People with burn injuries often face a long and painful struggle that requires extensive rehabilitation and treatment. If you or a loved one has suffered a burn injury due to the negligence of others, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Brett & Coats PLLC has been helping Washington State and Canadian victims of personal injury win substantial settlements and awards for more than twenty-five years. The information contained on this Website is offered as a service to educate the public and encourage accident victims to seek legal advice. The following information should not be considered as legal advice or applied to an individual legal situation. For expert counsel on your legal situation, consult with an experienced Brett & Coats PLLC personal injury attorney.

1. How do I successfully pursue a burn injury insurance claim?
2. What types of money damages can I recover?
3. How much is my injury claim worth?
4. What should I do immediately to help preserve my claim?
5. How should I select a lawyer to represent me?
6. How much will it cost to hire a lawyer?
7. How does the insurance claim process work?
8. What can I do if the person who caused the injury is uninsured?
9. How can I deal with my immediate medical bills?
10. How long do I have to file a claim?
11. What if I have a preexisting medical condition?

1. How do I successfully pursue a burn injury insurance claim?

Four requirements must be met to receive compensation in your burn injury insurance claim:

• You must prove that the accident occurred due to the reckless or negligent actions of another party,
• You must prove that you were injured,
• You must establish that your injury was caused by the accident and not by a preexisting condition or unrelated event, and
• You must establish that the party who injured you was insured.

An insurance company will only pay a burn injury accident claim if it is proven that duty to act with reasonable care) and that the other party failed to meet their duty. Burn injuries can be caused by contact with flames, hot liquids, steam and other intense heat (thermal burns). Some injuries are caused by contact with sunlight or other ultraviolet light (light burns). Chemical burns are caused by alkali or acid while radiation burns occur because of contact with nuclear radiation or ultraviolet light. First-degree burns involve only the first layer of skin. If both the first and second layers of skin are burned this is called a second-degree burn. The most serious burns are third-degree burns where all layers of skin and underlying tissue is damaged. Common causes of burns include:

• Chemicals at work and in the home such as drain cleaners,
• Defective appliances including barbecues, hot water heaters and furnaces,
• Defective smoke detectors,
• Fireworks,
• Scalding from spilled food and liquids,
• Inhalation of dangerous fumes,
• Defective industrial products.

More than one person or entity may have been partially at fault in your accident and you may have even been partially at fault. In these situations, the court distributes the fault among all of these entities. Generally, if the other person bore 80% of the fault and you were responsible for the remaining 20%, you will recover only 80% of your total damages. If several people were at fault, there are special rules on "joint and several liability" that govern the portion of the total damages that are paid by each person or entity at fault. If you face a situation where several people or entities may have been negligent, your best course of action is to consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can help to prove your claim. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we offer a free case evaluation to determine the likelihood of a recovery and the likely range of any recovery. Contact us for your free case evaluation.

If you have been injured through the fault of another, your lawyer should immediately obtain all records, witness statements and photographic evidence so that the issue of fault is immediately laid to rest. Your attorney must act promptly since memories fade, conditions change and witnesses move. Without proof of fault you cannot support a claim for your injuries.

In order to prove who was at fault for an accident, your attorney should also obtain all investigative records from the Washington State Patrol and any other police agency involved including witness and investigating officer interviews. In more complicated cases, your lawyer may hire licensed engineers to reconstruct the collision, or civil engineers to evaluate the effect of the highway design, or mechanical engineers to evaluate any equipment malfunction.

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2. What types of money damages can I recover?

