A burn injury can be physically damaging, often affecting your work, home life, mental health, and financial well-being. If you suffered burns and someone or something else was at fault, you might have the right to seek compensation for your related damages. Knowing what you deserve after your injury and how to pursue it can be difficult, so you should always get help from a law firm that handles burn injury claims.
The experienced San Mateo burn injury lawyers from Galine, Frye, Fitting, and Frangos are ready to advocate for your best interests and total compensation. With over 75 years of combined experience in personal injury settlements and trials, our firm is well-positioned to provide you with the advocacy you need to collect the compensation you deserve.
Read on to learn more about burn injuries in San Mateo and how our burn injury attorneys can help ensure you collect the total amount you need for your injuries.
Burn Injury Risks in San Mateo
A burn injury involves damage to your bodily tissue from heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or nuclear radiation. Hot liquids, building fires, steam, or flammable liquids and gasses cause the most common burn injuries.
Some risks of burns to San Mateo residents and visitors include:
- Truck accidents on Highway 92
- Caltrans accidents
- Contact with electrical sources near construction sites
- Scalding water at a job site, restaurant, or hotel hot tub
- Contact with hot pipes or other objects at malls or stores
Whatever the source of your burn injury, always seek immediate emergency medical care after your accident and follow all treatment protocols. Then, work with a burn injury attorney to determine your legal rights and the best course of action. If someone else caused your burn injury, a lawyer can hold them accountable for all your losses.
Seeking Damages for Your Burn Injury
Your damages will depend on the extent of your burn injury. While some burn injuries are superficial and might heal on their own within a few weeks, major burns require urgent medical care and can lead to scarring, disability, and deformity. Whether you need an emergency room visit or months in a burn center with multiple skin grafts, you should receive compensation for your past and future medical expenses.
If your burns prevented you from working during recovery, you can seek compensation for all of your lost wages. Some burns lead to permanent disabilities, including amputations or the loss of use of a body part. If your burn-related disability prevents you from returning to work - or earning as much as before - you should receive damages for your past and future lost income.
Other burn-related losses are intangible and more difficult to calculate. These include pain and suffering, which can be substantial with serious burns.
First, burns are painful injuries, and there can be a lot of physical pain during the recovery process - the procedures to repair skin after serious burns inflict extreme pain. Many burn victims suffer greatly during the recovery process.
Even after you finish treatment, you might have permanent disabilities or disfigurement. Burns can leave noticeable scars that are not repairable through cosmetic surgery. Scars and impairments can cause many emotional and physical challenges that can persist for the rest of your life. You deserve damages for these intangible losses in addition to your financial losses.
Calculating and obtaining the full compensation you deserve is challenging, and many people underestimate their losses. Allow a burn injury attorney to review your situation and determine how much you need in damages. Your lawyer will fight for a full settlement from an insurance company, even if it requires several rounds of negotiations.
San Mateo Burn Injury FAQs
A serious burn injury can be life-altering, changing how you see yourself, your quality of life, and many other aspects of your day-to-day reality. If you or a loved one have suffered a burn injury, a San Mateo burn injury lawyer from Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos can help you seek justice.
There is not anything specific about San Mateo that poses an outsized risk of burn injuries—at least, not any greater than any other location. However, as a city with more than 100,000 people, countless businesses, and a bustling social scene, there are many opportunities for accidents to occur and burns to result.
Where and How in San Mateo Can I Suffer a Burn Injury?
A burn can conceivably happen anywhere in San Mateo.
Different accidents can lead to burn injuries, and these may include:
- Motor vehicle accidents: You might suffer a burn injury from a motor vehicle accident on Hillsdale Boulevard, U.S. 101, or any other roadway in the city. Accidents can happen on little-traveled city streets or congested highways, and any accident has the potential to cause serious injuries—including burns.
- Workplace accidents: Factory workers, cell tower repair people, construction workers, and restaurant employees are just three types of employees that may face risks of burn injuries while on the job. Whether it is a chef at Jack’s Restaurant & Bar (or any other restaurant in San Mateo), or a technician repairing a cell phone tower near Coyote Point, we can help those who suffer a work-related burn injury.
- Criminal acts: Some physical attacks can produce burns. Such intentional acts may result in criminal charges but may also warrant civil action from the victim.
- Accidents that affect patrons of businesses and public buildings: Exposed pipes, electrical wiring, and other burn hazards can put shoppers, visitors of outdoor parks, and other patrons at risk of suffering serious burns.
Your attorney will work hard to understand where and why your burn occurred.
How Will a Burn Injury Change My Life in San Mateo?
Burn injuries can affect every aspect of your life. The degree of harm you suffer will depend on the severity of the burn, where the burn happened on your body, and your unique response to suffering a burn.
