San Jose Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
A Life-Altering Injury Deserves a Claim Built for the Years Ahead.
Catastrophic injuries don’t heal on an insurer’s timeline. Our San Jose attorneys build your claim around the whole road ahead: the care you’ll need, the income you’ll lose, and the family life a serious injury takes away.
$75+ million
recovered for injured clients
800+ five-star reviews
on Google and Yelp
No fee
unless we win
Available 24/7
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Your Bills Can't Wait. You Shouldn't Have To.
A catastrophic injury rewrites everything at once. Treatment is expensive and can stretch on for years. You may be out of work for months, or unable to return to the job you had. The at-fault party’s insurer, meanwhile, is already working out how little it can pay.
The law has no formal definition of a “catastrophic” injury. The term generally means an injury that keeps you from living the way you did before: widespread second- and third-degree burns, traumatic brain injuries, the loss of a limb or one of your senses, permanent damage to internal organs, or a spinal cord injury with paralysis.
You may have a catastrophic injury claim if:
Someone else's carelessness or recklessness caused your injury, in whole or in part
Your injury has kept you from working, or is likely to for months or years
You face long-term treatment, surgery, or a permanent loss of function
The injury happened within roughly the last two years
Motor vehicle crashes cause more catastrophic injuries than anything else, but any serious injury caused by someone’s negligence can support a claim. Tell us what happened; the consultation is free, and you pay nothing unless we win.
What to Do After a Life-Altering Injury
Put treatment first, and keep every record.
Your medical charts become the backbone of your claim. Follow every referral, and ask for copies of discharge papers and treatment plans.
Make sure the incident is officially reported.
A police report after a crash, or a written incident report anywhere else, creates a neutral record of what happened.
Preserve the evidence before it disappears.
Photos of the scene, the vehicles, and your injuries; names and numbers of witnesses; any cameras nearby. If you can’t do this yourself, ask someone you trust.
Name one family member to keep the file.
While you’re in the hospital or in rehab, a spouse or relative can collect bills, track missed work, and keep a list of everyone who calls about the claim.
Don't sign anything or give a recorded statement.
Early offers arrive before anyone knows what your care will cost over a lifetime. A signed release ends your claim for good.
Call a lawyer early.
Claims involving a government vehicle or a dangerous public road can be due within six months. We take over from here, so you and your family can focus on recovery.
How We Build a Catastrophic Injury Case
To win, you must prove the other party was at fault: that they owed you a duty to act as a reasonable person would, that they broke that duty through careless or reckless conduct, and that their conduct caused your injuries. When the stakes are this high, every one of those links has to hold.
We gather the evidence that proves it: police reports, medical charts, witness statements, scene photos, and more. We assign a group of experts to every catastrophic case so no step is missed, whether that means reconstructing how the crash happened or showing what your care will cost in ten or twenty years.
Then we negotiate from strength. Our negotiators spent a combined 50+ years inside the insurance industry, so we know how adjusters try to cap a serious claim at an early, low number. If the insurer won’t pay what your injuries are worth, we prepare your case for trial and fight for every category of damages the law allows, including punitive damages when the conduct was egregious.
What a Catastrophic Injury Claim Should Cover
California law allows compensatory damages designed to put you, as nearly as money can, in the financial position you were in before the injury. In a catastrophic case, that means looking decades ahead, not just at the first hospital bill.
Medical care for the long term
Emergency treatment, surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and the future care your doctors expect you to need.
Lost income and earning capacity
The wages you’ve already missed, and the earnings you lose if you can’t return to your work, or to any work.
Pain, disfigurement, and family life
Physical and emotional pain and suffering, disfigurement, and the loss of normal family life. These losses are harder to count, and often the largest part of a catastrophic claim.
Punitive damages
Available when the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious, to punish it and deter it.
California Catastrophic Injury Law: What Families Should Know
You must prove fault
A catastrophic injury claim rests on negligence: duty, breach, and a direct link between the other party’s conduct and your injuries. The severity of your injury doesn’t prove fault on its own; evidence does.
