Catastrophic Injury

When one considers catastrophic injuries, that person is generally thinking about injuries that are so severe, they leave the victim with long term or even permanent effects. These terrible injuries often cause compression on the spinal cord which can result in paralysis. Sometimes the injury is to the head causing a traumatic brain injury from which a person cannot often recover. People who have suffered these types of injuries find that their lives are no longer the same. Just before the accident, life was normal and happy. After the accident, life changes and the ability to function is taken away.

Catastrophic injury attorneys with Racine Olson know about these problems and can help. We’ve been helping people solve these issues since the 1940s. We’ve helped people with terrible injuries and death. Some people have been killed due to truck and boating accidents. Some has suffered as a result of poisonous gas. Some have been born with birth defects due to the negligence of others. Whatever the problem. Racine Olson has been there to solve it with their clients. We know how to analyze facts and recommend solutions. More importantly, we’re there to listen to you.

It is vitally important that you get an attorney who can not only fund the appropriate experts but makes sure that their opinions can be properly entered into evidence. One of the common problems that happens is when an attorney fails to properly supplement expert opinions that are going to be used at trial. The Idaho Supreme Court once again affirmed its position that a litigant must supplement its expert witness disclosures if or when a expert witness opinion is changed or added to. Schmechel v. Dille, M.D., 148 Idaho 176, 181, 219 P.3d 1192, 1197 (2009). This really is not new. The Supreme Court has previously stated that there is a continuing duty to supplement discovery with respect to both the substance of an expert’s opinion as well as the subject matter. Radmer v. Ford Motor Co., 120 Idaho 86, 813 P.2d 897 (1991). This includes where an expert’s opinion is modified, expanded, or altered in any other fashion. Id. The reason for this is that the Supreme Court wants a level playing field for both parties. If an opposing party does not know the opinions of the opposing expert, then preparation to cross-examine that expert is impossible. Id. This rules benefits both parties by making sure that experts are properly disclosed and protecting us against unfair surprises at trial.

At Racine Olson, with our offices in Boise, Pocatello, and Idaho Falls, we know the law and how to get evidence into trial. We’ll be there to help you.

At Racine Olson we have handled many different types of catastrophic injures. Most recently, we handled a case where a boat trailer broke free from a truck, entered opposing traffic, and killed a mother and father on a motorcycle. This is just one example of such an injury. Another is a case where a person was terribly injured by poisonous gas on a construction site. There was another that occurred when acid was allowed to leak from a settling pond. Of course, there are terrible accidents that can be caused by dangerous products, motor vehicles/light trucks.

Sometimes accidents are caused due to negligence, but other times the injuries are the result of reckless or willful conduct. These are important distinctions in Idaho because they allow a person to recover different amounts of damages. The Idaho legislature has enacted limits on the pain and suffering damages that a person can recover. However, if an attorney can show that the accident was the result of reckless or willful conduct, then the injured person is allowed to escape this cap and obtain more money. The attorneys at Racine Olson understand this difference and the requirements necessary to get you the best recovery.

Racine Olson handles cases all over the state of Idaho from Idaho Falls, to Pocatello, to Twin Falls, Boise, and beyond. It really doesn’t matter. If you are unable to travel to your catastrophic injury, we’ll come to you. We’re anxious to help you solve the issue confronting you. Problem Solved.