Gilbert Burn Injury Lawyers

Common Burn Injury Mistakes

There are numerous mistakes you can make in a burn injury case that are detrimental to your claim. Please read each of these to prevent yourself from unintentionally ruining your chance for compensation for your damages.

Not Going to the Doctor

It may seem hard to believe but waiting to get medical attention after a burn injury or even failing to get it entirely is a common mistake. A person may mistakenly think there’s nothing the doctor can do to fix a burn, or not realize the extent of a burn.

The adrenaline that floods your system during a traumatic event can mask your pain levels for hours. When this happens after an accident or injury, such as a burn, you may not realize the extent of your injuries.

Nerve damage is another reason a person who has been burned may not know the severity of the damage. The damaged nerves can prevent them from feeling pain temporarily or even permanently.

No matter the reason, you may be reluctant to go to the doctor. You need to seek medical attention for the sake of your health and for the sake of your burn injury claim.

Your physical wellbeing must be your first priority, especially if you are responsible for caring for others. Being in your best health helps you give your loved ones the best care possible.

Going to the hospital or doctor is also critical to the creation of a record of your injuries. It also sets the event into a timeline that coincides with the incident in which you were hurt. All of this will become important evidence for a burn injury claim.

Failing to get medical care after a burn only helps the insurance company by jeopardizing your claim. Get the proof you need to build a strong foundation for compensation. Get medical attention for your burn injuries.

Not Following the Doctors’ Plan for Recovery

Once you’ve seen a doctor, you will most likely be given instructions on how you can help care for your injuries while you heal. These instructions are vital to your health as well as the strength of your case.

Following doctor’s orders will help keep your recovery on track. It will also prevent the insurance company from blaming any of your injuries on you.

This may seem absurd, but take the example of a secondary infection after a burn. If you have not been taking your antibiotics, applying burn cream or keeping up with some other form of treatment, the insurance company may suggest the infection was your fault.

Don’t give anyone the chance to devalue your claim. Follow the instructions your doctor has given you to assist in your recovery.

Giving the Insurance Company a Recorded Statement

After suffering a severe burn injury, you can expect the insurance company of the liable party to call asking you to give them a recorded statement. Do not do this.

No matter how concerned and helpful the insurance company seems, you must remember that they are calling to save their company money. The less they have to pay you, the more they save.

Unfortunately, one of the standard tactics for getting your financial award reduced is sifting through your recorded statement for any information the insurance company can spin to their advantage.

Even if it has nothing to do with your burn injury, any information you divulge in your conversation, may be used to throw doubt onto your claim.

You probably won’t even see it coming. Insurance adjusters are well trained in the art of conversation. The best thing you can do for your case is refuse to speak to the insurance company. It’s okay to politely decline to talk and hang up. You are under no obligation to talk to them. In fact, this is an excellent task to delegate to an experienced burn injury attorney who will be happy to deal with them for you.

Protect your right to justice and leave communications with the insurance company to your attorney.

Not Calling an Attorney Soon Enough

After a serious burn injury, finding a lawyer may not be at the top of your list. There’s your medical care to think about, as well as bills that are coming in, despite the fact you still can’t return to work. There may also be a good deal of pain to distract you.

These are understandable and very real demands on your time and attention. Remember, however, that the sooner you find the right attorney, the higher your chances are of getting the compensation you deserve. Even if you think you have plenty of time to file a claim, evidence — including witness testimony — is going to be harder to find the longer you wait.

Without evidence, your case’s value will fall far short of what it could be. The strength of your case depends upon the strength of your evidence. An experienced burn injury attorney knows how to conduct an investigation and collect the evidence your case will rely upon.

Preserve the value of your claim by contacting a burn injury attorney as soon as you can.

Selecting the Wrong Attorney

One of the biggest ways to damage your burn injury claim is to hire the wrong attorney.

Like doctors, lawyers have specializations. Would you go to your allergist to get the skin graft you need for your burn? Not likely.

The best result for your burn injury claim will come from hiring a personal injury attorney who has experience succeeding in burn injury cases, including at trial.