You are entitled to be compensated for your losses if you were injured because of another party's negligence or careless actions. The justice system's goal is to attempt to restore you to your position prior to your injury. While the justice system recognizes that money cannot undo the accident that caused your injury, it works to provide fair financial damages to compensate for the injury. There are six main categories of damages you may be entitled to:

• Property Damages - You are entitled to repair or replacement of any property damaged in the accident. For example, damage to your car, your clothes, your eyeglasses, or other personal property. For more information on Property Damages click here
• Medical Expenses - All costs incurred for health care should be repaid to you including ambulance bills, hospital bills and charges for surgical, medical or chiropractic care. Depending upon the type of insurance coverage you or the other party purchased, you may be entitled to payment of these bills regardless of who caused the accident. For more information on Medical Expenses to date click here
• Future Medical Expenses - You are entitled to a sum of money that will enable you to pay for future medical care of injuries or disabilities caused by the accident. For example, you may be entitled to future surgical care or future in-home nursing care if you are disabled. For more information on Future Medical Expenses click here.
• Lost Income - Even if you are self-employed or work on commission, you are entitled to be paid for the income lost because of your injury. These damages are meant to cover lost wages from your job while in the hospital, lost income while recuperating and visiting the doctor and for continued therapy visits after your return to work.For more information on Lost Income click here.
• Lost Future Earning Capacity - If you are partially or completely disabled from employment because of your injury, you are entitled to a sum of money that will compensate you for the lost capacity to earn income in the future.For more information on Lost Future Earning Capacity click here.
• General Damages for Pain and Suffering - You are entitled to be compensated in dollars for the pain, suffering, disfigurement and disability you have experienced as a result of the injury. An experienced attorney can help to assess the dollar amount of the loss based on their experience in other similar cases as well as their understanding of the local justice system. Your lawyer will be invaluable in working with the insurance company and substantiating your claim.For more information on General Damages for Pain and Suffering click here.

Additional information on Property Damages

You are entitled to have personal property damages paid by the insurance company of the person who caused the injury. If the personal property was damaged beyond repair, you are entitled to the difference between the fair cash market value of the damaged property immediately before it was damaged as well as its salvage value. If the personal property is repairable, you are entitled to recover the lesser of the cost of repairs plus any diminished value after the repairs, or the difference between the fair cash market value before the damage and the salvage value. In either case, you are entitled to a sum to compensate you for loss of use of the property during the time reasonably required for repair or replacement.

Often if your only losses are to personal property and you were not injured in the accident, you can negotiate a settlement directly with the insurance adjuster without the help of a lawyer.

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Additional Information on Medical Expenses

As a personal injury victim, you are entitled to restitution for any medical expenses incurred as a result of your burn injury. These expenses will be paid by the insurance company of the party at fault for causing your injury. To acquire these sums, your attorney will collect all of your medical records from health care providers including bills. This documentation is then provided to the insurance company to prove that the expense was incurred and that the treatment was required because of the accident. The insurance company may attempt to argue that you had a preexisting condition that dictated the treatment or that another injury required the treatment. In order to protect you against this ploy, a skilled attorney will obtain a complete history of medical care predating the accident including a written statement from the attending physician confirming that in their professional opinion the need for treatment was more than likely attributable to the accident.

Recovering compensation for medical expenses from an insurance company is similar to filing for an income tax refund from the government - you need to collect all of your receipts and accurately fill out the required paperwork. Brett & Coats, PLLC attorneys and paralegals are trained handle the paper process in a timely, proactive manner.

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Additional Information on Future Medical Care

You are entitled to compensation to pay for future medical care related to your injury. The insurance company will require an accurate, detailed estimate from the physician or health care workers who will provide your future health care services.

Your attorney will obtain your complete written medical records from all health care providers so that the insurance company (and you) can see the doctor's diagnosis and recommended treatment for your injury. Your lawyer will meet regularly with physicians to review the records and help them to address the insurance company's requirements in order to pay for future medical care.

It is important to remember that there is a one time lump sum payment for future medical care paid at settlement. Once a claim is settled, it is not generally possible to reopen the claim.

At Brett & Coats, PLLC, we are careful to avoid settlement until we know all of our client's future medical needs.

