A catastrophic injury doesn’t stop when you walk out of the hospital. That’s the thing that most people just don’t get until they’re doing it. The first operation is followed by another one. Physical therapy stretches for months, then years. The job you had might not be a job you can do. You might have to change your home.
If you or a family member suffered a serious injury in a Studio City accident, the case you have is not like a normal injury claim. The numbers are larger. The evidence is not as strong. And the other side’s insurance company has every reason to make the injury seem less serious than it really is.
My name is Adrianos Facchetti, and I am a Studio City personal injury lawyer with a practice limited to catastrophic injury cases in Los Angeles County. My office is in Burbank, not far from Studio City. I have been fighting for people for 20 years whose lives were changed because someone else was careless.
We work on a contingency basis. Your family pays us nothing unless we win you a recovery. Call (626) 793-8607 for a free consultation 24 hours.
Talk to a Lawyer Who Understands What Comes Next
A catastrophic injury case is about more than just what happened. It is about the next 10 or 20 or 40 years.
In a free consultation you will see exactly what your family is facing and what the legal process will be. We will listen, explain how California law applies to your situation, and tell you honestly if we think you have a case worth pursuing.
No obligation. No pressure. Nothing at risk, only pay us if we win. Call (626) 793-8607 anytime.
When an Accident Turns into a Catastrophic Injury Case
Not all serious accidents result in a catastrophic injury, and not all injuries that hurt a lot are. A catastrophic injury is one that permanently alters a person’s ability to live his or her life as he or she did before the injury, his or her ability to work, walk, drive, think clearly, or live independently.
The legal treatment is different, too. An ordinary injury claim is primarily about the medical bills you’ve already incurred and the work you’ve already missed. A catastrophic injury claim must take into account decades of future consequences that haven’t yet happened.
That’s much more difficult to prove. It requires medical experts who can forecast what treatment a person will need for the rest of their life. It requires economists to evaluate lost earning capacity. Sometimes it takes life care planners who plan everything from future surgeries and home health aides to assistive equipment.
Insurance companies know this, and that’s why they are more aggressive with catastrophic claims. The more money that is at stake, the harder they fight to contain it.
Types of Serious Injuries We See in Studio City Accidents
Studio City sees many types of accidents that can lead to catastrophic injuries, including:
A fast-speed crash on US-101 or a serious collision on Ventura Boulevard. Pedestrian struck at busy Studio City intersection. A motorcyclist was struck by a driver who didn’t yield on Laurel Canyon or Coldwater Canyon. An accident involving a truck or delivery truck. A rideshare crash. A slip and fall accident in an apartment complex or commercial building.
Resulting injuries may include:
- Traumatic Brain Injury Memory, Concentration, Personality, and Ability to Work or Live Independently TBI effects can last a lifetime and may not be fully evident for months.
- Spinal cord injuries resulting in partial or complete paralysis. These injuries impact all areas of a person’s life and require lifelong medical management.
- Spinal damage paralysis, either paraplegia or quadriplegia, with huge long-term care needs.
- Severe burns that require multiple surgeries, skin grafts and long-term treatment, often resulting in permanent scarring and nerve damage.
- Amputations of limbs, whether from the accident itself or from medical necessity after, requiring prosthetics, rehabilitation, and lifelong adaptation.
- Permanent damage to internal organs that may require ongoing medical care and limit physical activity.
- Multiple fractures that need extensive surgery, hardware and long term rehab, sometimes with permanent mobility limitations.
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement, particularly if visible, affecting physical function and quality of life.
- Vision or hearing loss that permanently compromises a person’s independence and ability to work.
- Long-term cognitive or mobility impairments that persist and require ongoing accommodation and care.
Why Future Care Is More Important Than That First Hospital Bill
Here is the one thing you need to know about a catastrophic injury claim.
As large as that first hospital bill is, it’s often a small fraction of the actual cost of a catastrophic injury over a lifetime. Emergency surgery is just the start. Then the follow-up. The months or years of physical and occupational therapy. The meds. The assistive devices that break down and need replacing. The home health care. The home modifications.
A person with a spinal cord injury may need a wheelchair accessible vehicle, a modified home and personal care help for the rest of their life. Someone with a traumatic brain injury may need ongoing cognitive therapy and supervision. Costs will not appear on the first bill. They last over decades.
A settlement that only covers the medical bills received so far means the injured person and their family are left to deal with everything that comes later. That’s what insurance companies are hoping for when they push for a quick settlement.
A properly prepared catastrophic injury claim anticipates the injury’s entire lifetime cost. That’s the projection that’s put together with medical experts and life care planners and it’s the difference between a settlement that runs out in three years and a settlement that actually covers the cost of the injury.
Why Insurance Companies Reduce Catastrophic Injury Claims
Insurance companies take one approach to catastrophic injury claims: pay as little as possible on a claim that, if properly handled, would cost them a lot.
They have their own ways of doing that.
