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.
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 aren’t defined by either. They’re 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’s 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 senses, particularly 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 like phantom limb pain.
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.
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 these things?
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’ll 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.
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 isn’t 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 don’t. Catastrophic injuries on the job may leave workers unable to ever return to their careers. We’ve helped countless people in similar situations hold their employers and third parties accountable.
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’ve helped our clients win more than $20 billion 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.
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, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Arnold & Itkin’s catastrophic injury attorneys know what it takes to recover the compensation you deserve for your injuries. Our record-breaking team has won over $20 billion in settlements for our clients.
Contact us today at (888) 493-1629 to learn more about how Arnold & Itkin can help you after a catastrophic accident.
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.
