to better serve our diverse community.
Don’t face this challenging time alone: hire our catastrophic injury attorneys in Houston. Let Gibson Hill Personal Injury fight for the compensation you deserve. Call us today or visit our website to schedule your free consultation. We’re here to help.
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