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Additional Information on Lost Income

If you have been injured through the fault of another, you are entitled to recover all the lost income caused by the injury including lost wages from your job while in the hospital, lost income while recuperating, doctor visits and any continued therapy visits after your return to work. Medical proof of your inability to work and the amount of pay that will be lost due to the injury must be calculated. If you are a wage earner who lost a specific number of hours work, you are entitled to receive your hourly wage for each hour lost. However, if you work on commission (like a realtor), or if you are self-employed (like a fisherman), your lawyer must reconstruct your financial losses by reviewing business, tax, and accounting records from prior years to determine your future wages.

Your lawyer will obtain your complete written medical records from all health care providers to confirm the doctor's opinion regarding your medical situation. Your attorney will also meet regularly with doctors to review the records and help them to address the specific requirements imposed by the insurance companies before they are willing to concede that a client has been unable to work because of the injury.

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Additional Information on Future Lost Income

You are entitled to compensation for the loss of future income or future loss of earning capacity. In order to receive an award, you must provide medical proof that your injury will inhibit your ability to earn income in the future. You must also demonstrate the amount of income you will lose. Projecting the amount of future income lost can be a simple or complicated process depending on your type of employment. While this is more difficult, the Brett & Coats, PLLC team is experienced in economic reconstruction and projection.

To prove that you are unable to work or cannot work at the same level of earnings you enjoyed before the injury, your attorney will obtain a written statement from a doctor describing your medical condition and prognosis. This documentation is then reviewed by a vocational rehabilitation specialist who can better assess your ability to perform in the work force with the medical condition. The specialist's review often requires extensive physical, mental and psychological testing. Once the vocational specialist establishes a level of employment ability, an economist will be consulted to estimate the difference between the anticipated future earnings prior to the accident and the earnings you can now expect in the future as a result of total or partial disability. This difference is the loss of future earnings or loss of future earning capacity.

If you were partially or completely disabled as a result of an injury caused by someone else, the loss of future income or an inability to work at the same level can have a significant impact on your capacity to support yourself and your family. Talk with an experienced legal professional at Brett & Coats PLLC before you attempt to negotiate a settlement with an insurance adjuster whose goal is to minimize the insurance company's payout.

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Additional Information on General Damages for Pain and Suffering

The law is clear regarding a victim's right to recover money damages for pain, suffering, disability and disfigurement. However, it is more difficult to estimate the amount of money required to compensate a victim for their loss. This difficulty is compounded by the need to prove the calculation to an insurance company or a court. While medical expenses or lost wages can be substantiated through bills or pay stubs, how is a value assigned to pain? How do we measure what pain is worth? Since we can't ask volunteers to describe how much money they would be willing to accept to suffer a traumatic burn injury, we estimate the money value in a pain and suffering claim by analyzing damage awards made in similar cases. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we have access to state, regional and national publications, as well as computerized data banks to identify similar cases and project a solid estimate of the range of awards made for similar losses. These comparisons help us to secure the most fair settlement amount with the insurance company. In situations where the insurance company refuses to pay a fair settlement, our attorneys have the skill to present real human losses to a jury in a compelling way. Because our experienced personal injury attorneys are always prepared to take a claim to trial (and the insurance companies know it), we can usually obtain a favorable settlement that includes an appropriate amount for general damages in an out of court settlement.

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3. How much is my injury claim worth?

There are two ways to approach estimating the monetary settlement value of a claim and our attorneys recommend that both be used to achieve success in a burn accident claim.

To find a total claim value, add up the amounts you are entitled to for property damage, medical expenses to date, future medical expenses, lost earnings to date, future lost earnings, and general damages for pain and suffering. Since damages such as general damages for pain and suffering are difficult to evaluate, the second method of assigning a monetary settlement value is used. Your attorney will review state, regional and national publications and computerized databases to find similar claims involving similar individuals with similar injuries and similar liability patterns to develop a statistical analysis of your claim's value.