It’s true that most cases settle before going all the way to the courtroom. If the insurance company won’t budge, however, you need to be prepared with an attorney who has a solid track record of winning in court.

We’ve brought many burn injury cases to successful resolution, including in the courtroom, and the insurance companies know who we are. Ironically, when you have a skilled trial attorney on your side, many insurance companies decide to show up to negotiate, preferring not to take their chances in front of a jury.

Give your case its best shot for full and fair compensation with a personal injury attorney who has experience handling burn injury cases, both at the negotiating table and in court.

Gilbert Burn Injury Client Story

The following story is intended to give you an overview of what you can expect in a burn injury case. Be sure to read it through to the end, as you will likely get some of your questions answered right here. Names and specifics have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients, but the value of the content remains.  After you’re done reading, please consider calling us to take advantage of our offer of free legal advice.

A few years ago in July, 62-year-old Oscar Cavallo enjoyed a barbeque with his daughter, Sophia, and 11-year-old granddaughter, Harper, on his tiny apartment patio in Gilbert.

This is all I need, Gilbert thought, contentedly, A full belly and my family.

They cleaned up before leaving at 8:30 pm.  Sophia washed the now empty platter at the kitchen sink while Harper and Oscar filled a trash bag with paper plates and cups.

“Sophia, why don’t you put that into the dishwasher; it will fit,” Oscar suggested.

“I got it, Dad. Besides, I don’t trust your old dishwasher.”

“What’s to trust? it washes dishes.”

“You should really consider moving in with us,” Sophia said, revisiting an old conversation.

The lights suddenly dimmed, then flickered back to life. Harper stopped mid-stride, the overstuffed garbage bag banging gently to a stop against her calf.

“Abuelo, is that Abuela’s ghost?” she asked, eyes wide.

“I like to think so,” Oscar said, winking at Harper. “Don’t worry, mi querida, your Abuela watches over me.”

The day had been a scorcher, and the evening had barely cooled it down. An air conditioning unit hummed in a window of almost every apartment. Oscar clicked on his own unit, once again dimming the lights as it chugged to life like a train struggling uphill.

“You don’t even have central AC,” Sophia complained, waving a frustrated hand toward the old window box. “Just think about it,” she implored, kissing her father goodbye on the cheek as Harper wrapped him in a crushing hug.

That night, Oscar dreamed of his wife, Consuelo. She was walking toward him with a smile. He smiled too, telling her tearfully how much he missed her.

Suddenly, Consuelo slapped him, hard. Oscar felt a sharp burn in his cheek.

“Oscar!” she screamed.

Oscar startled awake. His hand automatically touching his cheek. It did hurt. What had happened? Confused, he looked around the room at the fireflies falling to the floor. Then one of them fell onto his arm, and he knew. Not fireflies, just fire. Tiny bits of glowing embers were raining down from… Oscar looked up.

The ceiling above him was alive as yellow flames licked across its surface. Burning embers drifted through the smoke that was quickly filling the room.

Oscar lunged for Consuelo’s picture on the nightstand as sirens pierced the silence, growing louder. His fingers grazed the frame as he rolled off the bed. The picture fell to the floor at the same moment the ceiling came down.

Oscar had almost gotten clear. His left leg was pinned beneath a burning beam, pain ripping into him. Desperate, he grabbed the beam and shoved, even as it seared his skin. It was heavy, still glowing with heat. The bedspread sprouted small, smoke plumes that quickly flowered into flames.

Holding his breath, he grabbed the beam with both hands, screaming in pain. He shoved as hard as he could and pulled his leg free.

Oscar managed to crawl from his tiny bedroom into the living room as the smoke billowed above him, thick and dark. He tucked the picture under his arm and pulled himself to the sliding door, for once grateful its only lock was a thick wooden dowel laid onto the track. Tossing it aside, he managed to reach just high enough to tug at the slider’s handle. He couldn’t feel his hands, but suspected that was for the best.

