Catastrophic injury trial lawyer

A catastrophic injury changes everything that comes after it: work, home, relationships, and the cost of simply getting through a day. The case that follows has to account for all of it, for the rest of a life. That is a different kind of case from an ordinary injury claim, and it is the kind we take.

The injuries we see

Traumatic brain injury, from concussion with lasting effects to injuries requiring lifelong care. Spinal cord injury, paraplegia and quadriplegia. Severe burns. Amputation. Crush injuries and complex fractures. Injuries from a transit vehicle, a train, a commercial truck, a piece of industrial equipment or a defective product.

What the case has to prove

Liability is usually only half the work. The other half is proving what the injury will cost over a lifetime, which requires a life-care planner, an economist, treating physicians and often a vocational expert, and then presenting that evidence so that a jury understands it. In Garcia v. MTA, a jury returned a $13.82 million verdict for a client catastrophically injured by a public transit vehicle. In Ventura County, a jury awarded $3.5 million to a worker whose forklift injury ended his career. Tobin also represented a firefighter catastrophically injured in a downtown Los Angeles explosion, a multi-party case against building owners, operators and others that resolved confidentially, and a man with a spinal cord injury caused by a vehicle's design, resolved confidentially with the manufacturer.

Each case is different. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.

How we work

We take few catastrophic-injury cases at any one time, so that each one gets the investigation, the experts and the trial preparation it needs from the beginning. Tobin meets with the client and family himself and remains the lawyer on the case through trial. Where co-counsel is involved, Tobin is typically brought in as trial counsel.

Deadlines

In California, most injury claims must be filed within two years (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1). If a public entity is involved, a written claim must be presented to that entity within six months of the injury (Gov. Code § 911.2) before any lawsuit can be filed. Those deadlines are not the only reason to call early; the physical evidence in these cases is often gone within weeks.

Consultations are free and confidential. We represent injury clients on a contingency fee: no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing for the costs we advance; a court may in some cases award costs to the opposing side.