McAllen Burn Injury Lawyer

Understanding Burn Injuries and Your Legal Options in Texas

Depending on the type of Burn injury you have, the severity will range, but even the smallest of burn injuries can lead to severe complications, which can bring on infections and cause permanent scarring. Severe burns will often cause nerve damage, long recovery times, and significant medical expenses. If you were burned due to a workplace accident, defective product, or property owner negligence, Texas law allows you to seek compensation for your losses.

Our McAllen burn injury lawyers understand the physical, emotional, and financial toll these types of injuries can have on you and your family. We are here to help you secure maximum compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Give us a call today for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win. Meaning you don’t have to pay anything to get the answers you need. Just give us a call and we can review your case to see if you are entitled to compensation.

Types of Burn Injuries And Classifications

When filing a claim for burn injuries, the type of burn, medical treatment given, long term treatment needed,  severity and suffering will often go into the valuation of your claim. Let’s start with how burns are classified in degrees, with each degree being based upon depth of tissue damage and the possible complications that may arise.

• First-Degree Burns A mild burn, which burned the outermost layer of skin. Symptoms may include some redness, pain, and mild swelling. They normally heal within days.
• Second-Degree Burns This will be a deeper burn, which has gone deeper into the skin. Symptoms will often be blistering, and swelling, including severe pain. In this type of burn, you can expect some scarring, usage of medications, dressings, and specific wound care for deeper burns. This type of burn can take weeks to heal.
• Third-Degree Burns This is an even more severe type of burn, which will not just penetrate, but destroy the outer and inner layers. Sometimes this type of burn can go all the way down to fat and tissue. The burnt area can have a charred or leathery look. The pain involved is often minimal to begin with because nerves have been severely damaged. Once the initial phase has passed, the pain will be severe and potent pain medication will be prescribed.  needs potent pain medication.  Emergency medical treatment will be needed for this type of burn, and specialized treatment like reconstructive surgery and skin grafts are likely needed.
• Fourth-Degree Burns The worst type of burn, which is often life changing, and life threatening because it extends into the bone and muscle. The victim will likely need multiple surgeries for months and years, with long term hospitalization, and rehab. These types of burns will often result in permanent changes in quality of life, disabilities, and disfigurement.

Common Causes Of Burn Injuries

Flames, Hot Materials, Chemicals, and so many other scenarios are a possible cause of a burn injury. Some of the most common leading to lawsuits are as follows:

• Scalding: Ranging from liquids to hot steam often seen in workplaces (industrial, or commercial).
• Radiation: These types of burns are often due to radiation therapy or exposure to UV rays in medical and industrial settings.
• Electrical: Often due to bad wiring, and work injuries. These can become very severe due to the nature of this injury. Ranging from high voltage lines to bad wiring in construction zones.
• Chemical: These types of burns are often life changing and life threatening. Normally a work injury burn involving alkaline materials, acids and other industrial chemicals. 
• Fire: From workplace and plant explosions to home fires and car accidents. The degree of burn will vary and range from minimal to life threatening.

Compensation for Burn Victims

There are many factors that need to be taken into account when making a claim for a burn injury. Besides the most obvious, some of these will include the attorneys experience and negotiating skills. Do they know how to present the claim, what damages can be requested and how to document the evidence. Next, some of the most important are showing proof that you were harmed due to the burn, which means you had medical treatment, bills, and therefore pain and suffering. All of this is documented, gathered and valued for the claim.

Obviously it is impossible to tell you how much without looking at the case, your medical treatment, scars and so forth. Lastly, negotiations must begin in order to speak with the insurance company to formuate a value. If for some reason the insurance company refuses to agree on compensation, the claim will turn into a lawsuit, and your attorney will take the case to trial.

Here are a few of the factors taken into consideration when we value your claim.

• Medical Expenses: If the burn injury is severe, the resulting hospitalization, medical treatment past and future, surgeries and rehab will speak volumes. It is imperative the burn victim continues treatment, otherwise it may interfere with the claim.
• Lost Wages: How long you were out of work due to the injuries is included in most claims. .
• Loss of Earning Capacity: If you are not able to work long term due to a burn injury, this will be calculated into a claim.
• Pain and Suffering: This is based upon how much pain and emotional distress faced due to the burn. This needs to be backed by evidence and proof. For example, medical treatment and records are used as evidence.
• Disfigurement and Scarring: In Texas, a value will be placed upon any changes in your physical appearance. From permanent scars to lost limbs, you are owed compensation.
• Wrongful Death: If there was a death due to the burn injury.

Do Not Delay Medical Treatment

If you have been burned due to somebody elses negligence, it is in your best interest to get medical treatment immediately. If you choose to delay medical treatment. This can and will be used by the insurance company as evidence that your injury wasn’t that bad. It also makes your attorneys job harder to negotiate for compensation, and a trial is very unlikely, because there is usually not enough evidence to support the claim.

Why some delay treatment. After a burn injury, the burn victim will often not realize how serious their injuries are due to shock. During this time they are also releasing stress hormones, which will raise the pain threshold, which covers the full pain of the injury temporarily.  For more severe burns, there can be temporary or permanent nerve damage that can also reduce pain.

