More Than $20 Billion Won by Serious Injury Attorneys in San Antonio, TX
Catastrophe is an ancient Greek term originally used to describe a tragic turn of events, typically the culmination of a tragic dramatic work. Today, we use the word to describe violent and destructive events, extreme misfortune, or utter failure. In legal and medical circles, the term catastrophic injury is used to describe trauma that robs a person of their physical and/or mental capabilities on a long-term (often permanent) basis. These injuries often leave people unemployed, unable to move or live independently, and even unable to speak or think like they used to.
People who survive catastrophic accidents often face enormous medical costs for the rest of their lives. Their families are affected as well, with spouses or parents often needing to take time off work or remain home to care for their loved one. Getting the right treatment is one thing; securing financial compensation for a lifetime of care is another.
At Arnold & Itkin, we recognize the true cost of a catastrophic injury and fight for the level of compensation that will help survivors and families actually rebuild and move forward. We have won more than $20 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients, many in the millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of dollars. Our San Antonio catastrophic injury lawyers are standing by to see how we can help you.
Call (888) 493-1629 for a free consultation. A San Antonio serious injury lawyer at our firm can answer your questions and offer helpful guidance.
Catastrophic Injuries & Their Impact on Survivors' Lives
Some injuries are categorized by where on the body they occur, like brain injuries or back injuries. Others are defined by the damage they leave behind, like burns or amputation. Catastrophic injuries are not defined by either. They are defined by how they change the survivor’s life. Any injury that is expected to last permanently or semi-permanently and severely alters a person’s physical or mental faculties could be considered catastrophic.
By that definition, any injury can be considered catastrophic if it is severe enough.
Some common types of catastrophic injuries include the following:
Burn Injuries: With the highest cost of hospitalization of any injury, burn injuries leave survivors both physically and financially damaged. Nerve damage, scarring, and limb loss can all result from full-thickness burns.
Blunt Force trauma: Force done to the body that is neither cutting nor slicing (i.e., blunt) can cause bruising, internal bleeding, and organ damage. Head injuries are among the most harmful types of blunt force trauma.
Loss of Vision or Hearing: Loss of hearing or sight forces you to reorient the way you interact with the world. For many people, losing either would require a change in career or at least a costly change in lifestyle.
Spinal Cord Injuries: Spinal cord injuries are some of the most severe injuries you can suffer. When extreme enough, damage to the spinal cord is irreparable, leading to permanent paralysis and lifelong effects.
Orthopedic Injuries: Severe damage to joints and the musculoskeletal system can hamper someone’s mobility or make them unable to move without pain. This is as much a loss in quality of life as it is a loss of physical ability.
Amputation: A limb or extremity may be crushed or traumatically amputated as a result of a traffic collision, heavy equipment malfunction, or other serious incident, leaving a person with limitations and chronic conditions.
Traumatic Brain Injuries: A sudden impact or blow to the head can cause damage to the brain, the command center of the body. These injuries can affect cognitive skills, speech, motor function, memory, and even personality.
A catastrophic injury is as much about quality of life as it is about a person’s capabilities. Constant pain can rob us of our careers, our hobbies, and all the things that once made our lives enjoyable. To our catastrophic injury lawyers in San Antonio, compensation for those losses is as important as compensation for medical costs.
When you call our team, we take the time to understand how your injuries have changed your daily life, your work, and your future plans. We review medical records, consult with treating physicians, and work with life-care planners to estimate the full cost of long-term treatment, equipment, and home modifications. By building this detailed picture from the outset, our serious injury attorneys in San Antonio can push back against low settlement offers that only cover immediate bills and do not account for the decades of care many clients will need.
Can You Claim Pain & Suffering for a Catastrophic Injury?
Something else that distinguishes catastrophic injuries is the ability to claim non-economic damages—also sometimes called “pain and suffering” damages. Non-economic damages are compensation for your losses that have no dollar value, like the ability to play with your children, play a musical instrument, or run unassisted. No one can deny that accident survivors lose these things, but how do you calculate a dollar amount for them?
Non-economic damages may include (but are not limited to) compensation for:
When assigning awards for these losses, juries are instructed to use their own judgment, which is why non-economic damages can vary widely from case to case. As always, your lawyer’s ability to make your losses clear to a jury will affect how much you receive in the final award. Juries may also assign larger damages that act as a deterrent against the negligent behavior of the defendant, especially if your accident was caused by preventable safety issues.
