Burlington Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

A catastrophic injury is different from any other personal injury claim. The medical bills do not stop. The physical therapy does not end at six weeks. The job you had before the crash, the fall, or the surgery may be one you can never return to. Families across Chittenden County are left to absorb consequences that will stretch across decades, often after a single moment of someone else’s negligence on a Vermont road, worksite, or property.

At Promoting Justice Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, our catastrophic injury attorneys represent seriously injured Vermonters from our Burlington office. We know how Chittenden County juries weigh evidence, how regional insurers evaluate exposure, and how to build the kind of medical, vocational, and economic record that forces a full-value resolution rather than a convenient one. Every attorney in this firm works exclusively on the side of the injured, and every catastrophic case we accept gets handled with that singular focus from the first call forward.

Get a free consultation and discover how our catastrophic injury attorneys in Burlington can help you seek the compensation and justice you deserve.

Why Hire a Burlington Catastrophic Injury Lawyer?

When a serious injury takes away your ability to work, your independence, or your future, you are not facing a temporary hardship. You are facing a financial crisis that may last the rest of your life. A catastrophic injury lawyer fights to make sure the compensation you recover reflects that reality: every future surgery, every in-home care visit, every year of lost wages, and the permanent losses no settlement can ever fully replace.

At Promoting Justice Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, we focus exclusively on representing injured Vermonters. We advance all litigation costs from day one, charge nothing unless we win, and represent only injury victims, never the corporations or insurers on the other side of your claim.

Do You Have a Catastrophic Injury Claim in Vermont?

Vermont personal injury law requires proving four things: that someone owed you a duty of care, that they violated it through negligence or recklessness, that the violation directly caused your injuries, and that you suffered real, documented losses. When all four are present, you have the foundation of a claim.

Those elements frequently come together in situations like:

• A commercial truck driver operating recklessly on I-89 or US-7
• A landlord who ignored a known hazard on their property
• A manufacturer that released a dangerously defective product or piece of equipment
• A medical professional whose errors caused irreversible physical harm
• A construction supervisor who knowingly overlooked required safety measures

You do not need certainty before you call. A free, confidential consultation is how we find out together.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury?

A catastrophic injury permanently prevents you from returning to work or results in lasting disability, severe disfigurement, or death. The distinction matters because it shapes the size of what you can claim, and the intensity of the opposition you will face.

Because the financial exposure is enormous, insurers assign experienced defense teams to these cases immediately. Representation from a firm that has faced those tactics for decades is not optional. It is necessary.

Injuries We Handle

Our attorneys have secured millions of dollars for clients living with the most serious and permanent conditions, including:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and lasting cognitive impairment
• Spinal cord injuries, paraplegia, and quadriplegia
• Severe burns and permanent scarring
• Amputations and permanent loss of limb function
• Crush injuries and catastrophic fractures
• Permanent loss of vision or hearing
• Internal organ damage requiring lifelong medical care
• Wrongful death

We secured a $425,000 recovery for a client whose traumatic brain injury resulted from a fall down a landlord’s unmaintained stairs.

A pattern we see every winter in Burlington is the catastrophic fall on ice, whether it is a tenant on an unsalted exterior staircase in the Old North End or a shopper in a commercial lot that was plowed but never treated. Vermont property owners do not have to make winter disappear, but they do have to take reasonable steps once they know about a hazard. The records showing when a property was plowed, salted, and inspected often decide these cases.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

Vermont law entitles you to pursue two categories of damages. Economic damages cover your concrete financial losses: medical bills, lost wages, and long-term care. Non-economic damages recognize what cannot be invoiced: your pain, your diminished independence, and your permanent disfigurement. In cases involving malicious or outrageously reckless conduct, courts may also award punitive damages to hold the wrongdoer accountable beyond the injury itself.

We do not calculate your damages by tallying today’s bills. We work with life-care planners and vocational economists to project every cost you will face over a lifetime, and we fight to recover every dollar of it.

“I am very pleased with how this case settled, and grateful to be able to function on my own. Your excellent work has made it all possible.” (Sheila C., client review)

Call (802) 457-4848 to find out what your case is truly worth, free and confidential.

Can You Recover if You Were Partly at Fault?

Yes. Vermont uses a legal standard called modified comparative negligence. Under this rule, you can still recover compensation as long as you are found to be 50% or less at fault.

Insurance companies routinely exploit this rule, pushing as much fault as possible onto injured victims to reduce what they owe. Attorney Linda Fraas spent years working in insurance defense before joining Promoting Justice Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers. She now uses that insider knowledge of defense tactics entirely on your behalf, so nothing they do catches us off guard.

How Long Do You Have to File in Vermont?

Vermont’s statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing your lawsuit. Most personal injury claims must be filed within three years. Wrongful death cases carry a two-year deadline. Claims against government entities can carry their own rules, and some, such as defective town bridge or culvert claims, require formal written notice within 20 days.

