Burn Injuries | The Basile Law Firm

Central Coast Burn Injury Lawyer Serving San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Monterey

Severe burns are often catastrophic injuries that destroy lives. They can be caused by contact with electricity, hot objects, flames, or scalding liquids, or chemicals. Burns are possibly the most excruciatingly painful of all injuries, but the damage they do goes far beyond the pain. Burns can cause permanent damage to vital organs and extensive contractures and scarring, resulting severe physical disabilities, extreme deformity and disfigurement, emotional anguish, and psychological and social problems. Burn victims may also suffer inhalation injury and eye problems if there is damage to the cornea. Because these injuries can have severe long term effects, it is important to seek out a specialized San Luis Obispo burn injury lawyer at The Basile Law Firm who has handled numerous cases involving this. We handle cases in areas surrounding San Luis Obispo, including Santa Barbara and Monterey.

Nearly all burns leave scars. These are especially damaging when they are on the face, because they permanently change the appearance, often causing a burn victim to avoid contact with other people, restricting the ability to function in the workplace or participate in social activities. People are social creatures, and social isolation can leads to serious psychological issues, including anxiety, stress disorder, and in the worst cases severe clinical depression and suicide.

When scarring occurs on a part of the body usually concealed by clothing, the victim may fare better in public but will often avoid intimate relationships which would reveal the disfigurement.

In many cases, burn injuries are the result of another person’s negligence, carelessness, error, or wrongdoing in the workplace, the home, in another’s premises, and in auto accidents. In these cases, the victim may be able to recover monetary compensation for economic and quality-of-life damages with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney.

TREATMENT OF BURN INJURIES

Burns are not simple injuries to treat, and they come with the risk of serious, life-threatening complications, including infection, failure of skin grafts, breakdown of tissues, and chronic pain. The immediate goals in treating burn patients are to prevent shock and prevent infection, to prevent additional injury to damaged tissues, and to heal the wound as quickly as possible. Burns frequently require a series of costly and painful surgeries over a period of years to reduce contractures, improve the victim’s appearance, and limit loss of function. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological therapy are often required to help rehabilitate burn patients.

The typical cost for treat minimally aggressive treatment of moderate burns runs in excess of $200,000. Severe burns without complications cost, on the average more than $1.5 million. Costs for treating severe burns with complications can exceed $10 million.

BURN INJURY STATISTICS

On the average, 3,400 people die from burn-related injuries annually. Three-quarter of these deaths are because of infection
Residential fires account for 2,550 of the fatalities, followed by approximately 300 from vehicle crash fires, 400 from contact with electricity, hot objects, or scalding liquids, and 150 from flame burns or smoke inhalation in non-residential fires
Approximately 450,000 burn injuries occur every year; 40,000 people receive hospital treatment for severe or catastrophic burn injuries annually; 30,000 of these are treated at hospital burn centers

CAUSES OF BURN INJURIES

Burn injuries are usually preventable and are a consequence of some individual or company’s negligence. These are some of the causes of burns that are often the result of negligence:

Motor vehicle accidents
Tanker explosions
Boiler explosions
Electrical fires
Forest fires and wildfires
Defective products
Chemical burns
Structural fires
Hotel, restaurant, or nightclub fires
Locked or obstructed fire exits
Exposure to scalding water and steam
Aviation accidents

DAMAGES THAT CAN BE RECOVERED FROM BURNS

If you or a member of your family living the the Central Coast of California has suffered a serious burn injury caused by someone else’s negligence or by a defective product, having a highly experienced personal injury attorney can make a huge difference in your ability to obtain the treatment you need to move on with your life. You are entitled to make a claim for compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include, among others:

Expenses for medical treatment, surgeries, medication
Cost of therapy and rehabilitation
Loss of earnings and future earning capability
Out-of-pocket expenses for transportation, child care, and other costs of traveling for medical treatment
Medical or assistive devices or prostheses

Non-economic damages that you may be able to recover include:

Physical suffering and pain
Deformity
Disability and loss of function
Emotional anguish
Loss of ability to enjoy life
Loss of ability to participate in marital relations

RETAIN THE BEST LAWYER AVAILABLE FOR YOUR BURN INJURY CASE

Because of the high cost of treatment and the severity of quality-of- life damages, insurance companies will often use their extensive financial resources and sophisticated legal teams to fight paying catastrophic burn claims. To level the playing field, you will need to have the best attorney you can find to prepare your case and battle the insurance company on your behalf. In Central California, you’ll find the experience and expertise that will give you the best chance at an adequate recovery by retaining attorney Jude Basile in San Luis Obispo. As a personal injury lawyer since 1985, Jude has the experience, legal knowledge, and deep commitment to justice that is required when fighting the insurance company for your right to a recovery.

The Basile Law Firm accepts burn injury cases caused by negligence, product defect, or deliberate wrongdoing on a contingency retainer, doing all the work to prepare a thoroughly documented and persuasive case–your case. You pay nothing until the resolution of your case, and in the very unlikely case you don’t receive a compensation award, you will owe nothing.

Time is of the essence in filing your claim; waiting too long could cause you to lose your right to a recovery, so call the office of Jude Basile today to discover how we can help you win the compensation that will assist you in getting the treatment you need to move forward with your life after a serious burn injury. Whether you are in Monterey, Santa Barbara or anywhere in the Central Coast, Jude is committed to helping you.

ACT NOW TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO A RECOVERY

We are committed to justice for the injured. Whether you’re rich or poor, you have a right to compensation for damages you’ve suffered that are not your fault. The consultation is free, and you pay absolutely nothing . . . ever . . . unless we win money for you.