After an agonizing minute, Oscar got the door open just wide enough to wiggle through. He rolled against the far stucco wall of the 8×6-foot patio and looked up. Six feet high, too high to get over like this. He clutched the frame of Consuelo’s photograph and yelled for help.

Oscar had spent a week in the hospital when Sophia called us. The doctors had told her father he may have to stay for a while longer to manage his pain and guard against infection. He had suffered third-degree burns on both hands and 60% of his left leg. The healing process would be a long one.

Sophia said they had three primary concerns. They needed to know what it would cost to hire us, what Oscar’s case was worth, and how long it would take.

We entered Oscar’s hospital room in the burn unit, gowned and gloved. Sophia sat by his side, also sporting the yellow protective attire to minimize Oscar’s risk of infection.

Oscar’s smile was tired from dealing with prolonged pain, but it reached all the way to his warm hazel eyes. His daughter turned the same smiling eyes on us, greeting us warmly, as well.

How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Lawyer?

Sophia got right to her questions.

“How much would it cost to hire you?” she asked.

We explained that there is no up-front cost, because our firm works on a contingency basis. We would cover all the expenses the case would involve, and we would only get paid after we successfully resolved Oscar’s burn injury claim.

How Much is My Case Worth?

Satisfied, Sophia looked to Oscar, who asked, “My daughter thinks I have an injury claim here. Can you tell us what something like this might be worth?”

Our lawyer told them that in the beginning, it’s difficult to say. First, we would need to conduct a thorough investigation, and then we would need to be sure of Oscar’s damages.

“The investigation would involve collecting evidence at the scene, as well as witness testimony,” the lawyer told them, adding, “This is something we could begin right away. We’d also get started on all the case documentation, as if it were going all the way to court.

“Right now, your job is to focus on your recovery. We will need you to reach maximum medical improvement before we can be sure of your damages.

“Maximum medical improvement is the point at which the doctors declare you ‘back to normal,’ if possible. If it’s not possible, it is the point at which they can say definitively that you’ve reached the highest possible level of recovery, given your injuries,” he added.

“Reaching maximum medical improvement lets us know you are through with surgeries, and what, if any, future medical care will entail.”

The lawyer went on to say that once this point was reached, we would know Oscar’s economic and non-economic damages.

“Then we can tell you what your case is worth.”

How Long Will My Case Take?

Oscar looked down at his bandaged hands and nodded his understanding. Looking up again, he asked, “So, how long does a case like this take?”

We told him that, again, it’s hard to say. This is because we would need for Oscar to reach maximum medical improvement before we could accurately assess his damages. That timeline would depend upon the speed of his recovery.

“We are also going to need to know whether or not the insurance company will be fair and reasonable in working with us on a settlement,” our lawyer told them.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Sophia asked with concern.

“If the insurance company is reasonable about negotiating a satisfactory settlement, things will go as quickly as the speed of Oscar’s recovery allows,” the lawyer answered.

“If they are not reasonable, the case timeline will also depend on how long it takes to go through a trial.

“Don’t worry, though; we have a long and successful record of bringing cases like yours before juries. Incidentally, the insurance companies know who we are. When they see who you’ve got in Oscar’s corner, they are very likely to sit down and negotiate.

“Either way, your best bet for a successful resolution to your case is to hire an experienced trial lawyer who has handled burn injury cases.”

Both Sophia and Oscar were satisfied with our answers to their questions and retained our firm that day. Today, we are happy to say that Oscar received ten times more than the insurance company’s initial offer.

Our Attorneys Also Focus On The Following Practice Areas:

• Car Accident
• Construction Accident
• Dog Bite
• Motorcycle Accident
• Nursing Home Abuse
• Slip and Fall
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Truck Accident
• Workers’ Compensation
• Wrongful Death

Call Our Gilbert Burn Injury Lawyers Today

We hope this story has answered some of your questions about your burn injury claim. Of course, every case is different. Please contact our Gilbert personal injury lawyers today to set up a consultation as soon as you can to take advantage of our offer of free legal advice. You don’t have to figure out a burn injury claim alone. Call today and let us help.