If you have been seriously injured through someone else's fault, you should not attempt to estimate the value of your claim without professional assistance. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we offer a free case evaluation to determine the likelihood of a recovery and the likely range of any recovery. Contact us for your free case evaluation.

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4. What should I do immediately to help preserve my claim?

The answer to this question is not: "Get a lawyer quickly" or "be your own lawyer". Instead, work to keep your claim alive until you can select a proven personal injury attorney. To support your claim before you meet with an attorney, it is important to preserve evidence and protect your negotiating position. By documenting your accident and injuries you are substantiating your claim and providing your chosen attorney with a head start on your legal strategy.

The first step in preserving evidence is to obtain the name, address, phone number and insurance information from the party that caused the accident. Take photographs of the accident scene, pictures of the damaged automobiles (if applicable), photographs of your injury, and photographs of yourself during your recovery period. Do not attempt to interview witnesses to the accident. Instead, record their names, addresses and phone numbers so that if there is a later dispute you will have objective bystanders to support your version of events. Also, be sure to keep a daily journal beginning with the date of the accident to document all physical and mental injuries, as well as your perspective of the accident. Bring all of this to your lawyer once you have selected one.

Next, preserve your negotiating position. Do not sign anything presented by the insurance adjuster. Do not give a written or oral statement to an insurance adjuster. Do not attempt to negotiate a settlement with an insurance adjuster who works to minimize payouts. As you are in the process of preserving evidence and protecting your negotiating position, you can also invest the time to find a first-class personal injury lawyer.

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5. How should I select a lawyer to represent me?

When you select a lawyer to represent you in a personal injury claim, consider three factors:

Does this lawyer have a reputation for excellent legal ability and high ethical standards? The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory is a twenty-four volume set listing almost all of the lawyers in the United States and rating their legal ability as A (very high to preeminent), B (high to very high), C (fair to high) or no rating. A rating of V is given for high-ethical standards. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we are proud of our Martindale Hubbell AV rating, the highest available. The Martindale-Hubbell directory is also available online at www.martindale.com. But you don't have to rely solely on a publication. You can ask people in our community who have experienced the legal system, talk with someone who works in the courthouse, or discuss your situation with someone experienced in personal injury accident claims. Ask a number of people to see if any particular name keeps coming up. Also, look at the Brett & Coats PLLC attorney profiles to see that our firm's attorneys are well qualified to handle your burn injury claim. For example, Dean Brett has repeatedly been selected as a "Superlawyer" by Washington Law & Politics Magazine, and has been selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Dean Brett has served on the Board of Governors of the Washington State Trail Lawyers Association, the state-wide group dedicated to fighting for victims of negligence.

Does this lawyer have experience handling my particular type of personal injury case? If you have been injured by another party's negligence, a divorce attorney or a lawyer who works in estate planning cannot provide the best representation. You need to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer with the credentials to effectively represent your interests. Relatively few lawyers devote most of their practice to representing individuals with claims for personal injury or wrongful death. Before you hire a lawyer, you should know how many times the attorney has actually gone to court on a personal injury claim. You should also know whether that attorney has ever obtained a verdict or settlement in a personal injury case of over a million dollars, or over a $100,000, or even over $50,000. Don't allow the lawyer to answer your questions with generalizations. Ask for specific cases with specific results. Remember, when you talk to a lawyer you are interviewing them for a job working for you. Look at their resume. You may also be interested in looking at our results case results.

Does this attorney inspire trust and confidence? You should hire a lawyer in whom you feel comfortable placing your trust and confidence. Remember, the lawyer is going to be employed by you, to represent you. You need someone easy to talk to, someone who will explain and advise on your situation. The best way to determine your comfort level is to personally meet the lawyer. If you want to take things a step at a time, talk to the lawyer on the phone and test your comfort level prior to scheduling an appointment. At Brett & Coats PLLC, we offer a free case evaluation to help determine the likelihood of a successful claim and the likely range of any financial recovery. This is an excellent opportunity to decide if you are comfortable placing your trust and confidence in a personal injury lawyer at Brett & Coats PLLC. Contact us for your free case evaluation.

