If you suffer a burn injury within the scope of your employment, you may be entitled to a variety of workers’ compensation benefits. For example, you may file a claim for lost wage benefits, permanent disability benefits (i.e. following a permanency rating by a healthcare provider), and/or vocational rehabilitation benefits, depending upon the extent of your burn injury.
If you sustain a burn injury that resulted from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, such as a motor vehicle collision, you may pursue damages from the negligent person or persons—and indirectly from the at-fault person or entity’s insurance company.
The first step to pursuing damages for a burn injury arising from someone else’s claim is to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault person or entity. The claim begins by notifying the insurance company and submitting a demand package containing all of your medical records and bills. In many instances, insurance companies will not make a fair offer—even for serious burn injuries that a victim suffers in an accident. When that happens, the accident victim’s lawyer may need to file a personal injury lawsuit in the Georgia court system.
Throughout the process, the accident victim’s attorney will continue to negotiate with the at-fault party’s insurance company, to try and reach a favorable monetary settlement for the burn injury. In the event the insurance company still refuses to offer the accident victim fair and full compensation for his or her burn injury, then the accident victim’s lawyer may take the case to court in the Georgia court system.
When an accident victim’s lawyer files a claim for monetary damages, he or she will likely be requesting some or all of the following:
- Economic damages – Economic damages cover financial losses, like the costs associated with medical treatment and physical therapy, as well as medical procedures such as injections or surgeries. These damages are also used to reimburse a burn injury victim for lost earnings that resulted from the accident. Finally, economic damages encompass other out-of-pocket costs that the burn injury victim had to incur following his or her accident.
- Non-economic damages– Non-economic damages include monetary compensation for all of the pain, suffering, emotional anguish, and mental distress that the accident victim suffered because of his or her burn injuries and other injuries sustained in the accident. Burn injuries can also lead to severe scarring which causes the accident victim extreme shame and embarrassment. This is also compensable, and a burn injury accident victim may file a claim for disfigurement.
- Punitive damages – Punitive damages exist to punish the at-fault party or parties for their grossly negligent or reckless behavior. Punitive damages, for example, may be available in cases where the at-fault party’s drinking and driving led to an accident in which the accident victim suffered a burn injury that left him or her disfigured.
Burn injuries are extremely serious and can impact the life of an accident victim and his or her loved ones forever. If you or someone you love has suffered a burn injury in an accident that was not your fault, or if you suffered a burn injury while you were on the job, you need experienced legal representation in your corner.
Our Atlanta burn injury attorneys can help you assemble the necessary medical documentation and pursue the benefits and damages that you deserve for your burn injury.
