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Receiving serious burn injuries in an accident can leave you with permanent scarring and intense pain. After receiving emergency treatment and potential skin grafts to treat the injuries, you could be left with very high medical bills. Many serious burns also require years of intensive physical therapy for victims to make a full recovery.
Now is the time to contact an injury lawyer about your burn case. An Odessa, TX burn injury attorney can help you recover compensation for the injuries, including compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, and the cost of medical expenses and treatments.
For help with your case, contact The Queenan Law Firm’s Odessa, TX burn injury lawyers today. We offer free legal consultations, so there is no risk in calling us for help. Contact us at (817) 476-1797.
How to Recover Compensation for Burn Injuries in Odessa, TX
If you faced serious burn injuries, odds are you have experienced lost income, pain and suffering, and expensive medical charges. These damages can often be compensated if the burn injuries happened in some kind of accident.
When someone is responsible for another person’s injuries, the courts in Odessa can hold them liable. If the injury happened at work, your ability to claim compensation might be limited if you did not opt out of your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. If you are under workers’ comp., you will have to file a claim through that system and get the compensation provided – usually 2/3 of your lost wages, plus coverage for medical bills. If your injury did not happen at work, you opted out of workers’ comp., or you were an independent contractor, then your right to sue is usually protected.
Contact a lawyer to learn more about how to file a claim. In some cases, there are insurance policies that might cover your accident, but these policies do not always pay adequate damages to get you the help you need. Often, taking your case to court will be the best way to get compensation for your damages. This is especially true because some insurance claims block access to pain and suffering damages, which can be one of the most important damages in a burn injury case.
Examples of Negligence in Burn Injury Cases in Odessa, TX
When you sue in court, you need to prove that the defendant was responsible for your injuries, and then the court can award you any damages caused by the defendant’s accident. Burn injuries can occur from many different causes, but the liability issues commonly come down to one of a few common issues:
- The defendant was responsible for causing a fire that burned the building the defendant was injured in.
- The defendant failed to warn the victim of a dangerous condition on their property, such as an exposed radiator or high-voltage wires.
- The defendant was an employer or supervisor that failed to adequately provide safety training and equipment to prevent injuries to a worker.
- The defendant was a product manufacturer that produced an unsafe product and failed to warn a consumer about burn risks.
- The defendant caused an accident – such as a car crash or truck accident – that caused the victim’s burn injuries.
- The defendant intentionally set a fire that burned the defendant (i.e., arson).
There are other situations where someone can be held responsible for a fire as well. In any case, the job of a burn injury lawyer is to prove what the defendant did wrong and how their actions caused your burns. We will also need to prove what damages resulted from the accident, and then the courts should be able to rule in your favor and award you damages.
Talk to a lawyer about what evidence and testimony will be necessary to prove these injuries in court and get you the compensation you need.
Damages for Burn Injury Victims in Odessa
Burn injury victims often face a long road to recovery for serious burns. Even minor or moderate burns can be extremely painful, require treatment at a hospital, require time off work, and leave you with long-term or permanent scarring. For more severe burns or burns that cover large portions of your body, the harm done is exponentially greater. This can lead to potentially expensive damages, usually grouped into the following categories:
Medical Expenses
The bills associated with emergency treatment for burn injuries can be expensive. After that, ongoing care might be necessary to provide victims with skin grafts and other reconstructive surgery to help them get back to their previous appearance. This can be especially expensive for facial burns.
Many people who face burns to the hands, arms, feet, and legs require physical therapy and occupational therapy. Whether this helps them walk after serious leg burns or helps them re-learn how to hold a fork and type on a keyboard after serious burns to the hand, this care can be expensive as well. These expenses can all be claimed in a lawsuit.
Lost Wages
Because so many burn injuries are long-term or permanent injuries, they often prevent victims from returning to work at full capacity. If you lost wages because of your burn injuries, you can often seek compensation for them.
If your job involves your physical appearance, such as acting or modeling, then burns that affect your appearance could affect future wages. Compensation for these lost wages is also available in many cases.
Pain and Suffering
Burns is one of the most painful injuries out there. This often means that burn injuries can yield high damages. Burn injuries can also cause disfigurement and physical changes, which can also lead to additional compensation. Especially for women, younger people, and people who are not already married, the courts tend to award higher damages for burns that affect your appearance and could potentially interfere with self-image, dating, and societal expectations of beauty.
Call Our Burn Injury Attorneys in Odessa for Help with Your Case
If you suffered serious burns in an accident in Odessa, TX, call The Queenan Law Firm’s Odessa burn injury lawyers today. We offer free case consultations to help victims understand their next steps and what their case could be worth. Call (817) 476-1797.