They argue over how bad the injury is. They will say you are not as disabled as you say you are, you will recover more than your doctors say you will recover, or some of your disabilities existed before the accident.
They question future care estimates. Your medical experts say you’ll require decades of treatment, the insurer’s experts say you’ll require far less. “They go line by line through the life care plan.”
They provide early settlement. They give a figure that seems huge to a family with bills piling up, before the injury is fully understood, before the long-term prognosis is determined. If you accept it, the claim will be closed forever.
They blame each other. The more they can blame the injured party, the less they have to pay under California’s comparative negligence rules.
This is why a catastrophic injury claim requires a lawyer who builds the case thoroughly with the right experts. The insurance company is working on their case to minimize. And your’s must be made to show the whole honest reality of life-time.
The Evidence of Long-Term Losses
Evidence wins or loses a catastrophic injury case. Here’s what these cases require:
- Complete medical records from all providers involved documenting the injury, treatment, and prognosis.
- Medical expert opinions from specialists who can explain the injury, project future treatment necessary, and establish that the limitations are permanent.
- Professionals create life care plans that estimate every cost that will ever be incurred for the injured person’s lifetime, including surgeries, therapy, medications, equipment, home care, and home modifications.
- Economic analysis calculates lost income and earning capacity based on what the person had and what the person can no longer have.
- Accident reconstruction when fault is at issue, using physical evidence to determine precisely what occurred and who was to blame.
- Daily limitations documentation that truly shows how the injury affects a person’s life day to day. That’s where family members can really step in.
It depends on the strength of this evidence. That’s the result. A quick demand letter based on the first hospital bill will undervalue a catastrophic claim. A claim based on good expert work and full documentation has a foundation that the insurance company has to take seriously.
How Families Can Help Document Daily Limitations
Family members are often the best able to see how a catastrophic injury changes everyday life. This makes them a key part of the case building.
Insurance companies and juries know how to read medical records, but records do not always tell the story of what a day is really like for someone living with a serious injury. The morning battle of getting dressed. The tasks that used to take minutes, and now take an hour. Or can’t be done. What the person had to stop doing. The assistance they now require with things they once did without even thinking.
Families can help by keeping a journal of these daily incidents. Notes for the good days and the bad days. Reports of help required. Photos and video if appropriate showing the practical impact of the injury. Notes of fluctuations in mood, memory and independence.
Such documentation, always gathered over time, provides a human dimension to the claim that medical charts alone cannot give. We show families exactly what to write down and how to do it, so that this evidence is properly collected from the start of the case.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Catastrophic Accident
Depending on the circumstances of the accident, there may be one or more parties at fault.
A careless driver in a car, motorcycle, truck or rideshare crash. A trucking company, when a commercial truck was involved and the company’s practices contributed to the crash. A property owner, if you were hurt in a fall or other incident caused by an unsafe condition on their property. If defective equipment was involved, a vehicle or product manufacturer. If a dangerous road condition contributed to the accident, a governmental entity.
In catastrophic cases there is often more than one liable party and it matters to identify them all. Each responsible party may be insured and the total available insurance can decide if a settlement pays for the lifetime cost of the injury. Part of building these cases is making sure no responsible party is left out.
What Should the Compensation Cover
A catastrophic injury settlement or verdict should cover the entire range of what the injury costs, including:
Emergency care & hospital bills. All surgeries are today and tomorrow. Physical, occupational, and cognitive therapy and rehabilitation. Future medical care over the person’s lifetime. Home health care and personal assistance services. Loss of income due to missed work. Diminished earning capacity where the injury limits what the person can do professionally in the future. Pain. Agony. Modifications to the home to accommodate a disability. Assistive devices, wheelchairs, prosthetics, and other equipment, including replacement over time. Loss of independence and its effect on quality of life. And wrongful death damages where a catastrophic accident takes a life and the family pursues a claim.
The value of any given case depends upon the severity of the injury, the long-term prognosis, fault, and the insurance coverage available. “We don’t guarantee results. We build the case very carefully and give families an honest assessment of what it should be accounting for.
About Adrianos Facchetti
Licensed in California since 2006. State Bar No. 243,213. Over 18 years of experience in handling serious personal injury cases throughout Los Angeles County, including catastrophic injury claims such as brain and spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and other life-altering harm.
Avvo 10.0 Top Attorney Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® 2025. Accredited by BBB. MyBurbank’s Top 2026.
If Your Family Is Facing a Serious Injury, Here Is How We Can Help
When a catastrophic injury occurs, the financial landscape changes for an entire family. The decisions you make today on the legal claim will impact what your family has to work with for years to come.
Get clarity with a free consultation. We’ll cover what happened, explain your options, and be upfront about whether we believe there’s a case to be made.
No attachments. If we lose, no cost.
Call (626) 793-8607 day, night, or weekend.
This page is for general information and not legal advice. No two cases are the same. Past results are not a guarantee of future results.
