Catastrophic injury claims
A catastrophic injury claim is different in kind, not just in degree. When an injury permanently changes what a person can do for the rest of their life, the case stops being about medical bills and becomes about a lifetime — decades of care, lost earning capacity, home and vehicle modification, and the cost of the assistance the person will now require. Getting that wrong is not recoverable, because a settlement is final. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles catastrophic injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York.
The life care plan
In a serious case the central damages document is a life care plan: a projection, prepared by a qualified professional working from the treating physicians’ opinions, of the medical care, equipment, medication, therapy, attendant care and housing the person will need over their expected lifetime. It is built item by item and defended item by item. An economist then reduces the projection to present value. Neither document can be produced quickly, which is one reason these cases should not be rushed toward settlement.
Finding all the available coverage
Catastrophic cases frequently exceed the first policy identified. Locating additional coverage — employer policies where a vehicle was used for work, umbrella and excess layers, coverage of other potentially responsible parties, and the injured person’s own underinsured motorist coverage — is often the single most consequential piece of work in the case, and it is time-sensitive because some coverage carries its own notice conditions.
Lost earning capacity
Lost earning capacity is not the same as lost wages. It is the difference between what the person could have earned over a working lifetime and what they can earn now, established through vocational assessment and economic analysis. For a young person with no established earnings history, this is a substantial evidentiary exercise rather than an arithmetic one.
Filing deadlines
Every injury claim is governed by a statute of limitations, and the periods differ by state and by claim type. For personal injury actions the period is two years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), accruing at the date of injury; three years in Maryland under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; three years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8); two years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; and three years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). These are general periods. Discovery rules, tolling for minors and incapacity, claims against government entities — the District imposes a six-month notice-of-claim requirement for claims against the District government — and claim-specific statutes can shorten or extend them. Do not rely on a general period for your own case; have the deadline confirmed on your facts.
Pages in this section
This section covers amputation, burn injury, paralysis, life care planning, future medical cost, loss of earning capacity, home modification and related topics.
Speak with Mr. Sris
Injury claims are governed by filing deadlines that vary by state and by claim type, and evidence degrades quickly. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.
Last reviewed: August 22, 2026.
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