Getting an exam is not only crucial to protecting your health, but also important to protecting the value of your burn injury claim. Without the record of how and when you were injured, your attorney will not have the evidence to support your claim.

Never give the insurance company an opportunity to try and lower your claim’s value, or even get it dismissed by failing to go to a doctor after you are injured.

Most common mistakes we see in burn injury claims

• Failing to Follow Your Doctor’s Aftercare Instructions
• Failing to Document Your Injuries
• Speaking with Insurance Companies
• Not Hiring an Experienced Lawyer

Our Advice To Burn Injury Victims

If you or a loved on was burned recently, you need to protect your health, but also your legal rights immediately by doing the following:

• Request medical care fast – Burns can get worse as time passes, and even cause internal damage that is not visible. You need a medical professional to investigate the extent of your burns immediately.
• Documentation –  As soon as the injury has occurred, you need to take photos of all injuries, where the accident occurred and how if possible, and any other factors like faulty equipment or sources that cause the injury.
• Report the injury and accident – Immediately ensure your employer, or the responsible party has been notified. Next, make sure you obtain official documentation of the accident that caused the injury , which will support your claim.
• Avoid recorded statements – Do not  speak to Insurance companies without representation ever. Expect them to use recordings against you and even try to dismiss your claim if you say something wrong.
• Get A lawyer – These types of burn injury cases can be complex and filled with variables that affect your claim value. An attorney will ensure your rights are protected, and you seek maximum compensation for your damages. The most important factors when choosing an attorney are as follows: Pick a personal injury attorney, they are trained in the laws surrounding these types of cases and obtaining compensation. They know how to gather the evidence and how to value your claim. Next, ensure they have a history of large verdicts. For example, Ricardo A. Garcia has decades of expereince with millions in compensation obtained for his clients.

How Burn Injury Lawyer Ricardo A. Garcia Will Help You

When you put Ricardo A. Grace on your case, you are selecting a board certified personal injury attorney with decades of experience to represent you. You also get  a team of legal professionals, and the resources needed to fight the large insurance companies. Even more important, our track record is filled with large verdicts for our clients across multiple personal injury cases. With our law firm on your case, expect us to:

• Investigate the reason for the burn, and skillfully identify the liable party.
• Bring in medical experts in order to calculate long-term costs and damages
• Thoroughly collect and preserve evidence for max compensation
• Handle all communication with insurance adjusters with skill and experience
• Battle insurance companies that use tactics to minimize your payout
• Identify liable parties, especially in product-related burns (chemicals / machinery etc).
• Proving liability and negligence in a workplace,  or even rental property cases
• Professional representation in court if a trial is needed

With our experience and resources, you are in good hands. We will address all challenges head on.

Why You Need Attorney Ricardo A. Garcia For Your Burn Injury Claim

We have 30 + years of experience and a successful track record hnadling burn injury cases. Our track record includes hundreds of millions for our clients across a variety of injury cases.  We are known across the state as experienced and skilled trial lawyers with board certified status. As your attorney, we are not afraid to take your case to trial if negotiations fail and the insurance companies know this. Furthermore, Insurance companies know our name, and they know we have the resources needed to aggressively pursue compensation for our clients.

With our law firm, you are ensuring a higher probability of a higher claim versus going at it without an attorney or inexperience defense.

More reasons why clients choose us:

• Board Certified in Personal Injury (less than 1% of Texas attorneys are board certified in personal injury law)
• Decades of combined experience handling catastrophic injury claims
• A track record of  large multi million dollar verdicts and settlements ranging from burn injuries to aircraft accidents
• A skilled, experienced and compassionate legal professional that supports you every step of the way
• Deep knowledge of Texas law the local court systems
• Bilingual staff for English and Spanish speakers
• We don’t get paid unless we win for you. If we take your case, we are confident we can win.

How We Seek Maximum Compensation For Burn Injuries

It’s a common mistake for people to believe all lawyers have the same qualifications. Like doctors have specializations, so do lawyers. When you select an attorney, pick someone that practices in the area of law you need hep. Whether it’s family law , criminal or personal injury law, find an attorney that specializes in your case type. They will understand the law, and have experience you need for an optimal result.

Just as you wouldn’t go to a knee surgeon to have tonsils removed, you do not want a bankruptcy attorney handling your burn injury claim.

Taking it a step further, make sure your lawyer has trail expereince. If your claim has to go to trail, you will want to ensure you have skill and experience on your side when you go to court. It can be the difference between being fully compensated or not enough.

The second factor in hiring a trial lawyer is credibility. Insurance companies know the names of great trial lawyers in the area. With Ricardo A. Garcia on your case, you are ensuring the insurance companies think twice before allowing negotiations to fail.

 

Take the First Step Toward Justice

If you’ve suffered a burn injury in McAllen or the surrounding areas, don’t wait to take action. Evidence disappears, memories fade, and the statute of limitations in Texas limits the time you have to file a burn injury claim.

Contact our burn injury lawyers today for a free consultation. Let us help you focus on healing while we fight for your rights.

Schedule Your Free Consultation