Partly at fault? You can still recover
California follows pure comparative negligence: your compensation is reduced by your share of fault, never eliminated.
One policy is rarely enough
Many drivers carry only California’s minimum coverage, which a catastrophic injury can exhaust almost immediately. Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage can fill part of the gap, and other responsible parties may add more; we review every available source.
Deadlines run while you're still in treatment
You generally have two years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit, and as little as six months for a claim against a government entity. A long hospital stay can eat into that time, so call early.
Protect the Value of Your Claim
A catastrophic claim is only as strong as the record behind it. You have a legal duty to mitigate your damages: follow your doctors’ orders, attend your therapy, and don’t push your body faster than your care team allows. Gaps in treatment give the defense a reason to argue your losses are smaller than they are.
Three habits protect you and your family:
- Keep a recovery journal. Pain levels, setbacks, appointments, and the everyday things you can no longer do. Family members’ observations count too.
- Save every receipt. Medical bills, prescriptions, mileage to appointments, equipment, home help, and changes to your home or vehicle.
- Route every insurer contact through us. Adjusters are trained to get admissions on tape; a hopeful “I’m doing better” can be used to shrink a claim that should cover a lifetime.
We coordinate with your medical providers so billing can wait until your case settles.
What Our Clients Say
I really needed a attorney when I got involved in a very strange car accident. Many other law office refused because 2 big insurance companies were against to me so…
Shee Suh
Attorney Jimin Oh was really helpful with my case. She really took care of my case and I could really rely on her. She would always check up on me…
Carina Amigable
This was my first time to have a car accident, so I did not know what I had to do. My friends suggested I contact Jimin since they all had…
Kwon Soonhyung
Your San Jose Legal Team
Founding attorney Jimin Oh has handled thousands of auto accident cases and is a member of Million Dollar Trial Lawyers. She built this firm after her own husband was seriously injured in a car accident, so she knows what a family goes through when one person’s injury changes everyone’s life. That’s why every case gets an attorney, a case manager, and a treatment coordinator: while you focus on recovery, someone is always tracking your care, your bills, and your claim. Based at 1253 Park Ave, minutes from the Santa Clara County courthouse.
San Jose Catastrophic Injury FAQs
What counts as a catastrophic injury?
The law doesn’t define the term. It generally covers injuries that keep you from living as you did before: severe burns, traumatic brain injuries, amputation, loss of sight or hearing, permanent organ damage, and spinal cord injuries with paralysis. What matters for your claim is proving who caused the injury and what it has cost you.
Does my injury have to come from a car accident?
No. Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of catastrophic injuries, but any situation where someone’s negligence led to a serious injury can support a claim. We’ll tell you honestly whether yours is legally actionable.
How do you value an injury that will affect me for life?
We document the care you’ve had and the care your doctors expect you’ll need, along with lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and the effect on your family life. Where the case calls for it, experts help show what those needs will cost over time.
What if the at-fault driver's insurance isn't enough?
It often isn’t, because many drivers carry only minimum coverage. Your own UM/UIM coverage may add to it, and other parties who contributed to the crash may be responsible too. We look for every source before you accept anything.
Can I get punitive damages?
Sometimes. California allows punitive damages when a defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious. If they’re available in your case, we’ll pursue them.
Should I accept an early settlement offer?
Not before a lawyer values your claim. With a catastrophic injury, the full cost of your care may not be known for months. Once you sign a release, you can’t go back for more.
How long do I have to file?
Generally two years from the injury, and as little as six months for claims against a government entity. Don’t let a long recovery run out the clock; call as early as you can.
How much does hiring you cost?
Nothing upfront. We cover case expenses and get paid only if we win, as a percentage of your recovery. No hidden fees.
Get Your Free, Confidential Case Review, 24/7
When an injury is catastrophic, recovery is an uphill climb, and the insurer is counting on you being too overwhelmed to fight. Call now or send the form; we respond fast, 24/7, in English, Spanish, or Korean. Your consultation is free and confidential. No fee unless we win.
Call (408) 256-2871Free Case Review
Solution Now Law Firm
1253 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95126
Hablamos español · 한국어 상담 가능
