Catastrophic Injury Attorney in Brooklyn

Nearly 75 Years of Combined Experience Fighting for Brooklyn’s Most Seriously Injured

When an injury changes everything, your ability to work, to move, to care for your family, the legal decisions you make in the months that follow carry enormous weight. Belushin Law Firm, P.C. represents Brooklyn residents who have suffered catastrophic injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. Our team has recovered millions of dollars for past clients, including a $3,500,000 pedestrian knockdown recovery and a $3,000,000 labor law recovery. Past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome, but they reflect the seriousness with which we approach every case.

Attorney Vel Belushin has been licensed in New York since 2002 and has been selected to Super Lawyers every year from 2021 through 2025. Our staff assists clients in English, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and Ukrainian, so a language barrier doesn’t stand between you and your attorney.

Free consultations are available, with no obligation to retain us. Call (888) 918-9890 to speak with our team about your catastrophic injury case.

Catastrophic Injury Types We Handle

Catastrophic injuries produce long-term or permanent physical or mental impairment, often preventing victims from returning to work or managing daily activities on their own. These cases are more complex than standard personal injury claims because the damages extend far into the future and frequently involve multiple liable parties.

Our firm handles claims involving:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Caused by impacts, falls, and vehicle collisions; can produce lasting cognitive, behavioral, and physical impairments
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Range from partial loss of function to complete paralysis, including paraplegia and quadriplegia
• Burn injuries: Severe burns from fires, chemical exposure, and electrical contact, covered in detail on our dedicated burn injuries page
• Amputations: Traumatic or surgical limb loss following workplace accidents, vehicle crashes, or medical errors
• Paralysis: Partial or complete loss of motor function resulting from brain or spinal cord trauma
• Loss of vision or hearing: Permanent sensory loss resulting from trauma or medical negligence
• Wrongful death: When catastrophic injuries prove fatal, surviving family members may pursue a wrongful death claim

Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s density creates concentrated risk. High-traffic corridors, active construction sites, aging residential buildings, and the MTA’s transit infrastructure each contribute to the serious injury cases we handle.

The accident types we see most often include:

• Car and Truck Accidents: High-impact collisions on Brooklyn’s congested streets and highways frequently produce severe, permanent injuries
• Construction Accidents: Falls from heights, falling objects, scaffold collapses, and equipment failures are elevated risks on Brooklyn’s active development sites; New York Labor Law provides specific protections for construction workers in these situations
• Premises Liability: Defective elevators, unguarded stairwells, and inadequate security in Brooklyn’s residential and commercial buildings
• Subway and Transit Accidents: Injuries involving MTA subway platforms, trains, and buses represent a Brooklyn-specific category of serious harm
• Medical Malpractice: Surgical errors, failure to diagnose, and medication errors at Brooklyn hospitals and medical facilities can produce permanent catastrophic outcomes
• Defective Products: Malfunctioning consumer goods, industrial equipment, and vehicle components

New York Legal Standards That Apply to Your Claim

New York’s personal injury framework includes several rules that directly affect how catastrophic injury cases proceed. Understanding them early can help protect your right to seek compensation.

Serious Injury Threshold & Comparative Fault

Under New York Insurance Law section 5102(d), auto accident victims must meet a “serious injury threshold” to pursue a lawsuit beyond no-fault benefits. Most catastrophic injuries satisfy this threshold. New York’s comparative fault rules then determine how shared responsibility affects your recovery. For most catastrophic injury claims, including construction accidents, premises liability, and medical malpractice, New York follows pure comparative fault: your damages are reduced in proportion to your share of fault, but you aren’t barred from recovery entirely. For motor vehicle accident claims, comparative fault rules may affect whether damages are recoverable depending on the circumstances and applicable law.

Filing Deadlines & Notice Requirements

Under CPLR section 214, most personal injury claims must be filed within three years of the injury date. Medical malpractice carries a shorter window of two and a half years. If your injury involves New York City, the MTA, or another government entity, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days of the incident. Missing that deadline can affect your ability to pursue the claim. New York doesn’t cap compensatory damages in personal injury cases, which means the full economic and non-economic impact of a catastrophic injury can be brought before a jury.

Compensation Available in a Catastrophic Injury Case

Catastrophic injuries reshape a person’s life rather than merely interrupting it, which is why the range of recoverable damages is broader than in most personal injury claims.

Economic damages can include past and future medical expenses, rehabilitation and long-term care costs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. When injuries produce permanent disability, costs for home modifications and assistive technology may also be recoverable.

Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

In wrongful death cases, surviving family members may pursue funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship. Punitive damages may be available in cases involving egregious or intentional conduct, though they are awarded less frequently than other categories.

Why Brooklyn Injury Victims Retain Belushin Law Firm, P.C.

Attorney Vel Belushin holds a 10.0 Superb rating on Avvo, received the Avvo Clients Choice Award in 2013, and was named to the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association in both 2014 and 2015. He is a Lifetime Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates. The firm maintains memberships in the American Association for Justice, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the National Trial Lawyers Association, the National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, and the Pan European Organization of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Clients describe direct access to their attorney, clear communication throughout their case, and cases accepted after other firms declined them. Vel Belushin has handled catastrophic injury cases in Brooklyn’s courts for more than two decades, with hands-on familiarity with the insurance systems and legal standards that determine how these cases are resolved.

We work on a contingency fee basis: you don’t owe us legal fees unless we recover compensation for you. Our Chinese-language line is available at (888) 918-9890. Call (888) 918-9890 to schedule your free consultation.