Part of our work is gathering testimony from family members, coworkers, and treating providers who can explain how your injuries have changed your mood, independence, and ability to participate in daily life. We often use journals, photographs, and day-in-the-life descriptions to show what has been taken from you, rather than relying only on medical terminology. This type of evidence helps jurors in Bexar County and elsewhere connect the legal concept of pain and suffering to real human loss, which can influence the size of a verdict or settlement in a catastrophic injury case.
Leading Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in San Antonio
San Antonio is one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas, home to more than a million residents and a strong workforce that powers key industries across South Central Texas. From sprawling highways to oilfield routes and plant facilities, catastrophic injuries in this region are tragically common—and often preventable. The causes may vary, but the results are the same: mounting medical bills, permanent disability, and loss of the future people were working hard to build.
Motor Vehicle Accidents With major interstates like I-10, I-35, and Loop 1604 weaving through the San Antonio area, motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of catastrophic injuries in Bexar County. High-speed collisions, rollovers, and T-bone crashes may cause spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, and amputations. Distracted driving, speeding, driving while fatigued, and drunk driving remain serious problems on San Antonio roadways, particularly in areas with heavy commuter traffic, resulting in collisions involving cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Trucking Accidents on I-10, I-35 & Oilfield Routes San Antonio serves as a key logistics hub between oilfields, refineries, and Gulf ports. With this comes a constant stream of 18-wheelers and other massive commercial vehicles hauling dangerous cargo. Catastrophic injuries from trucking accidents often occur on I-10 between San Antonio and Houston or I-35 between San Antonio and Laredo. Many of these crashes happen on rural roads in oilfield corridors, which may not be constructed or maintained well enough to support extensive traffic from heavy vehicles, creating deadly risks for everyone on them.
Oil & Gas Industry Accidents San Antonio’s location near the Eagle Ford Shale means many oilfield workers live in the city and travel to job sites during hitches, often staying in man camps during their rotations. These oil and gas workers face the risk of explosions, blowouts, falls from oil rigs, and crush injuries from heavy equipment. The industry is known for long hours, hazardous conditions, and companies that too often cut corners to protect production and profits. Catastrophic oilfield injuries may include severe burns, amputations, and permanent brain or spinal cord trauma.
Plant & Refinery Accidents Though most refineries are located closer to the Gulf, San Antonio workers often commute to plants in Corpus Christi, Three Rivers, or other industrial zones. These jobs involve exposure to high heat, flammable chemicals, and massive industrial machinery. When safety protocols fail or equipment is not properly maintained, workers at San Antonio area plants and refineries may suffer devastating injuries from explosions, toxic exposure, or machinery failures.
Workplace Accidents Construction, warehousing, and manufacturing are major employers in San Antonio. On job sites and in warehouses, workers face risks from falls, equipment malfunctions, forklift crashes, and more. Employers in San Antonio are required to maintain safe conditions—but many do not. Catastrophic injuries on the job may leave workers unable to ever return to their careers. We have helped countless people in similar situations hold their employers and third parties accountable.
Whatever the cause of a catastrophic accident, injured people and their families are often left dealing with insurance adjusters, company investigators, and paperwork while still in the hospital or at home recovering. Our team understands how overwhelming this is, especially if you are trying to coordinate care at facilities such as University Hospital or Brooke Army Medical Center. We step in to handle communication with the companies involved so that you can focus on treatment, rehabilitation, and making important decisions about your future in San Antonio.
How Our San Antonio Catastrophic Accident Law Firm Handles Your Case
After a life-changing accident, most people have never dealt with a serious injury claim before and are unsure what to expect. We guide you through each stage of the process so you understand what is happening and why it matters.
We Listen to Your Story
From our first meeting, whether you come to our office or we come to see you, we take the time to listen. We want to hear your story and are prepared to answer your questions so you can begin to understand your rights and options. Then, we can start mapping out a plan to move your case forward.
We Investigate & Prepare
If you decide to move ahead, we gather records, investigate the accident scene, and preserve critical evidence before it disappears. That can involve reviewing police reports, requesting footage from nearby businesses, and interviewing witnesses while memories are still fresh. We also analyze employment files, maintenance logs, and safety records to identify patterns of negligence that may not be obvious from the surface. Throughout this investigation, we keep you updated so you always know the status of your case.