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6. How much will it cost to hire a lawyer?

At Brett & Coats PLLC, our clients have a choice in how they pay for legal services. We can charge on an hourly basis or on a contingency fee.

If you choose to hire us on an hourly basis, we will track the time our lawyers and paralegals spend on your case and bill you monthly. Our hourly rates range from $225 for lead trial attorneys to $185 for associate trial lawyers and $80 for paralegals. On hourly billings, there are two basic rules: all fees and costs must be paid monthly and our firm is paid regardless of whether your claim is won or lost.

With a contingency fee arrangement, we are paid one-third of any recovery by settlement or judgment. If there is no recovery, you owe us nothing for our legal services. However, you must pay your own costs, such as the charges doctors make for providing records and reports, out of the money you receive when the case is settled.

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7. How does the insurance claim process work?

Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. Generally, the insurance company's profit is the difference between what they bring in premiums and what they pay out in claims. Therefore, the insurance adjuster's job is to settle your claim for as little as possible to maximize the company's profit. Your lawyer's job is to settle your claim for its maximum value and we know how to work with insurance companies.

Insurance companies have developed a huge bureaucracy to scrutinize, criticize, evaluate and ultimately pay insurance claims. The insurance adjuster's job is to identify false or fraudulent claims and to refuse to pay undocumented claims. The insurance adjuster is trying to build a file, to critically evaluate your claim, and to pay as little as possible to settle your claim as soon as possible. Remember, the insurance adjuster reports to a supervisor. If the adjuster has a thin, small file on a claim that was settled for $5,000, the supervisor is likely to say "You paid too much. This file does not support a $5,000 payment." Conversely, if the adjuster settles a claim for $50,000 and gives their supervisor a thick and well-documented file that includes complete witness statements, complete medical opinion letters, and comprehensive records of all medical care, wage losses, and other expenses, the supervisor is more likely to say, "That's fine, the claim was worth $50,000". Your attorney's role is to help the insurance adjuster build a file that supports a full and fair claims settlement.

Your lawyer's goal should be to maximize your financial recovery from your injury. Your attorney should have a reputation for honest dealing; for a fair but firm settlement posture; for refusing to settle for a penny less than the claim is worth; and for being prepared to take each claim to trial to get a full and fair recovery.

There are basically five steps the insurance adjuster must take in handling a personal injury claim:

1. Collecting Information
2. Setting Reserves
3. Evaluating Damages
4. Negotiating Settlement
5. Defending in Trial if Necessary

Collecting Information. Since the adjuster must collect information needed to understand your claim, your lawyer should provide all the required information to validate the claim to the adjuster and their company. Sometimes insurance adjusters are so busy looking for damaging information about you or your claim that they miss favorable information. Your attorney should collect and highlight that favorable information - witness statements, photographs of the collision and your injury, opinion letters from experts in medicine, and accident reconstruction or economic loss. When your attorney presents the claim to the adjuster they are more likely to understand the significance of your claim.

Setting Reserves. When a claim comes in, the company must set reserves, an accounting entry, to assure government regulators that the company has adequate money to pay the claim. If initial reserves are set too low, when the time comes to settle the claim, the adjuster will sometimes be too limited in the amount of money he can offer in settlement. Your attorney must get the appropriate information to the adjuster as soon as possible to assist the company in setting high enough reserves that the ultimate settlement can be for the full claim value.

Evaluating Damages. Since the adjuster must evaluate the claim value, your attorney should provide them with all of relevant information including comparable cases from state, regional and national publications and computerized databases, and our own evaluation of the claim's value to assist the adjuster in coming to a full and fair evaluation.
Negotiating Settlement. There is an old saying, "A lawyer who represents himself, has a fool for a client." Likewise, a personal injury victim who attempts to negotiate a settlement with a professional insurance adjuster is likely to recover far less than the claim's true value. Do not attempt to negotiate a settlement of your personal injury claim without professional advice.

