Personal Injury FAQ’s

Find  answers below to common personal injury questions

Burn Injuries

Do I Need an Attorney For Burn Injuries?

Injuries caused by burns on the job jeopardize employees, their families and neighborhoods at the social and economic levels. Not only do the injured parties suffer severe physical and often permanent debilitation, they also suffer tremendous trauma to their emotional and psychological health. These can cause life-long damage to one’s overall well-being.

Reports from OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) show that over five thousand burn injury cases occur in the U.S. annually, caused by explosions and fires at the job site. That counts for around 10 to 45 percent of all burn cases. 40% of fatalities from burn injuries happened at the workplace. The largest number of burn cases occur in the Food Service Industry, accounting for around 12,000 injuries annually. Occupations that are considered the highest risk for workplace burn injuries include food preparers, kitchen staff, servers, etc.

What are Considered Burn Injuries?

A burn that only affects the first layer of the skin is called a first-degree burn. These burns usually heal in about a week, and often leave the skin red at first. First degree burns can be quite painful, although only the top layer of skin is injured.

A burn that affects the first and second layers of the skin is called a second-degree burn. A second-degree burn can feel moist and often blisters the skin. These kinds of burns can trigger severe pain.

Burns that affect all of the layers of the skin, potentially causing damage to the tissue underneath, are called third-degree burns. After this type of burn, one’s skin will be extremely dry and black or white in color, and may permanently scar. Third-degree burns are extremely painful.

Can You Sustain Burn Injuries At Construction Sites?

Burn injuries from construction sites are frequently caused by working conditions that were unsafe and that could have been avoided by ensuring a safe workplace was maintained. Workers in Minnesota who suffer burn injuries while on the job have the right to recover from parties whose negligence caused their injuries. Workers are not able to directly sue their employer workers’ compensation but are able to bring claims against third parties, like a general contractor or another subcontractor that is doing work on the construction site. It is essential for injured workers to get professional legal guidance in order to determine whether nor they are entitled to receive compensation from third parties.

What To Do When  Exposed To Dangerous Materials In The Workplace?

Dangerous chemicals can pose a high risk of sustaining severe burns. A chemical burn occurs when the skin becomes exposed to certain corrosive substances which include the oxidizing acids contained in cleansers, from hydrocarbon solvents, and alkalis like ammonia and sodium hydroxide. Chemical burns frequently cause serious pain and suffering and extensive tissue damage. How severe a chemical burn is will depend on several different factors, which include how long the skin was in contact with the chemical, the concentration of the dangerous agent contained in the solution, and the extent of the penetration of the harmful chemical.

How Much Danger Is There from Natural Gas Accidents?

Natural gas accidents garner a lot of attention in the United States. Often, these accidents happen when someone has excavated near a site without first locating the underground pipelines. According to the United States Department of Transportation or USDOT, there are over two million miles worth of pipelines located in the United States. These pipelines deliver trillions of cubic feet of natural gas to thousands on an annual basis. From the years 2005 to the year 2009 alone, there were over 282 serious incidents that involved natural gas pipelines in the U.S.

What Do I Need To Know About Electrical Burn Injuries?

The world that we live in today is completely reliant on electricity. While there may be many advantages to electricity, it also poses a hazard. If electricity comes in contact with your skin, it often results in significant burns along with other serious health effects. Electrical burns are often caused by electrical outlets, high-voltage wires, appliances, cords, or overhead power-lines. A lot of the injuries arise from an appliance that is still plugged in, that accidentally falls into water, when a person sticks an object into a live outlet, like their fingers, a knife, or a pin, or when a young child puts an electrical plug or cord inside their mouth. Most of the electrical burns that are work-related arise from mishandling of power lines or wires.

How Do I Get Compensated For a Construction Site Burn Injury?

Most construction sites have many potential sources of injuries, from high-voltage wires to fuel sources that could explode. Injuries are not uncommon on these sites, and in some cases, these problems can even lead to death. Suffering major scarring or burns due to an accident while working construction can be harrowing. You’re left wondering how to pay for the medical attention you need, what to do if your damage is permanent, and how you’ll survive without your regular wages during the recovery process. Our injury attorneys have years of experience filing for workers comp. We’ve helped construction workers get the compensation they’re owed for on-the-job injuries and acts of negligence by their employers. We put our vast knowledge and resources to work to ensure the highest compensation possible.

