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Catastrophes are commonly associated with natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and floods, but catastrophes can also have human origins. Natural and man-made catastrophes aren’t mutually exclusive. Sometimes, the response to a natural disaster is itself disastrous and leads to increased suffering.
There may be a sense that catastrophic events are a force majeure, an act of God, or otherwise unforeseeable and unavoidable. While they may be beyond the control of victims, catastrophes don’t just happen for no reason. Events such as infrastructure collapses, transportation crashes, and mass shootings are not random. They occur for specific reasons that can usually be traced back to an individual or organization at fault.
In the wake of a catastrophic event, victims’ primary concerns are their health and safety and that of loved ones. But after the initial shock wears off, they may have questions about who is responsible. The costs of catastrophic events should not be borne by innocent victims. At the same time, victims may not be sure where the blame truly lies.
For more than 30 years, Morgan & Morgan has helped people put their lives back together after a catastrophe. When catastrophic events cause life-changing injuries, our legal team knows how to investigate what happened, identify the liable parties, and secure maximum compensation for the afflicted. Learn how we can help during a free, no-obligation case review.
FAQ
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What Is a Catastrophic Event?
A catastrophe is a particularly destructive event that occurs suddenly and causes significant damage or loss. Some organizations have specific definitions of what constitutes a catastrophe. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the federal agency responsible for leading national responses to disasters, defines a catastrophic incident as “any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.”
FEMA is primarily concerned with catastrophes that affect infrastructure, government, and populations on a large scale, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and terror attacks that use chemical or biological agents. However, catastrophes often occur on much smaller and more localized scales. While such events may not garner national headlines or require federal intervention, they can be extremely disruptive to the lives of those involved.
Unlike major natural disasters, which are relatively rare, catastrophes are quite common. School bus crashes, helicopter crashes, falling construction debris, shootings, and other catastrophic incidents occur so often that we may be desensitized to them—until they happen to us or somebody we care about.
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