No upfront cost Free, private case review Independent and attorney vetted
A grand library reading room lined with books and stone busts

Catastrophic injury lawyer: a complete guide

A catastrophic injury is one that permanently changes what a person can do for the rest of their life. These claims are decided by documentation more than argument: a life care plan that prices decades of care, an economist who prices a lost career, and a search for every insurance policy that could pay. This guide explains how that work is done, what erodes a recovery, and what to ask before hiring anyone. Talking to us is free and private.

Jump to a section
By Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor Last reviewed August 1, 2026 13 min read
What makes it catastrophic
Permanence
Not how dramatic the accident was, but whether the injury permanently prevents normal work and independent living.
What sets the value
The life care plan
A costed, year by year projection of medical care, equipment, and support across a full life expectancy.
What sets the ceiling
Available insurance
Proven losses often exceed every policy in the case. Finding additional coverage is frequently the whole job.
What erodes it
Liens
Medicare, Medicaid, and health plans can claim reimbursement out of a settlement before the family sees anything.

Key takeaways

  • Permanence is the test, not severity in the moment. Federal law defines catastrophic injury by whether it permanently prevents gainful work, and that framing drives how these claims are built.
  • The numbers are documented, not argued. Federal data puts the estimated lifetime cost of the most severe spinal cord injuries above $6 million for someone injured at 25, before any lost wages.
  • Insurance limits usually decide the outcome. A case worth millions on paper can be capped by the policies that exist, which is why the search for coverage matters more than the demand letter.
  • Liens can take a large share. The Supreme Court held in 2022 that a state Medicaid agency may recover from the part of a settlement meant for future medical care, not just past bills.
Editorial content, not legal advice

This guide is written and reviewed by our editorial team to be accurate and current. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is also not medical advice. Only a licensed attorney in your state can tell you how these rules apply to your situation. If you are facing an emergency, call 911.

What a lifetime of care actually costs

The federal spinal cord injury database publishes the figures below every year. They are the clearest public evidence of why these claims are valued the way they are.

18,421
new traumatic spinal cord injuries occur in the United States each year, excluding people who die at the scene.
308,620
people are estimated to be living with a traumatic spinal cord injury in the United States.
$6.26M
is the estimated lifetime cost for the most severe level of injury when it happens at age 25.
17.8%
of people are employed one year after injury, down from 65 percent employed at the time of injury.

Estimated lifetime cost by injury level, injured at age 25

Health care and living expenses directly attributable to the injury, in 2024 dollars, discounted at 2 percent. Lost wages and benefits are not included, and the database puts those separately at an average of $95,309 per year.

High tetraplegia (C1 to C4)
$6.26M
Low tetraplegia (C5 to C8)
$4.57M
Paraplegia
$3.06M
Motor function retained
$2.09M

Source: National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Facts and Figures at a Glance, 2025 data sheet, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Bar lengths are proportional to the amounts shown.

01 What this kind of lawyer does

Quick answer

A catastrophic injury lawyer builds a documented projection of what the rest of a person's life will cost and what it will no longer produce, finds every insurance policy that could contribute, negotiates down the liens that would otherwise consume the recovery, and structures the money so it lasts and does not disqualify the person from benefits.

Ordinary injury cases turn on liability. Catastrophic cases usually turn on damages, because the injury is undeniable and the fight is over how much the future is worth. That changes the work almost entirely.

Assembling the expert team. A physiatrist establishes the medical future, a certified life care planner prices it year by year, a vocational expert establishes what work is still possible, and an economist reduces decades of loss to a present value a jury can understand.

Hunting for coverage. Proven losses routinely exceed the obvious policy. Umbrella policies, employer coverage, commercial policies, underinsured motorist coverage, and other defendants all have to be identified early.

The gist

If you are not sure whether the injury reaches this threshold, that is a normal place to start. We can help you find a lawyer when the facts support it, and say so plainly when they do not.

Bottom line: the case is won in the documentation. What can be proved about the next forty years matters more than anything said in a demand letter.

02 What counts as catastrophic

Quick answer

No single definition of catastrophic injury applies in every court. The most widely used federal formulation defines a catastrophic injury by its consequences: an injury that permanently prevents a person from performing any gainful work. In practice the label covers spinal cord injury, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, amputation, severe burns, and loss of sight or hearing.

The distinction matters because it changes how a claim is staffed and valued. A catastrophic injury attorney will treat permanence, not the drama of the accident, as the threshold question.

