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Hiring a Burn Injury Attorney

August 26, 2019 0 Comment Category: Personal Injury

Burn injuries due to a fire accident can not only be painful, but also lead to physical scarring, psychological distress, and other long-term health problems. If you have been injured in a fire accident due to the negligence of another person, you can file for compensation for your damages. However, as the laws regarding burn injuries can be very complicated, you would need the assistance of a reliable California attorney to file a lawsuit and recover the maximum settlement amount possible.

Note that burn injuries can result from a lot of causes apart from fire accidents, such as electrical current and exposure to chemicals. Regardless of what caused the burn injury, it can lead to severe complications such as respiratory distress syndrome, cosmetic deformity, sepsis, and permanent scarring. All these complications require extensive and costly medical treatment, which is why it is important to identify the guilty party responsible for your burn injuries and file a lawsuit to claim for compensation.

Things to Do in Case of a Burn Accident

The first thing to do when you are injured in an accident that resulted in burns is to get appropriate medical treatment right away. You should follow the doctor’s advice and take the medications prescribed to ease the pain and heal the burns. Your next step should be to hire an attorney and file for the damages you suffered due to the accident. You should provide all the relevant information about the accident to the attorney as well as details of any witnesses so that he/she can build a solid case to file the lawsuit. If you were injured in a motor accident that led to burns on your body, make sure to document the facts of the accident and pass on the details to your attorney.

Contact your insurance company as well, and inform them about the accident. Make sure that you do not exaggerate the details of the accident or misrepresent how you were injured. Just state the facts so that they can process your claim as soon as possible. You should also try to get a copy of the accident report filed by the police officers that attended the scene of the accident or ask your attorney to get that. The police report can be availed by paying a small fee.

Keep a record of your visits to the hospital for further treatments for the burn injuries. You should also document all the costs of medications and treatment procedures that you had to bear because of the accident. Moreover, always note the time lost at work as well as the loss of income due to that. You should also include what activities you can no longer perform at home or at work because of the burn injuries. Similarly, try to document how the consequences of the accident have affected your personal and family life. All these records would be beneficial to calculate your damages, which would be used by your attorney to demand compensation.

Things You Should Not Do in Case of a Burn Accident

Never admit to any fault for the accident that resulted in your burn injuries to anyone. In addition, do not speak with the defendant’s insurance company without consulting with your attorney. Most of the insurance providers know how to negotiate the least possible compensation amount, and they might even try to get a recorded statement from you that they can use in court to reduce their financial liability or even deny your claims. So make sure that you do not give any recorded statement to anybody.

You should only talk with your attorney about the case and never disclose the details of the accident to any other person, no matter how close they are to you. In case you are approached by another insurance company that claims to offer you better coverage, you can pass the details of the insurance company to your attorney so that he/she can deal with the matter professionally.

Negligence in Burn Injuries

Negligence in accidents that lead to burning injuries can be of two types: when the defendant failed to take care of something that could have prevented the accident and when the defendant did something intentionally that led to the accident. The owner of the property where the accident occurred and led to burn injuries can also be considered negligent if he/she acted in a careless manner or failed to take care of the unsafe conditions in the property.

According to California law, all property owners are required to maintain safe premises and/or work environments. If they do not act carefully and ignore the risk factors that could lead to an accident, they can be held responsible for the accident due to negligence. The plaintiff filing the lawsuit just needs to prove that the burn injuries sustained in the accident resulted because of the careless or intentional actions of the defendant or due to the unsafe conditions in his/her property.