What to Expect in a Burn Injury Case
Right off the bat, burn injury victims can expect significantly higher medical bills than other personal injury victims. Temperature and/or chemical burn injuries usually require specialized care at regional burn centers. At these burn centers, doctors usually perform advanced procedures, like skin grafts. The location and nature of the treatments drives up medical costs. Furthermore, burn injury victims can expect longer recovery times, along with longer, and more painful, physical therapy.
Burn injury victims can also expect an out-of-court settlement. These resolutions end over 95 percent of the personal injury cases in San Diego County. However, these cases are very complex. So, only the best Carlsbad burn injury lawyer can obtain maximum compensation. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Laying the Foundation
Fair compensation is a process, not a result. For an Oceanside personal injury lawyer, identifying the responsible party is usually the first step in this process. Truck accidents, perhaps the most common cause of burn injuries, are a good example.
Truck accidents cause so many serious burn injuries because diesel fuel and ordinary gasoline burn at different temperatures. Furthermore, many victims are pinned underneath flaming wreckage until emergency responders can free them.
A negligent truck driver may be legally responsible for injuries, but a transportation or shipping company is usually financially responsible for damages. According to the respondeat superior doctrine, employers are responsible for any damages their employees negligently cause during the course and scope of employment.
Job injuries, like plant explosions, are another example. Legally, these victims can often choose between workers’ compensation claims and civil claims.
Laying the foundation also includes collecting evidence, like the police accident report, medical bills, and witness statements.
Electronic evidence is useful as well. This evidence includes data from the Event Data Recorder in a truck and surveillance camera footage in work accidents. An EDR is like a black box flight data recorder. Visual evidence often resonates very well with San Diego County jurors.
Filing a Case
Usually, an Oceanside personal injury lawyer begins settlement negotiations when medical treatment is at least substantially complete. At that time, a lawyer can determine the claim’s settlement value (asking price), which includes future medical expenses.
Frequently, insurance companies drag their feet during these talks. Additionally, they usually make low-ball offers which are clearly unacceptable.
So, to put pressure on the insurance company, and also to preserve the victim’s legal rights, attorneys file legal paperwork. In response, the insurance company usually files procedural motions, hoping the judge will throw the case out of court.
These motions usually fail if attorneys properly prepare cases. Students who do their homework usually do well on tests.
Resolving a Case
Attorneys also file legal paperwork to trigger the court’s mediation requirement. Most judges appoint professional mediators to oversee settlement negotiations.
A mediator enforces a duty to negotiate in good faith. The aforementioned foot-dragging and low-ball offerings are not good faith negotiation tactics. During mediation, both sides must earnestly try to settle the case, and they must compromise when necessary to make a deal. Mostly because of this requirement, civil mediation is about 90 percent successful in California.
Connect With a Thorough San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Oceanside, contact the Pursley Law Firm. Virtual, home, and after-hours visits are available.
Source:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8223566/