Federal definition
The test is what the injury permanently prevents
42 U.S.C. § 3796b

In the federal benefits statute for public safety officers, catastrophic injury means consequences of an injury that permanently prevent an individual from performing any gainful work. Most state courts have no statutory definition at all, so this consequence-based framing is the one that tends to be borrowed when the term needs content. Read the section

  • Spinal cord injury. Tetraplegia and paraplegia, complete or incomplete, with lifelong care needs and equipment.
  • Traumatic brain injury. Moderate to severe injury affecting memory, executive function, behavior, or independence.
  • Amputation and limb loss. Including prosthetic replacement cycles that continue for decades.
  • Severe burns. Requiring repeated reconstructive surgery and long term wound care.
  • Loss of sight or hearing. Where the loss is permanent and changes what work is possible.
A tall library shelf beside a dark wooden rolling ladder
The record
These cases are proved on paper, not in argument.

03 Do you need a lawyer?

Quick answer

If an injury is permanent, a catastrophic injury lawyer is close to essential. The losses run for decades, the expert work costs six figures that a firm advances, and a settlement signed before the medical picture is stable can leave a family paying for care the recovery was supposed to cover.

The mistake that costs the most is settling early. Insurers know that families facing immediate bills will consider a fast offer, and that offer is almost always made before anyone has priced the future.

Legal help almost certainly matters if

  • Doctors have used the words permanent, lifelong, or unable to return to work.
  • The injured person will need help with daily activities, equipment, or home modification.
  • A commercial vehicle, employer, product, or government entity was involved.
  • An insurer has offered a settlement before treatment is finished.
  • Medicare, Medicaid, or a health plan has paid any of the medical bills.

It may be simpler than you think if

  • The injury is expected to resolve fully with treatment.
  • No one else was at fault and no third party could be responsible.
  • A workers' compensation claim already covers everything and nothing is disputed.
  • All costs are covered and there is no dispute about liability or payment.
Illustrative example

Four months after a crash, a young man with an incomplete spinal cord injury is offered the at-fault driver's full policy limit. It sounds like a lot. No life care plan has been prepared, and nobody has checked whether the driver was working at the time, which would open a commercial policy. Accepting closes both questions permanently.

Not sure whether the injury reaches this threshold? A private review will tell you, at no cost.

You can start a free case review whenever you are ready. There is no cost, no obligation, and if your situation does not call for a lawyer we will tell you that directly.

04 The life care plan is the case

Quick answer

A life care plan is a costed, year by year projection of everything a permanently injured person will need for the rest of their life: physicians, therapy, medication, attendant care, equipment and its replacement cycles, home and vehicle modification, and transportation. It is prepared by a certified planner working from the treating doctors' opinions, and it is the single most important document in the case.

Without one, a claim is a number somebody asserted. With one, it is a line item schedule a defense economist has to attack piece by piece. This is why an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer commissions the plan early rather than waiting for litigation.

Average yearly and estimated lifetime costs by spinal cord injury severity
SeverityFirst yearEach later yearLifetime, injured at 25
High tetraplegia C1 to C4$1,410,163$244,879$6,256,937
Low tetraplegia C5 to C8$1,018,966$150,222$4,571,708
Paraplegia$687,262$91,042$3,059,615
Motor function retained$460,224$55,900$2,090,344

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Two things about that table are easy to miss. The figures are in 2024 dollars and cover health care and living expenses only. Lost wages, benefits, and productivity are excluded, and the same federal source puts those indirect losses at an average of $95,309 per year.

Averages are a starting point, not your number

A life care plan is individual. Published averages describe a population. Your plan depends on the specific level of injury, complications, where you live, what care is available locally, and your own life expectancy. Anyone quoting you a settlement figure from a table has not done the work.

05 What a case can recover

Quick answer

A catastrophic claim can recover past and future medical care, attendant care, equipment and home modification, lost earnings and lost earning capacity, and non-economic losses such as pain and loss of enjoyment of life. A spouse may have a separate claim for loss of consortium. Some states allow punitive damages where the conduct went well beyond carelessness.

The economic side is arithmetic once the life care plan exists. The non-economic side is where advocacy matters, because there is no invoice for no longer being able to lift your own child.

