Although I handle a wide array of personal injury claims, my practice focuses on the following types of claims:

Catastrophic Injury:
Catastrophic injury law, like personal injury, falls under Tort Law. It involves a civil law suit for a lump sum monetary settlement or on-going compensation for a catastrophic injury suffered by the victim. Similar to personal injury cases, the victim must prove that the defendant is liable by proving that either negligence or a willful act by the defendant was involved.

A catastrophic injury tends to be devastating and permanent in nature. Injuries of this sort normally happen suddenly and without warning. Injuries classified as catastrophic result in severe disruptions or impairments to one or more bodily systems, such as the neurological, skeletal or muscular system, and they have a severe impact on the victim's life and on those of his/her loved ones. While some people may recover from catastrophic injuries suffered in an accident or exposure to toxic substances (lead paint, asbestos, toxic molds, etc.), others are permanently disabled, are subject to extreme long-term suffering, and sometimes even experience a significantly shortened lifespan.

Catastrophic injuries sometimes do not surface or are not apparent for many years (e.g., an old fracture that heals improperly can result in extremely painful bone stretching or other complicated medical procedures, long-term growth platelet issues if it's a childhood injury, and even loss of use in the affected limb). Catastrophic injuries can include traumatic head or brain injuries, brain damage, eye injuries resulting in loss of sight, loss of hearing, spinal cord injuries, accidental amputation, severe burns, severe scarring and/or disfigurement, compound or multiple fractures, severe loss of mobility, bodily system damage due to toxic exposure or lead paint poisoning, paralysis, and/or other neurological disorders.

Brain Injuries:
Brain injury types are classed as traumatic brain injury, acquired brain injury, open or closed head injury. The level of brain injury is classified as Mild, Moderate or Severe.

Severe Brain Injuries:
Severe brain injuries usually result from crushing blows or penetrating wounds to the head. Such injuries crush, rip and shear delicate brain tissue. This is the most life threatening, and the most intractable type of brain injury. The most severe types of brain injury can cause debilitating functional limitations such a paralysis, and severely limited mental functioning. Severe brain injury occurs when a prolonged unconscious state or coma lasts days, weeks, or months. Severe brain injury is further categorized:

• Coma
• Vegetative State
• Persistent Vegetative State
• Minimally Responsive State
• Akinetic Mutism
• Locked-in Syndrome

Moderate Brain Injuries:
Distinctions between moderate and severe brain injury are not as clearly defined as that of mild brain injury. A moderate traumatic brain injury occurs when:

• Loss of consciousness lasts from a few minutes to a few hours
• Confusion lasts from days to weeks
• Physical, cognitive and/or behavioral impairments last for months or are permanent

People who sustain moderate brain injuries usually have physical, cognitive and/or behavioral impairments which can last for many months and may become permanent. These impairments are typically similar to those experienced by individuals with severe brain injury. However, with treatment, individuals with moderate brain injuries usually are able to make a complete recovery or successfully learn to compensate for their deficits.

Mild Brain Injuries:
A mild brain injury (also known as a concussion) is damage to the brain caused when the head is shaken or receives an impact from an outside force. It is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms: a brief loss of consciousness, loss of memory immediately before or after the injury, any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident, or focal neurological deficits. In many MTBI cases, the person seems fine on the surface, yet continues to endure chronic functional problems. Some people suffer long-term effects of MTBI, known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Persons suffering from PCS can experience significant changes in cognition and personality.

Traumatic Brain Injury:
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines a traumatic brain injury as an injury that occurs when a sudden physical assault on the head causes damage to the brain. The damage can be focal, confined to one area of the brain, or diffuse, involving more than one area of the brain. Traumatic brain injury can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating open head injury.

According to the Brain Injury Association of America, one person in the U.S. sustains a traumatic brain injury every 21 seconds. An estimated 5.3 million Americans (a little more than 2% of the U.S. population) currently live with disabilities resulting from traumatic brain injury, and 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year.