We Determine the Fair Value of Your Claim
As your case develops, we calculate the full value of your losses, from medical care and lost wages to future treatment, home modifications, and non-economic harm like pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. There is no way to go back and prevent your accident from happening, but we can seek the level of compensation that will help you secure a brighter and more stable future for yourself and your family.
We Negotiate & Prepare for Trial
We negotiate directly with the insurance companies and corporate defendants and prepare your case for trial in Bexar County or other appropriate courts if they refuse to make a fair offer. By treating every claim like it may be presented to a jury, our catastrophic accident attorneys send a clear message that we are prepared to do the work required to pursue the best possible result for you.
“This firm has impacted every aspect of my life, past, present, future. They pulled off some miracles. They stood up for me when nobody else would. I appreciate what they did.” - Chris, workplace explosion survivor
The Truth About Catastrophic Injury Cases & Your Rights
Catastrophic injuries turn lives upside down in an instant. In the midst of medical crises, financial strain, and emotional trauma, many victims and families hesitate to pursue legal action because of misconceptions about the process or concerns about what it means for their future.
Here's the truth behind some of the most common worries we hear.
"My Injury Wasn't Caused by Anyone. It Was Just an Accident." Very few catastrophic injuries are truly "accidents" in the sense that no one could have prevented them. Behind most life-altering injuries are preventable failures: a distracted driver, a negligent property owner, a defective product, an employer who cut safety corners, or a doctor who made a critical error. What feels like bad luck is often the result of someone else's carelessness or recklessness. An experienced attorney can investigate what really happened and determine whether negligence played a role, even when it's not immediately obvious.
"If I File a Lawsuit, I'll Be Stuck in Court for Years." Most injury cases settle without ever going to trial, and many resolve within a year or two once the full extent of injuries is understood. That said, catastrophic cases often take longer than minor claims because the stakes are so high. Insurance companies fight harder, and it takes time to fully document the long-term impact of severe injuries. The key is hiring a firm that prepares every case for trial from day one. When defendants know you're ready to go before a jury, they're far more likely to settle fairly. And if a trial becomes necessary, you'll have a team with the resources and experience to win.
"I Can't Afford a Lawyer on Top of Everything Else." You don't pay a cent unless you win. Our San Antonio catastrophic injury attorneys work on contingency, which means there are no upfront fees, no hourly charges, and no out-of-pocket costs. Our firm advances all litigation expenses—expert witnesses, medical consultations, accident reconstruction, court fees—and those costs are only reimbursed if you recover compensation. This structure exists specifically so that injured people can access top-tier legal representation without choosing between paying bills and pursuing justice. If you don't win, you owe nothing.
"The Insurance Company Seems to Be Handling My Claim Fairly. I Don't Need an Attorney." Insurance adjusters are trained to be friendly, sympathetic, and helpful, right up until the moment they offer you a fraction of what your case is worth. Their job is to minimize payouts and protect their company's profits, not to look out for your best interests. They may offer a quick settlement that sounds reasonable but doesn't account for future medical needs, lost earning capacity, or the decades of care a catastrophic injury requires. Once you accept and sign a release, you can't go back for more, even if your condition worsens or your costs skyrocket. Never negotiate with an insurance company without experienced legal counsel.
"I'm Partially at Fault, So I Can't Recover Anything." Texas law allows you to recover compensation even if you share some responsibility for what happened, as long as you're not more than 50% at fault. Your damages may be reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still pursue significant compensation. For example, if you're found 30% responsible, you can still recover 70% of your total damages. Even in cases where fault seems shared, the full investigation often reveals that the other party bears far more responsibility than initially apparent. Don't assume you're barred from recovery without talking to an attorney.
"There's No Way I Could Win Against a Big Company." Major corporations, hospitals, and insurance companies do have significant resources and aggressive legal teams, which is exactly why you need a law firm with the experience, reputation, and financial strength to go toe-to-toe with them. At Arnold & Itkin, we've won more than $20 billion for clients, including record-setting verdicts against some of the largest defendants in the world. When these companies see our name on the other side, they know we have the trial skills and determination to take the case all the way. That changes everything. You're not facing them alone. You're facing them with one of the most powerful plaintiff firms in the country behind you.
Proven Catastrophic Injury Results in San Antonio & Nationwide
No matter where your injury happened—on Loop 410, a rig outside Karnes City, or a plant near the coast—our San Antonio catastrophic injury lawyers are ready to stand up for you. We have won billions of dollars on behalf of our clients because we never back down when the stakes are this high.