Categories of recoverable loss and how each is proved
CategoryWhat it coversHow it is proved
Future medicalCare, therapy, medication, equipment replacementLife care plan supported by treating physician opinion
Attendant carePaid caregivers, or family members providing careHours documented, priced at local market rates
Lost earning capacityThe career that is no longer possibleVocational assessment plus an economist's present value calculation
Home and vehicleRamps, widened doors, accessible bathroom, adapted vanContractor estimates and replacement schedules
Non-economicPain, limitation, loss of enjoyment of lifeMedical records plus testimony from people who knew you before

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Rows of bound volumes behind the glass doors of a bookcase
The ceiling
What can be proved and what can be collected are different numbers.

06 Why insurance often sets the ceiling

Quick answer

A claim is only worth what can actually be collected. Most individual defendants have modest policies and few assets, so a case with millions in documented losses can still be limited to whatever insurance exists. Finding additional policies is usually the highest value work a lawyer does in a catastrophic case.

This is the hardest thing to explain to a family, and the most important. A catastrophic injury attorney should raise it early rather than letting expectations build on a number that cannot be paid.

  • Was anyone working? A driver on the job opens an employer's commercial policy, which is usually far larger than a personal one.
  • Is there an umbrella policy? Many households carry one and forget it exists.
  • What is your own coverage? Underinsured motorist coverage on your policy, or a household member's, can add a second layer.
  • Is anyone else responsible? A property owner, a parts manufacturer, a maintenance contractor, or a bar that overserved may each carry separate coverage.
Illustrative example

A life care plan values a young woman's future needs at several million dollars. The at-fault driver carries a minimum policy. Investigation shows he was delivering for a business at the time, which brings a commercial policy into the case. Nothing about the injury changed. What changed was how much could be collected.

07 Liens, and what they take

Quick answer

Whoever paid the medical bills usually has a right to be repaid out of a settlement. Medicare, state Medicaid agencies, employer health plans, and hospitals can all assert claims, and in a catastrophic case those claims can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. Negotiating them down is a significant part of what a family actually keeps.

Families are often shocked by this stage, because it happens after the case appears to be won. A skilled catastrophic injury lawyer plans for liens from the beginning, not after the settlement is signed.

Landmark case
Medicaid can reach money meant for future care
Gallardo v. Marstiller, 596 U.S. 420 (2022)

Gianinna Gallardo was 13 when a truck struck her after she stepped off her school bus, leaving her in a persistent vegetative state. Florida's Medicaid agency paid more than $862,000 toward her care. Her case settled for $800,000, with about $35,000 formally allocated to past medical expenses. Florida claimed $300,000 under a statutory formula. In a 7 to 2 decision the Supreme Court held that the Medicaid Act permits a state to seek reimbursement from settlement amounts allocated to future medical care, not only past care. Justice Sotomayor dissented. Read the opinion

Two practical consequences follow. How a settlement is allocated between past medical, future medical, and other damages has real financial effect, so it should be negotiated deliberately rather than left blank. And where public benefits are involved, a special needs trust or a Medicare set-aside may be needed so the recovery does not disqualify the person from the programs paying for their care.

Bottom line: ask any lawyer you meet how they handle liens and settlement allocation. A specific answer is a very good sign.

08 What to do in the first weeks

Quick answer

Focus on treatment first, then keep every record, photograph the injuries and the scene while evidence exists, decline recorded statements, do not accept an early settlement, and speak with a lawyer before anything is signed. Nothing here has to happen on day one.

These six steps protect the two things a catastrophic claim depends on: the medical record that establishes permanence, and the evidence that establishes fault.

1

Follow every treatment recommendation

Gaps in treatment are the first thing a defense expert points to. Attending appointments and following through on therapy is both medically and legally important.

2

Keep every document

Hospital bills, explanation of benefits statements, prescription receipts, mileage to appointments, and any correspondence from an insurer. One folder is enough.

3

Start a short daily log

A few lines a day about pain, sleep, what you needed help with, and what you could not do. Contemporaneous notes carry far more weight than a memory reconstructed a year later.

4

Preserve the physical evidence

Photograph injuries as they heal, keep damaged equipment or clothing, and ask in writing that any vehicle involved not be repaired, sold, or scrapped.

5

Decline recorded statements

You are not required to give one to the other side's insurer. Early statements made before the medical picture is clear are routinely used to argue the injury is less serious than it is.

6

Do not settle before the picture is stable

A release ends every claim connected to the injury. Signing before a life care plan exists means agreeing to a number nobody has calculated.

Wooden library shelving receding down a long aisle
Timing
Two clocks run, and the shorter one is not the deadline.