Defending in Trial if Necessary. If a settlement cannot be negotiated, the insurance company must defend their position in court. To improve your chances for compensation at trial, your attorney must have a quality reputation, proven credentials, a fair but firm settlement posture that refuses to settle for less than a full claim value, and the ability and resources to prepare for an aggressive litigation of your claim.

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8. What can I do if the person who caused the injury is uninsured?

If you are uncertain as to whether the party at fault for the accident has sufficient insurance, contact a lawyer immediately to help you in gain this critical information.

Brett & Coats PLLC attorneys have represented many individuals who have been injured by an uninsured or underinsured party who cannot pay a full and fair claim. While these cases can be difficult, do not give-up until you investigate other potential sources of compensation for your injuries. Other possibilities include underinsured motorists coverage, the Crime Victim's Compensation Act, and "joint and several" liability of insured individuals whose negligence combined with that of the uninsured party to cause your injuries. Although a lawyer cannot guarantee that they can find coverage and obtain a recovery for you, an effective attorney is obliged to explore all of the alternatives and advise you of their availability in your situation.

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9. How can I deal with my immediate medical bills?

To ensure that you continue to receive the highest quality medical care and to protect your credit, it is important to immediately pay medical bills. As a part of our representation in your personal injury claim, Brett & Coats PLLC will manage payment of your medical bills. Your priorities are to find the best medical care, follow your doctor's advice, strive to reach the best possible medical recovery, and send all your bills to the Brett & Coats PLLC office. In turn, we will coordinate the paperwork to obtain payment of those medical bills through your own medical coverage; the insurance coverage of any parties involved in the accident; state and federal medical payment programs; or by arranging with your health care providers to hold collection until you receive your settlement.

Your good health is too important to sacrifice quality medical care because of financial considerations. Take care of your health first and your Brett & Coats PLLC attorney will coordinate payment of your medical care as part of our service in your personal injury claim.

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10. How long do I have to file a claim?

If your injury occurred more than one year ago, you may have a statute of limitations problem. The statute of limitations requires that a claim be filed within a certain period of time after the accident or you will forever lose the right to do so. Depending on the manner in which you were injured, the statute of limitations could be three years, two years or less from the date of injury. Do not delay in contacting a Brett & Coats PLLC attorney. We offer a free case evaluation to determine the likelihood of a recovery and the likely range of any recovery. Contact us today.

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11. What if I have a preexisting medical condition?

If another party is to blame for your injuries, you are entitled to be compensated for only the injuries suffered in the accident. If the insurance company suspects that your injury existed prior to the accident or you that were injured in an unrelated event, they may refuse to pay your claim. To prevent this situation, we obtain your entire medical history so that we can identify what has been reported in the records and we can then reassure the insurance company that no preexisting or unrelated injury exists. The proof of a causal link between the accident and the injury may seem simple, but your lawyer must work hard to eliminate the insurance company's natural skepticism which can lead to non-payment of your claim.

Special rules govern compensation for aggravation of preexisting injuries. If your accident has been caused by the negligence of another party and you have been injured in an area where a pre-existing infirmity exists, you are in the complicated situation that requires expert legal help. If prior to the accident you had a pre-existing bodily condition that was causing pain or disability and then the accident further exacerbated the pain or disability, you are entitled to compensation for the aggravation of that condition.

If you had a pre-existing condition or disability prior to the accident and it made you more vulnerable to injury than a normally healthy person, you are also entitled to compensation for those injuries and damages caused by the accident. You are not entitled to compensation for an injury sustained in a subsequent accident that is a normal consequence of an impaired physical condition caused by the original injury and which would not have occurred had the plaintiff's physical condition not been impaired.

For more information on burn injuries, please see our Burn Injuries page.

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