How Do I Determine the Value of a Burn Injury Claim?

If you or a loved one suffer a serious burn injury, how do you determine what the value of your claim is? That’s a perfect reason to call our firm and talk to one of our attorneys. One of our attorneys advised somebody recently that had that question. The first question that an attorney would ask in that situation, and did ask, was what was the nature and the extent of the burn injury. Most people know that there’s different classifications of burn injury. The easiest way is to take some photographs and share them. You can do this over the phone. How long has it been since the burn injury? If it’s only been a few weeks, then there’s a possibility that things are going to get a lot better. If it’s two years ago, well, hopefully, you didn’t wait that long, but let’s just say it’s been a year, then maybe that’s as good as it’s going to get.

We’ll refer you to experts, maybe even outside the doctors you’ve already seen. Maybe you’ve been through skin grafts already but there may be ways that the appearance can still be improved. You can get a second opinion about that. Basically, it comes down to a “shock the conscience” standard. If it’s a situation where people will always react strongly to an injury, those cases are worth a lot more money. Why? You as a person or a loved one lives with that.

In a situation where you want to know, get an idea of the value of your claim, call us. Talk to one of our lawyers. You can send us photos. We can at least give you an idea. Another reason why the value of the claim can differ is not just your injuries and the scarring, but also the circumstances of what led up to it. If we can show that the at-fault company or product or whatever knew about something like this and ignored it, then your claim can be worth a lot more. Again, that’s a reason to call and have one of our attorneys give you a specific analysis of your case, including the value. Remember the call is free, the information is free, and the referrals are free to experts and doctors. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can get on the road to not only physical recovery but also financial recovery because the most important client that we have is always you.

How Do I Select the Right Attorney for a Burn Injury?

If you have been the victim of a horrible burn injury, how do you choose the right attorney to handle the case? That is an important question. We had that raised recently by a potential parent. The situation was where it actually was a child that had been burned. It was a complicated factual situation. There was some question about whether the child at-fault. Newsflash, our attorney told the family— children are not considered at-fault. Sometimes insurance companies try to blame parents, but even then, these are complicated situations.

That’s why you do need to call us and talk to one of our attorneys because even then, there’s legal cases that say even if a parent does something that may have in some way might have contributed to the child’s burn injury, that cannot reduce the child’s recovery. That’s a legal thing that you’d have to talk to one of our attorneys about but insurance adjustors by and large, they’re not aware of that. Hey, Mom, Dad, you’re at fault. That scalding whatever, we weren’t responsible, or that product that was defective, no, that was you, Mom, that was you, Dad. If that’s happening, you call us first. We can prevent that from being literally thrown back in your face.

The other thing that you need to do is when you’re choosing an attorney or a law firm for a burn injury is you want to ask them about their experience and outcomes. We’ve handled cases involving electrocution and death. Those things are very specialized experts. If your loved one has survived or you, then the follow-up care can be prolonged and it’s very important. All those things go into choosing the right law firm if you or a loved one has a burn injury. Talk to them, ask them what their experience is, ask them what the outcomes have been, and that will help you decide and make the right choice for you or your loved one. Remember the call is free, the information is free, and we’re here to help you.

How Long Does a Burn Injury Claim Take?

How long does it take to resolve a burn injury claim in Arizona? That’s important because people who have already been burned, literally, because of reckless conduct or a defective product, the last thing they want is to be burned again by the legal system. What we do is make sure that doesn’t happen. The way we do that is by being proactive and being involved in your care as early as you contact us.

There are great doctors out there at giving treatment who make very poor witnesses in legal proceedings. You can stay with a great doctor but we’ll refer you to another doctor for an additional second opinion and a doctor who understand how to testify in deposition. Most of those cases are going to be settled without going to court, but when the insurance companies sees that the doctor has a good reputation, they will want to settle. On the other hand, if it’s a nice doctor, does a good job for you, but really, he’s afraid of testifying, the insurance company won’t bother.