09 Deadlines that end claims

Quick answer

The statute of limitations for injury claims is set by state law and is commonly two years, though some states are shorter. Claims against a government body often require written notice within a few months. Where the injured person is a minor or legally incapacitated, the clock may be paused, but that rule varies and should never be assumed.

There is a second timeline that matters more day to day. A catastrophic injury attorney works the evidence clock first, because surveillance video, vehicle data, and witness memory all degrade long before any filing deadline arrives.

  1. Weeks 1 to 4

    Notice deadlines can hit

    If a public entity, transit vehicle, or municipal employee was involved, a formal notice of claim may be due within 60 to 90 days in many states.

  2. Month 1

    Evidence is preserved or lost

    Preservation letters to the responsible parties, employers, and any business with a camera facing the scene. Without one, nobody must keep anything.

  3. Months 3 to 12

    The medical picture stabilizes

    Doctors reach maximum medical improvement, which is the point at which a credible life care plan can finally be written.

  4. Year 1 to 2

    The filing deadline arrives

    Two years is the most common period. Once it passes, a court will usually dismiss no matter how severe the injury.

Bottom line: do not rely on a deadline you read online, including this one. Confirm it with a lawyer licensed where the injury happened.

10 How state law changes the answer

Quick answer

Identical injuries produce different recoveries in different states. The variables are damage caps on non-economic losses, how shared fault is handled, whether punitive damages are available, and how aggressively the state Medicaid agency pursues reimbursement. Which state's law applies is sometimes itself worth litigating.

Caps matter most in catastrophic cases, because non-economic loss is a large share of the value when someone will live for decades with a permanent injury.

Worked example
California caps the pain, not the care
Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2, as amended by Assembly Bill 35 (2022)

California limits non-economic damages in medical negligence cases on a schedule that rises every January. The figure was frozen at $250,000 for nearly fifty years, moved to $350,000 in 2023, and as of January 1, 2026 stands at $470,000 for non-death cases and $650,000 where the patient dies, climbing to $750,000 and $1,000,000 by 2033. The detail that matters most in a permanent injury case is what the cap does not touch: economic damages, meaning the life care plan and lost earning capacity, are not capped at all. Read the statute

  • Damage caps. Several states limit non-economic damages, most commonly in medical malpractice. A few apply broader limits, and courts in some states have struck those limits down.
  • Shared fault. Most states reduce recovery by the injured person's share of fault. A minority bar recovery entirely once that share crosses a threshold.
  • Lien practice. After the Supreme Court's 2022 decision, states differ in how far they push recovery against future medical allocations.
  • Government immunity. Claims against public entities carry short notice deadlines and sometimes their own separate damage caps.
Library shelves filled with uniformly bound volumes
Choosing counsel
Ask who has actually funded a case like this.

11 How to choose a catastrophic injury lawyer

Quick answer

Look for a catastrophic injury lawyer with a documented record in permanent injury cases rather than general practice work, the financial capacity to advance six figures in expert costs, a working relationship with life care planners and economists, real experience negotiating liens, and written contingency terms.

These cases are expensive to build. A firm that cannot fund the expert work will be pushed toward an early settlement whether or not that serves you.

  • Permanent injury experience. Ask how many spinal cord or brain injury cases they have handled and how many they have tried.
  • Capacity to advance costs. Life care planners, economists, and reconstruction experts can exceed $100,000 before trial. Ask directly who pays and when.
  • A named expert bench. They should be able to tell you who they use and why, without hesitating.
  • Lien and benefits fluency. Ask about special needs trusts and Medicare set-asides. A blank look is disqualifying.
  • An active, clean license. Verified good standing with the state bar and no unresolved discipline. You can check this yourself.

12 Questions to ask, and red flags

Quick answer

Ask who will prepare the life care plan, who advances the expert costs, what insurance they have already identified, how they handle liens and settlement allocation, and exactly what the fee agreement says about costs if the case is lost. Walk away from a promised number, pressure to sign today, or fee terms that are not in writing.

A consultation goes both ways. Pay attention to whether the answers are specific or evasive.

  1. Who will prepare the life care plan, and when?
  2. What insurance policies have you already identified, and what else will you look for?
  3. Who advances the expert costs, and what happens to them if we lose?
  4. How do you handle Medicare, Medicaid, and health plan liens?
  5. Will we need a special needs trust or a Medicare set-aside?
  6. How many permanent injury cases have you tried to verdict?
  7. What is the filing deadline, and is any notice deadline running now?
  8. What are the genuine weaknesses in this case?
Walk away if you hear

A promised number. Nobody can value a permanent injury before the medical picture is stable. No mention of a life care plan. If it does not come up unprompted, they do not do these cases. Silence on liens. A firm that has not thought about repayment has not thought about what you keep. Pressure to sign today. A real firm gives you time. Anyone who contacts you first. Unsolicited approaches to injured people are restricted in most states for good reason.