Motor Vehicle Accidents:
Millions of cars and motor vehicles travel the freeways of California every day. More and more people are being injured every year as a result of auto and motor vehicle accidents. This is especially true in California, where the geography of the area and high number of cars on the road combine to form extremely dangerous driving conditions. Motor vehicle accidents can involve many different parties, and become very complicated, especially when they result in serious injuries. There are also thousands of drivers in California who do not have insurance. This does not mean that if you are injured by an uninsured motorist that you are not entitled to recover damages, however. Attorney Purcell has handled hundreds of auto accident and motorcycle and trucking injury cases, and knows how to get you the results you deserve. If you or someone close to you has been through a motor vehicle accident and has injuries, no matter whose fault it was, you need help.

Construction Site Accidents:
Given the boom in the building industry in Southern California, the chance for construction accidents on construction sites grows ever higher. Heavy machinery is used on every construction site, and as a result, many injuries occur both to the workers and to the people who either live or work in the area. Laborers are pushed to the limits in order to complete projects on time. The number of workers on construction sites, combined with the nature of the jobs performed, tends to lead to accidents, no matter how safety conscious a company is.

Construction companies are defended by enormous insurance company attorneys, and in order to protect your rights if you have been injured, you will need a California personal injury attorney who understands the technicalities of the situation and has a reputation for results.

Pedestrian Accidents:
With the increasing number of cars on the road, and the high volume of tourism in California comes the higher probability that a pedestrian can be injured. Pedestrians are hit on the streets of California every single day.

Wrongful Death:
There is nothing more tragic and devastating than the sudden death of a family member or loved one. Untimely death leaves family members completely unprepared for the resulting circumstances and potential legal battles that lie ahead. Funerals need to be planned, estates need to be settled and bills continue to mount. Family members are forced to deal with all of these issues, while trying to cope with the grief and loss experienced when a loved one dies suddenly due to someone else's negligence. If you are forced to say good-bye to a loved one, the last thing you should have to do is deal with a team of attorneys working for an insurance company. These attorneys are extremely skilled at their work, and their job and number one priority is to limit the amount of recovery these companies pay to injured parties like you.

Toxic Chemicals:
Toxic chemicals can be odorless and colorless. They are clearly silent as well, and have no texture. Therefore, an injured or even wrongfully-killed party can not see, hear, smell or feel these agents coming towards them. Understanding and discovering the cause of an injury or even death as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals can be very difficult, and pursuing a claim for such negligence can also be very difficult which requires skilled representation.

Dog Bites:
Tragically, several people are killed in California every year because of a dog attack. This is usually the result of a negligent owner, and the injuries that the attack survivors suffer are very serious and often life-altering. Do not allow an attack such as this to slow your life down for any other reason than to heal. I will fight for your rights and get you results.

Spinal Cord Injuries:
Spinal cord injuries are never minor. In fact, the effects can completely ruin a person's quality of life. The injury itself may seem minor at the time, but quite often, the full effects of this injury are not seen until months or even years later. Care for someone with a spinal cord injury can be very expensive, and the emotional toll an injury like this takes is large. Therefore, you will need the services of a spinal cord injury attorney who will not stop fighting for you and will do everything possible to make sure that you get what you need and deserve for the rest of your life.

Other Areas of Expertise:

• Catastrophic injuries
• Brain injuries
• Life-altering injuries
• Bicycle injuries
• Electrical accidents
• Burns
• Dangerous property
• Defective products
• Medical malpractice/ Medical negligence
• Professional negligence
• Legal malpractice
• Child safety
• Sexual harassment
• Sexual assault
• International acts
• Paralysis and birth defects

If you or someone you know in Irvine or anywhere in Orange County needs the assistance of an experienced Orange County Catastrophic Injury Lawyer, call Christopher E. Purcell today at 866-641-9978, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

If you or someone you know in Irvine or anywhere in Orange County needs the assistance of an experienced Orange County Catastrophic Injury Lawyer, call Christopher E. Purcell today at 866-641-9978, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Law Offices of Christopher E. Purcell
7700 Irvine Center Drive, Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92618
Telephone: 866-641-9978
Fax: 949-861-2301
After-hours appointments available.
Appointments in home or hospital available.

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Christopher E. Purcell

EDUCATION:

• J.D., Santa Barbara College of Law, Santa Barbara, California, 1989
• B.A., English, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1983

BAR ADMISSIONS:

• California, 1989