Catastrophic Injuries

Los Angeles Catastrophic Injury Attorneys

More Than $600 Million Recovered for Clients Harmed by Dangerous Products

Our Los Angeles-based trial firm represents people whose lives have been changed by defective consumer products, recalled medical devices, industrial machinery failures, and severe burn injuries. A product defect may be involved even when the incident initially appears to be a vehicle crash, fire, workplace accident, or medical-device complication.

Led by U.S. Army veteran and trial lawyer David R. Shoop, we investigate how the product failed and how the injury may affect mobility, cognition, communication, employment, independence, and daily activities.

Reach out to discuss a life-altering injury and possible product defect. Call (866) 884-1717 to schedule a free consultation with a Los Angeles catastrophic injury attorney from Shoop | A Professional Law Corporation. We offer contingency representation, so you won’t owe a fee unless we recover compensation.

Relentlessly Pursuing the Best Possible Outcome

We've Recovered Hundreds of Millions for Our Clients

$30m Product Liability Verdict
$24m Wrongful Death Settlement
$14m Medical Device Settlement
$13.5m Personal Injury
$12m Child Wrongful Death
$11m Personal Injury

SEE MORE SUCCESSES

What Makes an Injury Catastrophic?

Clients often ask us what makes an injury catastrophic. The term generally describes an injury that causes permanent or long-term impairment rather than a short recovery period.

Catastrophic injuries may prevent you from returning to your job, doing work around the house, being able to drive yourself, or completing other daily requirements. The consequences can also include rehabilitation, personal assistance, accessibility changes, reduced independence, and extensive future medical care.

Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

With more than four decades of combined legal experience, we evaluate whether the evidence connects the harm to a defective product, medical device, or another legally responsible party.

Catastrophic Injuries Caused by Defective Products

Serious injuries caused by defective or dangerous products require a careful investigation of the product’s design, manufacture, warnings, instructions, condition, and use. Depending on the facts, a claim may involve a design defect, manufacturing defect, or failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions.

At Shoop | A Professional Law Corporation, our lawyers handle catastrophic injury cases involving dangerous and defective products, such as:

They may entail severe burns and disfigurement requiring extensive surgery. They may cause loss of function in the arms or legs, amputation, blindness, brain injury, or loss of cognitive skills.

Our investigation may involve engineering, biomechanics, accident reconstruction, fire cause and origin analysis, or NFPA 921 standards for investigating fires and explosions. We also have experience with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigations and FDA-recalled products. A recall isn’t required for every claim, and the absence of one doesn’t establish that a product was safe.

Evidence preservation can be critical. The product, packaging, instructions, photographs, purchase and maintenance records, medical records, and accident-scene information may help establish how the failure occurred and who may be responsible.

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Our Impressive Track Record We Win...A Lot!

In the last 14 years, Shoop & team's impressive track record includes hundreds of Product Liability cases resulting in verdicts or settlements exceeding $1 million. For a Product Liability team with an exemplary track record, clients choose Shoop.

SEE OUR WINS

Start Your Case with a Free Consultation

We offer complimentary consultations and contingency representation, with no fee unless we recover compensation. If you can’t come to our office, we’ll come to you.

We have obtained multi-million-dollar recoveries for past clients. Though money can’t make up for everything you have been through, compensation can help address medical care, lost earning ability, and the support required for long-term planning.

Our Catastrophic Product-Injury Investigation

We begin cases with a client interview about the accident, the injury, and how the client’s future may change. We then investigate the underlying cause and identify who may be legally responsible. When a product may be involved, we preserve critical evidence and examine its condition, intended and foreseeable use, warnings, instructions, maintenance, modifications, testing, recall history, and distribution chain.

Our firm prepares these matters for litigation against manufacturers, insurance carriers, and multinational corporations. David R. Shoop’s former corporate-defense experience also informs how we anticipate the arguments large companies and insurers may use to dispute defect, causation, and damages.

Call our office today at (866) 884-1717 or contact us online to discuss your case with our Los Angeles catastrophic injury attorneys at Shoop | A Professional Law Corporation.

Compensation for Catastrophic Injuries

Compensatory damages may include economic losses with a documented financial value and non-economic harm such as pain, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life. Punitive damages are different. They may be available in limited cases involving egregious corporate misconduct rather than as compensation for a specific expense.

We evaluate both the immediate losses and the projected long-term consequences of a catastrophic injury. Future medical care and support must be connected to the injury and supported by evidence, while lost earning capacity concerns income the person is reasonably certain to lose because of lasting limitations.

Where liability is established, the injured person may pursue compensation for:

Medical expenses
Hospitalization costs
Loss of income
Lost earning capacity
Rehabilitation costs
Retraining expenses
Long-term care costs
Pain and suffering

Other losses may include medication, medical equipment, transportation, home modifications, and household support. The damages available depend on liability, causation, financial documentation, the nature of the injury, and its long-term effect on the person’s life.

Under California Civil Code section 3294, punitive or exemplary damages generally require clear and convincing evidence of oppression, fraud, or malice. Whether that standard can be met depends on the conduct and evidence in the individual case.

California Product Liability Claims in Los Angeles

California product liability claims may proceed under strict-liability or negligence theories, depending on the facts and available evidence. Strict liability can address responsibility for a defective product without requiring the injured person to prove ordinary negligence, but the evidence must still establish an applicable defect and connect it to the injury.

A claim may concern a design defect, manufacturing defect, or inadequate warning or instruction. The procedural path can include pre-suit investigation, pleadings, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, settlement negotiations, and trial. Cases filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County may proceed in an appropriate judicial district, including the Central Judicial District and Stanley Mosk Courthouse when applicable.

Deadlines for Filing a Claim

California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 generally provides a two-year limitation period for an action involving injury or death caused by another person’s wrongful act or neglect. Different rules, exceptions, discovery issues, and claim-specific deadlines may change how the period applies. A prompt review can help identify the potentially responsible parties, preserve evidence, and determine which deadlines require attention.

We carefully select catastrophic product-injury cases, preserve critical evidence, coordinate technical analysis, and prepare claims for litigation.

If a defective product caused serious harm to you or a family member, call (866) 884-1717 for a complimentary consultation about a possible product liability lawsuit. You won’t owe a fee unless we recover compensation.

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