In one notable case, we represented a client who was sideswiped by an 18-wheeler on I-35 in San Antonio. She was seriously injured, ultimately requiring neck surgery. The defense tried to argue that our client had pre-existing injuries and should have been more aware of the truck, but we shut these arguments down. Our attorneys secured a $1.5 million settlement for our client, helping her move forward.
Some of our other catastrophic injury results in Texas include:
$357 million record-setting settlement in Texas for several workers who were seriously injured on the job.
$92.7 million settlement for a client who was severely burned at work, setting the state record in Texas.
$90 million settlement for an East Texas trucker who was severely burned in a chemical refinery explosion.
$78 million settlement for a client who was severely injured in West Texas.
$68 million settlement for a Texas dredge worker who was catastrophically injured in a pipeline explosion.
When we talk about results like these, they represent years of investigation, expert work, and courtroom preparation. Our team regularly consults with accident reconstruction professionals, engineers, economists, and medical specialists to prove exactly how and why an accident happened and what it will cost a family over a lifetime. By preparing every catastrophic injury case in San Antonio as if it will go to trial, we put pressure on defendants and insurers who know we are ready to present the truth to a jury if they refuse to take responsibility.
Call Our San Antonio Serious Injury Attorneys Today: (888) 493-1629
If you are suffering from a catastrophic injury after an accident in San Antonio, do not hesitate to reach out for help. Arnold & Itkin’s catastrophic injury attorneys know what it takes to pursue the compensation you deserve for your injuries, and we refuse to settle or let at-fault parties get away with negligence and wrongdoing.
Contact us today at (888) 493-1629 to learn more about how Arnold & Itkin can help you after a serious injury.
CommonQuestions
How Are Catastrophic Injury Cases Different?
Catastrophic injury cases in Texas involve more than short-term harm—they require a legal strategy that addresses lifelong consequences. These claims are often higher in value because they consider permanent disability, lost earning capacity, and the cost of ongoing care or assistive technology. Texas law places no cap on economic or non-economic damages in most personal injury cases (excluding medical malpractice), allowing injured individuals to pursue full compensation. Insurance companies and employers will often fight harder to avoid paying these high-value claims. That’s why victims in San Antonio turn to trial lawyers like Arnold & Itkin, who know how to take complex, high-stakes cases to court—and win.
What Qualifies as a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury is one that permanently alters the victim’s life—physically, emotionally, or financially. In San Antonio, these injuries often stem from highway crashes, industrial explosions, oilfield incidents, and workplace falls. Catastrophic injuries may include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, severe burns, amputations, and multiple fractures. Unlike other personal injury claims, these cases involve long-term care, permanent disability, and a lifetime of lost income or career disruption. Our San Antonio catastrophic injury lawyers work to recover the full extent of damages, including future medical expenses, rehabilitation, and loss of quality of life. If your injury has changed the way you live or work, it may qualify as catastrophic—and you deserve answers.
Can I Still File a Lawsuit if the Injury Happened Outside San Antonio but I Live Here?
Yes. Many of our clients live in San Antonio but were catastrophically injured while working in nearby oilfields, offshore rigs, or industrial sites across South Texas. Whether the accident occurred in the Eagle Ford Shale, along the Gulf Coast, or out of state, you may still have the right to file your claim locally, depending on jurisdiction and contractual clauses. Our attorneys evaluate each case to determine the best venue for filing suit. Where you live, where the employer is based, and where the accident occurred all play a role. Arnold & Itkin helps injured San Antonio residents secure justice—no matter where the injury happened.
How Much Is a Catastrophic Injury Case Worth?
The value of a catastrophic injury case depends on the extent of your injuries, how they impact your life, and who is liable. In San Antonio, we’ve handled cases worth millions—covering immediate medical bills, long-term care, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and emotional trauma. These cases are often high-dollar because the stakes are so high. You’re not just fighting for compensation—you’re fighting for your future.
Who Can Be Held Responsible?
In catastrophic injury cases, multiple parties may be legally responsible—especially in industries like oil and gas, construction, or transportation. You may be able to file claims against employers, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, property owners, or third-party drivers, depending on how the injury occurred. In Texas, companies that opt out of workers’ compensation (non-subscribers) can be sued directly for negligence. Additionally, oilfield contractors and equipment providers often share liability for unsafe working conditions. Our job is to identify every entity whose decisions, policies, or equipment failures contributed to your injury. Our local serious injury lawyers in San Antonio build strong cases against all responsible parties so our clients get what they need to recover.