Miss that deadline, and your right to compensation is permanently gone, no matter how clear the liability. Catastrophic cases also take time to prepare: experts need to be retained, evidence must be preserved, and injuries need to stabilize before the full scope of your losses can be accurately measured. Contact us now.

Your deadline is already running. Call (802) 457-4848 today.

How We Build the Case That Wins

A catastrophic injury claim is won with evidence and expert analysis, not just a compelling story. We assemble a specialized team built around the specific facts of your case:

• Accident reconstructionists: to establish definitively how the incident occurred and who was responsible
• Life-care planners: to produce a medically grounded projection of every future care need and its associated cost
• Vocational economists: to quantify the long-term impact on your earning capacity, not just wages lost today
• Medical specialists: to translate the clinical reality of your injuries into clear, compelling testimony a jury can act on

From the moment we take your case, we send legal preservation notices to all responsible parties requiring them to retain relevant evidence. We do not give the defense an opportunity to let critical information disappear.

For clients brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center after a serious crash on I-89 or US-7, the first days of trauma care produce the records that later drive the life-care plan. We see insurers try to anchor a settlement to those early hospital bills, before rehabilitation needs are known, so we wait for a clear medical picture and expert projections before putting a number on the claim.

Workplace Injuries and Third-Party Claims

If your catastrophic injury happened on the job, Vermont’s workers’ compensation system provides medical benefits and partial wage replacement regardless of fault. What it does not cover is compensation for pain and suffering or full income replacement.

If a third party contributed to your injury, such as a negligent driver, an outside contractor, or the maker of defective equipment, you may also have a personal injury claim against them. This second path unlocks the full range of damages that workers’ compensation cannot reach. We secured $2,000,000 for a client in a combined workers’ compensation and automobile accident matter, handling both matters concurrently and negotiating medical liens, legal claims health providers place on a settlement, to maximize the recovery our client received.

On construction sites around Burlington and South Burlington, we see catastrophic injuries where the injured worker’s employer is only one of several companies on the job. A fall from scaffolding or a crush injury from heavy equipment may trace back to a general contractor, a subcontractor, or an equipment rental company, and each of them can be a third-party defendant outside the workers’ compensation system.

What to Do After a Catastrophic Injury in Burlington

The decisions you make in the first days after a serious accident can directly affect your legal rights.

• Seek emergency medical care and stay consistent with treatment: Gaps in your medical record give insurers a reason to question the severity of your injuries.
• Document the scene and collect witness information: Photographs of the hazard, your injuries, and the location are often irreplaceable once conditions change.
• Decline recorded statements from the other side’s insurer: Adjusters are trained to gather information that can be used against you later. Do not sign anything before you have legal representation.
• Call Promoting Justice Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers immediately: The sooner we are involved, the more effectively we can secure your evidence, protect your rights, and begin building your case.

Why Injured Vermonters Choose Promoting Justice

We have long focused on representing Vermonters in serious injury cases. We do not accept inadequate settlements and are prepared to take cases to trial when insurers refuse to do what is right.

Founding attorney Dennis O. Shillen holds an AV Preeminent rating, the highest standard recognized by Martindale-Hubbell’s peer-review system for legal ability and professional ethics, and has been recognized by Super Lawyers and Avvo. D. James Mackall, a published legal author and member of the Vermont Association for Justice Board of Governors, represents injury victims in Vermont courtrooms.

Our attorneys and support staff bring extensive experience handling catastrophic injury cases. We represent only injured individuals and do not represent insurers, corporations, or other parties who might be on the opposing side of a claim. In our founding attorney’s words, we pursue every client’s case as a crusader would pursue a noble cause.

“My wife and I want to thank you ever so much for everything you have done. Without you we would have been lost.” (Henry S., client review)

Call (802) 457-4848 or visit promotingjustice.com to start your free consultation today.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Does Promoting Justice Charge Fees for Catastrophic Injury Cases?

We handle every catastrophic injury case on a contingency fee basis, with no upfront costs, and we collect a percentage only from what we successfully recover for you.

What Happens to Litigation Costs if Promoting Justice Does Not Recover Compensation?

We advance all litigation expenses throughout your case, and if we do not win, you owe us nothing, not for attorney fees and not for the costs we fronted on your behalf.

Will My Catastrophic Injury Case Go to Trial?

Most cases settle before trial, but we prepare every file as if a jury will decide it. Insurers make significantly better offers when they know your legal team is genuinely trial-ready.

Can a Family Member Start a Catastrophic Injury Claim for a Victim Who Cannot?

Yes, a spouse, parent, or court-appointed guardian can initiate and manage the claim on your behalf while you focus entirely on your medical recovery.

Does Promoting Justice Handle Catastrophic Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice or Defective Products?

Yes, our practice covers the full range of causes, including medical negligence, dangerous products, premises failures, commercial vehicle crashes, and workplace accidents resulting in wrongful death.