As Mayo Clinic explains, a burn can:
- Cause physical pain
- Cause significant changes in your appearance
- Lead to serious infections, which may cause a series of subsequent medical problems, and may even threaten your life
- Impede your breathing
- Cause “new, unexplained symptoms.”
Your burn may cause several serious secondary problems. You may lose self-esteem if your burn is visible. In a city like San Mateo, where outdoor activities are crucial to many peoples' lives, a burn may appear even more noticeable as you try to return to your normal routine.
The causal circumstances of your burn may also linger, causing emotional distress. You may develop anxiety, depression, and other conditions that erode your quality of life. You may even have to change your lifestyle because of burn-related symptoms.
Those who suffer such serious problems deserve justice.
Who Is Liable for My Burn Injury?
Liability for your burn depends on how your burn happened. Your lawyer may use the negligence standard to identify liable parties.
Lawyers generally prove negligence by:
- Establishing that the liable party in San Mateo owed you a duty of care: Those with a duty of care must act reasonably, whether a motorist avoiding distractions or a business owner removing all burn hazards from their premises.
- Proving that the liable party breached their duty of care: When a party with a duty of care does not act reasonably, they breach their duty of care. This can look like a motorist texting while driving or a business owner ignoring a clear burn hazard on their property.
- Showing that the party’s breach of duty of care caused harm: Your attorney will connect the dots between the defendant’s breach of duty of care and your burns.
- Showing the damages you’ve suffered because of the liable party’s negligence: Finally, your attorney will list the damages you’ve experienced because of the defendant’s negligent behavior.
Your lawyer can tailor this framework to your specific case in San Mateo.
What Will a Burn Injury Attorney Do for Me?
You may hire a burn injury lawyer after your burn injury in San Mateo.
Such an attorney can help you in many ways, including by:
- Protecting you: First and foremost, your attorney will defend your rights. They will advise you on who to speak with and who to avoid. They will prevent liable parties from contacting you in an unwanted manner. They will serve as your proxy in all case-related affairs.
- Negotiating a settlement: You may receive a settlement to cover all burn-related damages. Your attorney will negotiate for this compensation, whether talks are with an insurance company or another lawyer.
- Handling all other case-related responsibilities: When you hire a lawyer, you should expect to clear your plate of your legal case. An attorney should handle everything related to your case, except any statements that only you can give.
Hiring an attorney may allow you to focus on your recovery.
I’ve Suffered a Burn Injury. What Should I Do Now?
If you have yet to receive thorough medical care for your damages, do so right away. Preserve your health and document that your burns resulted from a specific accident.
You may also hire an attorney. They will immediately protect you and begin work on your legal case. Never wait to get a lawyer, as your case may include strict time limits.
When should I contact a burn injury attorney?
The time to contact your local San Mateo burn injury attorney is as soon as possible after your accident and after you receive emergency medical care. Your attorney will assess your rights, begin gathering evidence, and might work with medical and occupational experts to calculate and recover the full extent of your damages.
How much is my burn injury claim worth?
The amount that your burn injury is worth will depend on many factors, and there is no way to answer this question without reviewing the details of your injuries and losses. We will review your emergency medical expenses and the costs of long-term care, your lost income, and all the intangible losses you suffered. Your attorney will help you accurately calculate your damages, then pursue them in full from the proper insurance companies.
Never accept a settlement offer from insurance companies without speaking to our attorneys. You risk accepting much less than your need to pay for your accident-related expenses.
Can I afford a burn injury attorney?
Our clients are often surprised to learn that if we take their burn injury case, it costs them nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket. If we take your case, we will take it on a contingency basis. Contingency means we charge no fees before or during your case and only receive fees if we win your case. Then, our fees come directly from your settlement or award, so you never need to gather funds to pay for our legal services.
If someone else's negligence injured you in a burn accident, never let concerns about legal costs stop you from scheduling your risk-free consultation with a San Mateo burn injury lawyer from Galine, Frye, Fittings, and Frangos now.
Reach out to a San Mateo Burn Injury Lawyer Now
Burn injuries can significantly change how you live and enjoy your personal life and your earning ability in your professional life. With an experienced burn injury attorney handling your case as soon as possible, you can rest assured that you will collect the damages you need and deserve.
One of the experienced San Mateo personal injury attorneys from Galine, Frye, Fitting, and Frangos is standing by to answer any questions you might have about your case, so contact us for your free consultation today at (650) 345-8484.
Galine, Frye, Fitting & Frangos, LLP
Address: 411 Borel Ave. #405,San Mateo, CA 94402
Phone: (650) 419-0473
Fax: (650) 345-9875