With most injuries, a person heals, moves on, and the size of the claim does not change their life much either way. A catastrophic injury is different. Its effects can last for years or for the rest of a person’s life, and a claim that settles for too little cannot be reopened later, when the money is gone and the need is not. That is why the decisions made in the early months of one of these cases carry so much weight.
At Bromson Law, we represent people across Nevada whose injuries will affect them for years to come, and our focus is on getting the full, long-term value of the claim right rather than settling quickly. A catastrophic injury lawyer who understands what a lifetime of care actually costs is often what separates a settlement that lasts from one that falls short. Call (702) 213-0100 to talk about your situation.
What Makes an Injury Catastrophic
What makes an injury catastrophic is permanence. A broken bone mends and life returns to normal, but a spinal cord injury that ends a person’s ability to walk does not. These are injuries a person does not simply recover from, and their effects are not measured in a few missed weeks of work. They can reshape a person’s work, independence, and family life for years, and often permanently.
That permanence is also what makes these claims so demanding. It drives the medical care involved, the size and complexity of the claim, and the level of scrutiny an insurer brings to it. Because the stakes run so high and the harm reaches so far into the future, these cases reward careful preparation from the very beginning.
Types of Catastrophic Injuries We Handle
Almost any accident can produce a catastrophic injury when the forces involved are severe enough. The following are among the most common life-altering injuries in personal injury claims, and each carries its own medical and financial realities.
Brain Injuries
A serious brain injury, or traumatic brain injury, is one of the more common catastrophic injuries, and its effects can continue long after the accident that caused it. The CDC notes that the changes a brain injury produces may affect how a person thinks, learns, feels, acts, and sleeps.
Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis
Damage to the spinal cord can interrupt the signals that travel between the brain and the rest of the body, sometimes causing partial or complete paralysis below the level of the injury. Depending on where the damage occurs, that paralysis may take the form of paraplegia, affecting the legs and lower body, or quadriplegia, affecting all four limbs. Guidance from the Mayo Clinic explains that permanent paralysis and other serious complications can result from a spinal injury, which is why these cases often involve lifelong mobility needs, home modifications, and ongoing personal care.
Amputations and Loss of Limb
The loss of an arm, leg, hand, or foot, whether in the accident itself or through surgery afterward, permanently changes how a person moves through daily life. These injuries frequently involve prosthetics, repeated fittings and replacements over the years, and rehabilitation to relearn everyday tasks.
Severe Burns and Disfigurement
Serious burns can cause permanent scarring, nerve damage, and a heightened risk of infection, and recovery often stretches across multiple surgeries and long periods of rehabilitation. Beyond the physical toll, visible disfigurement can carry lasting emotional and social effects that deserve to be recognized in a claim.
Multiple Fractures and Internal Injuries
Crushing forces can break several bones at once or damage internal organs, injuries that may require emergency surgery, long hospital stays, and extended physical therapy. Some heal with time, while others leave a person with permanent limitations that follow them for years.
Why Catastrophic Claims Are Different From Ordinary Injury Claims
The size of these claims changes who shows up on the other side. An ordinary fender-bender is usually one adjuster and a modest file. A claim that could account for a lifetime of treatment and support draws far more resistance, because the insurer has far more at stake. Adjusters scrutinize how lasting the injuries really are, question how much of the disability the crash actually caused, and often push for a settlement before the full extent of the harm is even documented.
The bigger the potential recovery, the harder that pushback tends to be. Meeting it is less about arguing louder and more about building a claim an insurer cannot easily discount. A catastrophic injury lawyer works to document the medical and financial reality in full before entering negotiations, so the number on the table reflects what the injury will actually demand rather than what a carrier hopes to pay. Steady, well-supported preparation is what carries the most weight in a case like this.
How We Build the Full Value of a Catastrophic Injury Claim
Building a catastrophic injury claim means proving not only what happened, but what it will cost over a lifetime. A catastrophic injury lawyer usually begins with a thorough investigation to preserve evidence and identify every party whose negligence may have contributed to the injury. Establishing responsibility clearly is the foundation everything else rests on.
From there, the focus shifts to documenting the full scope of the harm. This can involve coordinating with treating physicians to understand the long-term prognosis, working with life care planners who map out future treatment, equipment, and in-home care needs, and consulting economic and vocational experts to calculate lost earning capacity and future medical expenses. Much of the evidence that supports this picture is time-sensitive, so acting early often makes the difference in whether it survives. Throughout, our aim is to present a complete and honest account of what the injury has taken and what it will continue to demand, so that any settlement or verdict reflects the real weight of the loss.
Damages Available in a Catastrophic Injury Case
Compensation in a catastrophic injury claim generally falls into two categories. Economic damages cover measurable financial losses, including past and future medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, home or vehicle modifications, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity when a person can no longer work as they once did. Because these injuries often require care for many years, the future portion of these losses is frequently the largest and the most important to calculate correctly.