How we vet every lawyer

We do not connect people with just anyone. Before we do, the attorney has to clear a checklist built for permanent injury cases. Every one of these has to be true.

  • Active, discipline-free license

    Verified good standing with the state bar, with no unresolved discipline on record.

  • Permanent injury experience

    A documented track record in spinal cord, brain injury, and other lifelong injury matters.

  • Capacity to fund the case

    The financial ability to advance life care planners, economists, and reconstruction experts.

  • Clear contingency terms

    Fees and case costs put in writing up front, so you know exactly how it works before signing.

Tell us what happened and we will only match you when a case genuinely fits.

Go deeper

Five companion guides covering the specific injuries, how value is built, and how to compare firms.

Spinal cord

Spinal cord injury claims

How tetraplegia and paraplegia cases are built, staffed, and valued.

Read more Brain injury

Traumatic brain injury claims

Why these cases turn on proof of cognitive and behavioral change.

Read more Case value

What a case is worth

The factors that actually drive value, and why published averages mislead.

Read more Comparison

How top firms compare

What separates the firms that can carry a permanent injury case from those that cannot.

Read more Settlements

Commercial vehicle recoveries

What drives recoveries when a commercial policy sits behind the injury.

Read more

Help in all 50 states

MVA Lawyer Network is a nationwide guide. Wherever the injury happened, we can connect you with an independent attorney licensed in that state.

Northeast Southeast Midwest Southwest West Coast Mountain West Gulf States Major metro markets

State law decides whether non-economic damages are capped, how shared fault is treated, how far a Medicaid agency can reach into a settlement, and the filing deadline, which is called the statute of limitations. Those answers change at every border, and in a permanent injury case the difference can be measured in millions. You can start a free case review and a local, state-licensed attorney will sort this out at no cost to you.

Sources and authorities

Every legal and numerical claim in this guide is drawn from primary sources: the statute, the decided case, and the federal injury database. Nothing here is taken from another firm's summary.

Statutes

Court decisions

  • Gallardo v. Marstiller, 596 U.S. 420 (2022), holding that the Medicaid Act permits a state to seek reimbursement from settlement amounts allocated to future medical care. Justia.

Injury and cost data

  • National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Facts and Figures at a Glance, 2025 data sheet, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Source of the incidence, prevalence, employment, and lifetime cost figures used on this page. NSCISC data sheet.

A note on the cost figures. The lifetime cost estimates above come from the federal spinal cord injury database and describe averages across a population, expressed in 2024 dollars and discounted at 2 percent. The underlying economic model dates to a 2011 study that the database updates to current dollars each year, so the figures are best read as scale rather than precision. The prevalence estimate carries a wide published range, from roughly 259,000 to 394,000 people. None of these numbers is a valuation of any individual claim, and all of them exclude lost wages and benefits entirely.

Our editorial standards

How we keep this guide accurate and worth trusting.

01

Primary sources only

Claims cite the statute, the decided case, or the federal dataset itself, not another firm's summary of it.

02

Reviewed and dated

The page shows when it was last reviewed. The federal injury data is republished annually and this page is refreshed against it.

03

Editorial, not legal or medical advice

This is general information to help you make decisions, not advice about a specific case or a specific diagnosis.

04

Honest about how we operate

We are an independent referral service, not a law firm, and we may be paid a referral fee by the attorney if you hire through us.

Michael Mangione, Legal Research Editor
Michael Mangione Verified editor
Legal Research Editor · Founder, The Mangione Group, Inc.

MVA Lawyer Network is edited by Michael Mangione, who has spent more than twelve years working inside contingency-based law firms, building intake departments, designing qualification frameworks, and studying how claims are screened and pursued from the first call through resolution. He built this site to turn dense statutes and real case law into guidance people can actually use, then connect them with a lawyer worth their time. Michael is not a practicing attorney and does not give legal advice. Every legal statement on this site is sourced to primary authority, and independent attorneys handle the legal work.

Connect on LinkedIn

Common questions, answered

General information, not legal or medical advice. Because these rules are set state by state, talk to a licensed attorney about your own situation.

What counts as a catastrophic injury?