As far as resolving your claim, as long as we get good testifying experts to bolster what your treating doctors are saying and they confirm it, those cases usually resolve as soon as you reach what’s called maximum medical improvement. How long does it take for you to reach maximum medical improvement? That’s something between you and your doctor. Once you’ve reached that point, most of the time, insurance companies, especially if the burn injury is pretty shocking, they want those settled quickly. That part is good news.

Remember, if you’ve had a burn injury in Arizona from a defective product or perhaps someone else’s fault, a reckless conduct, call us. The call is free. The information is free. It can make a big difference the earlier you call us in the ultimate value of your case, thousands of dollars, possibly tens of thousands of dollars, and in rare cases, millions of dollars. Call us. We’re here for you.

What Are Some Common Mistakes People Make After a Burn Injury?

What are some of the most common mistakes that people make when they have a burn injury, particularly in Arizona? In fact, that question has been posed before to one of our attorneys. Our attorney answered that question by saying the number one most common mistake is that people think that we’ll just see how things shake out before we even talk to an attorney. Now, there’s nothing terribly wrong with seeing how the other insurance company is going to treat you, but the reason why you don’t want to wait to at least talk to a lawyer or somebody in a law firm early on is because the insurance adjustor is going to be your best friend at first.

They’ve been trained to control you in one of two ways: being very nice, or if that doesn’t work, being very nasty. You’ll get one of those versions. Typically, if you have a serious burn injury, you’ll get the very nice treatment. They know that your case could be worth a lot of money. If you get the very nice treatment, they’ll even say, “Why would you want to call a lawyer? All they’re going to do is take most of your money. You don’t want that and I’m so nice. You know that because I’m so nice, it’ll all work out. We’ll pay you a fair amount in the end.” By the time you find out that that’s not true, your case could be damaged.

Call us early on. You don’t have to hire us right away but at least call us right away. We’ll have one of our attorneys analyze your specific situation. We can warn you about some other mistakes that might happen. Then if you want to go ahead and test the water with the insurance adjustor, at least you’ll be warned about the tricks that they often do and what happens but there’s so many mistakes that can happen.

The best thing to do is just call us. We’ll have one of our attorneys analyze your case together with you. Then the statistics from the insurance company’s own statistics shows that if a person calls and speaks to a lawyer just once, even if they don’t hire them, they settle their case for significantly more money than if they never talk to a lawyer. At least make that call. Do yourself a favor. It can’t hurt. Remember the call is free, the information is free, and we’re here to help you.

What Should I Do If I Was Seriously Burned?

If someone has been a burn injury victim, has serious burn injuries, what do they need to do now to protect their case and have the best result possible? That question was posed to one of our attorneys recently. The attorney answered the client and said the number one thing is always, and we’ll help you do this, get the best medical care possible. Sometimes our clients are on access programs. They can only see a limited number of doctors. There are good doctors on those programs, but are the very best doctors on those programs? Not necessarily. Call us. We can actually refer you to additional doctors. We don’t have to replace the doctor that you’re seeing, but additional doctors that can give you and your doctor a second opinion. Maybe they have some techniques that are not being used for therapy or skin grafts or whatever. At least you’re aware. Maybe they just say, hey, your current doctor is doing fine. Keep on with them. That’s confirmation for you. That’s the number one thing. Call us so you get the best medical care possible.

The other thing that is important is, once you get the best medical care possible, when it comes time to settle your case, we often hire professional photographers to photograph your injuries and scarring and things like that. Because if you just take a picture on a selfie camera and send that to the insurance adjustor versus having the proper lighting so that it really emphasizes what you’re going to be living with, that can make a big difference in dollars and cents. Especially nowadays when we have social distancing, photographs are even more important because probably the adjustor isn’t going to see you in person.

There are other important things that need to be addressed in burn injury cases but they do vary depending on a lot of details. Was it a defective product? Was somebody else at fault? Call us and let one of our attorneys analyze your case. Again, the call is free. The information is free. The earlier you contact us, the more difference we can help you with. Even if you haven’t decided you want to hire us, the information will be helpful to you. Make the call because our most important client is always you.