Non-economic damages address losses that do not come with a receipt, such as physical pain, emotional suffering, and the loss of enjoyment of activities that once defined a person’s life. Catastrophic injuries also ripple outward to the people closest to the injured person. A spouse may take on a caregiving role overnight, and family relationships can change in profound ways, which is why Nevada law recognizes claims for loss of consortium in appropriate cases. Every claim depends on its own facts, and no outcome is ever guaranteed, but a full accounting of what has truly been lost is central to pursuing fair compensation.
Nevada Law That Shapes Catastrophic Injury Claims
Two Nevada rules influence how most catastrophic injury claims unfold. Understanding these rules helps injured people and their families make informed decisions rather than reacting to pressure from an insurer.
Under NRS 41.141, Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule. An injured person can still recover as long as their share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of the parties they are pursuing, meaning recovery remains possible when they are 50 percent or less at fault. The award is then reduced by their assigned percentage. When more than one party shares fault, each defendant is generally responsible only for their own share of the fault, so identifying every responsible party can directly affect how much compensation is actually available.
Under NRS 11.190, most personal injury claims in Nevada must be filed within two years of the date of injury. Catastrophic cases often take longer to prepare, because the long-term medical picture needs time to come into focus and records must be gathered from multiple providers. That makes beginning well before the deadline especially important, since a strong claim can still be lost if the filing window closes.
Catastrophic Injury Representation Across Nevada
Bromson Law represents catastrophic injury victims throughout Clark County and across the state, including Las Vegas, Henderson, Laughlin, and Mesquite. Serious injuries happen everywhere, from the freeways and surface streets of the valley to the highways connecting Nevada’s outlying communities. Wherever the injury occurred, Nevada law applies to accidents that happen within the state, and we help you understand what that means for your situation. No matter where you are in Nevada, a catastrophic injury attorney at our firm is ready to help.
Working With Bromson Law After a Catastrophic Injury
As an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer, Erik A. Bromson has spent more than 15 years representing injured people across Nevada, and he handles each case he takes personally rather than passing it to an associate. In a claim this consequential, that direct involvement counts: clients work with Erik himself, and the strategy is set by the attorney who will carry it through to settlement or trial. It is the kind of attention an injury that lasts a lifetime deserves.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injury Claims
What qualifies as a catastrophic injury in Nevada?
A catastrophic injury is one that causes permanent impairment or long-term disability, such as a spinal cord injury, an amputation, a severe burn, or a serious brain injury. Because no statute assigns the label, whether an injury counts as catastrophic is established through evidence rather than a checkbox. Medical records, the treating physicians’ prognosis, and input from professionals who assess long-term care and lost earning capacity together show whether the harm is permanent and how far its effects reach. That evidence-based approach is also why two injuries with the same diagnosis can be valued very differently, since one person may regain meaningful function while another faces lifelong limitations.
How is a catastrophic injury claim valued differently from a smaller claim?
The largest part of a catastrophic claim is usually not the bills already received but the ones still to come, sometimes over decades. Future care, future lost income, and the equipment and support a person will rely on all have to be projected and then valued in today’s dollars. This is why a settlement that sounds large at first glance can still fall short if those long-term costs were understated, and why the projection work deserves close attention before any figure is accepted.
Can my family recover anything if I was partly at fault for the accident?
Possibly. Nevada’s comparative negligence rule allows recovery as long as the injured person’s share of fault is 50 percent or less, with the award reduced by that percentage. Insurers sometimes try to assign an inflated share of blame precisely because a higher fault percentage lowers what they owe, which is one reason independent evidence of how the injury happened carries real weight.
Do catastrophic injury cases usually go to trial?
Not always. Many resolve through settlement once the injury has been thoroughly documented and the at-fault parties recognize the strength of the claim. That said, catastrophic cases are more likely to be contested than smaller ones, so preparing every claim as though it may go before a jury helps protect a client’s position whether the case settles or proceeds to court.
How long do I have to bring a catastrophic injury claim in Nevada?
The general deadline is two years, but the date it starts running is not always the date of the accident. When an injury is not immediately apparent, Nevada’s discovery rule can start the two-year period when the injury is discovered, or reasonably should have been. Because that start date can be disputed and the exceptions to it are narrow, confirming your specific deadline early with an attorney is the safest way to keep the claim intact.
What does it cost to hire a catastrophic injury lawyer?
Erik A. Bromson handles these claims on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no upfront cost to begin. Fees are collected only if the case results in a settlement or verdict, so injured people can pursue help without adding to the financial pressure they are already carrying.
Talk With Bromson Law About Your Catastrophic Injury
Deciding what to do after a catastrophic injury rarely happens all at once. There are medical choices in front of you, costs stacking up, and real uncertainty about what the years ahead will ask of you or of the person you are caring for. None of it has to be settled today, and none of it has to be settled alone.
We take time to listen, review what happened, and explain in plain terms how Nevada law and your available coverage may apply to your situation. From there, we help you decide what comes next at a pace that respects what you are going through. The sooner someone is handling the legal side, the sooner you can put your energy where it belongs, on your recovery and your family.
When you are ready, call or text our catastrophic injury lawyer team at (702) 213-0100 and we will talk it through with you. To see how we approach injury cases more broadly, visit our Las Vegas personal injury lawyer page.