Los Angeles Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Sunset West Legal Group, PC represents catastrophic injury victims across Los Angeles and California, including spinal cord injuries, severe burns, amputations, and permanent disabilities. Led by founding attorney Payton Kashani, the firm has recovered over $150M for injured clients. There is no fee unless we win, consultations are free, and our team is available 24/7—Hablamos Español.

Why Choose a Catastrophic Injury Attorney Who’s Ready to Try Your Case

Insurance companies pay more when they know a firm is willing to go to trial. Catastrophic injury claims carry the highest stakes of any personal injury case—lifelong medical care, lost earning capacity, and a family’s financial future—and insurers know exactly how much is at risk. They negotiate accordingly, often lowballing victims who they believe will settle quickly out of financial pressure.

At Sunset West Legal Group, we build every catastrophic injury case as if it’s headed to trial from day one, which gives us leverage at the negotiating table that a settlement-only firm simply doesn’t have. We also know insurance companies use predictable tactics to minimize catastrophic injury payouts, from disputing the severity of an injury to delaying claims until a victim is financially desperate. Recognizing those tactics early protects your case.

Sunset West Legal Group has recovered over $150M for injured clients, earned more than 200 five-star Google reviews, and was recognized in TopVerdict’s 2025 top-100 California personal injury settlements.

No fee unless we win. Free consultation. Available 24/7. Hablamos Español.

Meet Your Attorney: Payton Kashani

Every catastrophic injury case at Sunset West Legal Group is personally overseen by founding attorney Payton Kashani (State Bar No. 283862), who has practiced California personal injury law since 2012 and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. Payton has been named to Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2018 through 2022, holds an Avvo rating of 10.0 “Superb,” and was recognized in TopVerdict’s 2025 list of the top-100 California personal injury settlements.

Before founding Sunset West, Payton led Kashani Law, which Lawfirm500 named the 15th fastest-growing law firm in the United States in 2017.

Catastrophic injury cases also benefit from the support of attorney Josh Teller (State Bar No. 345722), admitted to the California Bar in 2022 and a graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, named to Super Lawyers Rising Stars for 2025–2026.

Types of Catastrophic Injury Cases We Handle

Catastrophic injuries can result from nearly any type of serious accident, and the specific circumstances of how it happened directly affect who can be held liable. We handle catastrophic injury claims arising from:

• Car Accidents—high-speed collisions and T-bone crashes are common causes of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries
• Truck Accidents—the size and weight disparity in commercial vehicle crashes often produces the most severe injuries we see
• Motorcycle Accidents—riders have little protection against traumatic brain injury, spinal trauma, and amputation
• Bus Accidents and Uber / Lyft Accidents—rideshare and commercial passenger crashes bring added layers of insurance coverage to identify
• Commercial Accidents—including defective products and equipment failures
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motor Accidents—catastrophic injuries frequently exceed an at-fault driver’s policy limits
• Traumatic brain injuries—see our dedicated Brain Injuries page
• Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis
• Severe burns and disfigurement
• Amputation and loss of limb
• Multiple traumatic injuries requiring long-term or lifelong care

If a catastrophic injury led to a loved one’s death, our Wrongful Death page covers that process separately.

No Win, No Fee: How Our Costs Work

You pay nothing to hire us, and nothing unless we win.

Sunset West Legal Group represents catastrophic injury clients on a contingency basis: your initial consultation is free, we advance the costs of building your case, and if there’s no recovery, you owe nothing. This matters more in catastrophic injury cases than almost any other type of claim, because the cost of properly proving a lifetime of medical care and lost income—expert witnesses, medical records, life-care planning—can be substantial. That cost is ours to carry, not yours.

For a full breakdown of how contingency fees work, see our guide on personal injury lawyer fees in Los Angeles.

What to Do After a Catastrophic Injury

The steps you take in the days after a catastrophic injury can directly affect the value of your claim.

• Get immediate and ongoing medical care. Beyond your health, consistent treatment creates the medical record your claim will depend on.
• Do not admit fault, even in casual conversation with the other party, witnesses, or your own insurer.
• Do not speak with an insurance adjuster, or give a recorded statement, before speaking with a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to minimize payouts, and early statements are often used against catastrophic injury claims later.
• Preserve evidence—photos of the scene, contact information for witnesses, and any available surveillance or dashcam footage.
• Keep records of every cost, from medical bills to missed work, even if the full financial impact isn’t clear yet.
• Talk to an attorney before accepting any settlement offer. Early offers rarely account for the full lifetime cost of a catastrophic injury.

The Damages-Cap Misconception

Many people assume California caps how much they can recover for pain and suffering after a serious injury. For the vast majority of catastrophic injury claims—car accidents, motorcycle crashes, defective products, premises liability—that’s not true.

There is no cap on non-economic damages in California outside of medical malpractice.

The confusion usually comes from California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), which does cap non-economic damages, but only in medical malpractice cases. Under a 2022 legislative overhaul (AB 35), even that cap has been rising every year: as of January 1, 2026, it stands at $470,000 for non-fatal medical malpractice cases and $650,000 for wrongful death cases, and it will continue increasing annually until 2033.

Outside of medical malpractice, however, non-economic damages—compensation for pain, suffering, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life—are not capped in California.

For a catastrophic injury caused by a negligent driver, a defective product, or an unsafe property, a jury or settlement can account for the full, uncapped impact of what you’ve lost. Insurance companies sometimes rely on this misconception to justify lowball offers. Knowing the difference is often the first step in refusing to accept less than your case is worth.

How California Catastrophic Injury Claims Work

California gives injury victims two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). If a government entity is involved—a public bus, a government vehicle, or a dangerous condition on public property—that window shrinks dramatically to six months to file an administrative claim before a lawsuit can even be filed.

California also follows pure comparative negligence (established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., 1975, and codified at Civil Code § 1431.2). This means you can still recover damages even if you were partially at fault for your own injury—your compensation is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. Even someone found 99% at fault can still recover the remaining 1%.

Damages in a catastrophic injury claim generally fall into two categories:

• Economic damages (medical bills, future care costs, lost wages, and lost future earning capacity)
• Non-economic damages (pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life

For more on how California claims are valued and resolved, see our guide on types of personal injury claims in California.

Injured by Someone Else’s Negligence in Los Angeles?

A catastrophic injury changes everything—but you don’t have to face the insurance companies alone. Sunset West Legal Group offers a free consultation, works on a no win, no fee basis, and is available 24/7 to talk through what happened.

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