There is no single legal definition that applies everywhere. The most widely used federal formulation defines it by consequence: an injury that permanently prevents a person from performing any gainful work. In practice the term covers spinal cord injury, moderate to severe brain injury, amputation, severe burns, and permanent loss of sight or hearing.

What is a life care plan?

A life care plan is a costed, year by year projection of everything a permanently injured person will need for the rest of their life, including medical care, therapy, medication, attendant care, equipment and its replacement cycles, and home or vehicle modification. A certified planner prepares it from the treating physicians' opinions, and it is usually the most important document in the case.

How much is a catastrophic injury case worth?

There is no meaningful average, and any site quoting one is guessing. Value is built from the life care plan, the lost earning capacity calculation, and the non-economic loss, then limited by the insurance that can actually be collected. Federal data puts the estimated lifetime cost of the most severe spinal cord injuries above $6 million for someone injured at 25, before lost wages, which gives a sense of the scale involved.

Why can a case be worth less than the losses?

Because a claim is only worth what can be collected. Many individual defendants carry modest policies and hold few reachable assets. Documented losses can far exceed every available policy, which is why identifying additional coverage, such as an employer's commercial policy or your own underinsured motorist coverage, is often the most valuable work done in these cases.

Will Medicare or Medicaid take part of my settlement?

They can. Whoever paid the medical bills generally has a right to reimbursement out of a recovery. In 2022 the Supreme Court held that a state Medicaid agency may seek reimbursement from the portion of a settlement allocated to future medical care, not only past care. These claims are frequently negotiated down, and how a settlement is allocated has real financial consequences.

What is a special needs trust?

It is a legal structure that holds settlement money for the benefit of a disabled person without counting as their personal assets for means-tested benefit programs. Without one, a large recovery can disqualify someone from Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income, so the settlement pays for care the government was already covering. This should be planned before a settlement is finalized.

How long do these cases take?

Longer than most. A credible life care plan cannot be written until the medical picture stabilizes, which often takes a year or more. Contested cases against well funded defendants commonly run two to four years, longer if tried and appealed. Rushing usually favors the insurer, because the full extent of a permanent injury takes time to document.

What does a lawyer cost?

These cases are handled on a contingency fee, commonly 33 to 40 percent of what is recovered, set out in the written agreement. You pay nothing up front. The firm also advances case costs, which in a permanent injury case can exceed $100,000. Ask specifically what happens to those advanced costs if the case is lost, because firms differ.

Should I accept the insurer's first offer?

Not before a life care plan exists. Early offers are made precisely because the future has not been priced yet. A release ends every claim connected to the injury, including care needs that emerge later, and it cannot be reopened because costs turned out higher than expected.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?

In most states, yes. Comparative negligence reduces the recovery by your share of fault rather than eliminating it. A minority of states bar recovery once your share crosses a threshold, and a very small number bar it for any fault at all. Insurers raise this early, which is one reason to talk to a lawyer before giving a statement.

What if the injured person cannot make decisions?

A guardian or conservator is appointed through a court process to make legal and financial decisions on their behalf, and that person then directs the claim. Courts also typically must approve any settlement involving an incapacitated adult or a minor. This adds time, so it is worth starting early rather than at the point of settlement.

Is what I tell you private?

Yes. What you share in a case review is kept private and is used only to match you with an attorney who fits your situation. One distinction is worth understanding: true legal confidentiality, called attorney-client privilege, only attaches once you actually have an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer. Submitting a form to a referral service is not the same thing. If that matters to you, raise it directly with the attorney.

Do I need a specialist, or will any injury lawyer do?

Specialization matters more here than in almost any other injury case. A catastrophic injury lawyer needs relationships with life care planners and economists, the financial capacity to advance six figures in expert costs, and real fluency in liens and benefit preservation. A general practice firm without those things will be structurally pushed toward settling early.

What does it cost to use MVA Lawyer Network?

Nothing. We are a free, independent referral service, not a law firm, and we do not give legal advice. Requesting a case review costs you nothing and puts you under no obligation. When a situation fits, we connect you with an independent catastrophic injury attorney who reviews it directly, and we may be paid a referral fee by that attorney. That fee does not add anything on top of their contingency percentage. You can read more about how we operate.

Find out what the next forty years actually cost.

One short, private form. No cost, no obligation, and no fee unless there is a recovery.

Private · Independent · Reviewed by our team

Get your free case review

Tell us what happened. Your request goes straight to our desk.