{"id":778,"date":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T19:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiolinjurylaw.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T23:23:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T04:23:04","slug":"what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury in Florida?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You could suffer many different types of injuries in an accident in Florida. A bad accident could lead to more severe personal injuries than a minor accident. On a legal level, a catastrophic injury describes the most severe types of personal injuries. They are the injuries that will most likely stay with a victim for life, such as a permanent disability or severe disfigurement. A catastrophic injury negatively impacts a victim\u2019s quality of life and the ability to earn a living wage. Determining whether Florida law considers your injury catastrophic can help you seek fair compensation for your related losses.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/#Types_of_Catastrophic_Injuries\" >Types of Catastrophic Injuries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/#Catastrophic_Injury_vs_Personal_Injury_Claim\" >Catastrophic Injury vs. Personal Injury Claim<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/#Damages_in_Catastrophic_Injury_Claims\" >Damages in Catastrophic Injury Claims<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Types_of_Catastrophic_Injuries\"><\/span>Types of Catastrophic Injuries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Florida is a no-fault car accident state. Under this car insurance rule, an injured crash victim can only recover financial compensation from the negligent or at-fault party if the victim has serious injuries. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/understanding-floridas-serious-injury-threshold\/\">serious injury under Florida's threshold<\/a> (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0600-0699\/0627\/Sections\/0627.737.html\">Florida Statutes 627.737<\/a>) is one that causes significant and permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent injury, significant scarring or disfigurement, or death. A catastrophic injury will affect a victim significantly and\/or permanently. Florida law recognizes many different types of catastrophic injuries.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Traumatic brain injuries<\/li>\n<li>Skull fractures<\/li>\n<li>Serious bone fractures<\/li>\n<li>Spinal cord injuries<\/li>\n<li>Paralysis<\/li>\n<li>Internal injuries or significant loss of a bodily function<\/li>\n<li>Severe burns<\/li>\n<li>Permanent scarring and disfigurement<\/li>\n<li>Loss of limb<\/li>\n<li>Permanent disability or debilitation<\/li>\n<li>Eye or ear injury<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Catastrophic injuries in Florida are often associated with car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, boating accidents and acts of violence. A workplace accident could also cause a serious, catastrophic or permanent bodily injury. If you were badly injured at work, you may qualify for disability workers\u2019 compensation benefits under <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leg.state.fl.us\/statutes\/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&amp;URL=0400-0499\/0440\/Sections\/0440.15.html\">Florida Labor Code 440.15<\/a>. The amount of money you can receive will depend on the nature and duration of your injury.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Catastrophic_Injury_vs_Personal_Injury_Claim\"><\/span>Catastrophic Injury vs. Personal Injury Claim<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You do not need a catastrophic injury to have grounds for a personal injury claim in Florida. You can file a personal injury case with a less serious injury in Florida as well. In a car accident case, you can only file a claim if your injuries are severe enough to meet the serious injury threshold. For a claim that does not involve a car accident, however, such as a slip and fall accident or workplace accident, your injuries do not have to be as serious to hold the negligent party responsible.<\/p>\n<p>You can file an injury claim after an accident that is not a vehicle collision with any type of personal injury in Florida \u2013 even minor injuries. If you have catastrophic injuries, you will generally recover greater financial compensation than with a minor injury claim. The value of your case will increase with a catastrophic injury vs. a typical personal injury due to the lifelong costs associated with a serious injury. Discuss the exact value of your catastrophic injury claim with an attorney in Tampa.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Damages_in_Catastrophic_Injury_Claims\"><\/span>Damages in Catastrophic Injury Claims<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the key differences between an injury claim and a catastrophic injury claim is the amount of compensation available. With an attorney\u2019s assistance, you could recover compensation for your past and future medical expenses, live-in care, physical therapy, other health care costs, lost wages and the lost capacity to earn, chronic pain, emotional distress, and lost quality of life as someone with a catastrophic personal injury. You may not qualify for as many damages with a standard injury.<\/p>\n<p>You or your lawyer will need to prove the severity of your catastrophic injury, as well as the associated losses, to obtain a fair award in Florida. If someone else's negligence gave you a catastrophic injury in Florida, do not hesitate to contact a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/personal-injury-lawyers\/\">personal injury attorney<\/a> for assistance with the claims process. Otherwise, you may accept a settlement from an insurance company that does not accurately reimburse your lifelong medical costs. A lawyer can ensure you receive a fair and full amount for your life-altering injuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You could suffer many different types of injuries in an accident in Florida. A bad accident could lead to more severe personal injuries than a minor accident. On a legal level, a catastrophic injury describes the most severe types of personal injuries. They are the injuries that will most likely stay with a victim for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury in Florida?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what qualifies as a catastrophic injury in Florida, including life\u2011altering injuries like brain trauma or paralysis, and why it matters for your claim.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury in Florida?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn what qualifies as a catastrophic injury in Florida, including life\u2011altering injuries like brain trauma or paralysis, and why it matters for your claim.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fiolinjurylaw.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-considered-a-catastrophic-injury-in-florida\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fiol &amp; 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