What Injury Types Are Caused By Propane Explosions?

Propane and natural gas have extremely high-temperature burn rates. Even a few of the consumer-level gas torches have the ability to burn at more than 1900 degrees F.

The common burn injuries caused by these accidents include:

– Internal injuries
– Lung damage
– Brain damage
– Skin damage
– Concussion
– Damages to the eye
– Spinal cord injuries
– And more

A few of the common causes often relate to:

– A gas cooktop that was incorrectly installed
– Split pipes that lead to a water heater
– Defective connectors and control valves
– Leaking and perished hoses
– Underground main leaks

Where Can I Find Personal Injury Attorneys Experienced In Explosion And Fire Case?

Burn injuries following an explosion or fire, whether on the job, at home, or any place else, normally involves a painful and long recovery, and the financial expenses of care can be both emotional and personally overwhelming. Burn injury attorneys can help.

Our lawyers have the experience of handling many cases that arise from home fires, manufacturing plant explosions, and other types of accidents that may cause burn injuries. We highly encourage you to call us so we can discuss your legal options with you to target money to pay for your medical expenses, help with supporting your family, and in certain cases provide you with compensation for the mental anguish that is associated with disfigurement, scarring, and other life-changing circumstances.

What Causes Propane Explosions?

Propane is a hydrocarbon and therefore needs to be stored in liquid form under compression inside of a heavy-duty tank and vaporized in the form of a gas that can be burned. However, due to the pressure inside of the tank, there is always a potentially high risk that an explosion will occur.

When propane gas is mixed in the air with oxygen, it becomes highly flammable. Propane explosions often are the result of unsafe practices including:

Failing to perform the proper measures when refilling tanks which include forgetting to reignite a pilot light in a residential or commercial appliance

Improperly installing gas stoves, clothes dryers, and other types of gas appliances

Maintaining a propane gas tank improperly, like failing to properly maintain propane gas system components or failing to replace a worn-out regulator

No labeling, mislabeled, or insufficiently labeled equipment

Inadequate inspections of a propane gas tank that need to be conducted by a propane gas supplier

Gas being delivered that doesn’t contain sufficient added chemical odorants, according to federal industry and Illinois safety requirements

Propane tank leaks that are caused by faulty or rusty cylinders, perished hoses, blocked cooktop burners, malfunctioning flow valves, broken gauges, or malfunctioning safety valves.

What Steps To Take If You’ve Experienced A Workplace-Related Burn Injury?

Workers experiencing different types of injuries, including burns are sadly common. For those who are enduring workplace-related burns, one needs to make sure that they immediately report the said incident either or both to their supervisor or their HR department. One also needs to provide essential information such as witnesses’ contact information, as well as the photos where the burn happened along with photos of the burnt injury as well.

As soon as you’ve started to receive treatment in the hospital, all injured workers should make sure that they keep track of all medical expenses including but are not limited to hospitalization, medications, therapies, etc. Since you weren’t able to report for work during those days that you’re being treated, you also have to take into account your compensation / supposedly income for those days that you weren’t able to report for work. This is an important step since keeping track of these things let you recover these financial losses.

How Do Chemical Burns Happen In The Workplace?

Whenever workers have sufficient protection with safety gear and are properly trained in safety protocols, it can be relatively easy to avoid chemical burns. If employees are only equipped with low-quality safety equipment and not trained properly on how to handle chemicals, or do not wear their safety equipment when necessary, then chemical burns can happen.

Depending on the employee’s job and the chemicals they come into contact with, they might suffer just minor chemical burns, like a janitor being splashed with bleach. On the other hand, a worker pulling samples of a chemical that is highly concentrated for testing in a fabricating plant might suffer burns that are more severe, if they come into contact with these highly concentrated chemicals.

What Do I Need To Know About Explosion, Burn And Fire Injuries?

Explosion, burn, and fire accidents often occur in the workplace, driving on roads, at home, or any place where there are flammable or explosive materials. Fire, burn, and explosion injuries are in most cases severe, and often result in horrific suffering and pain, along with permanent scarring.

Burns are caused by a variety of products that include chemicals, gasoline, natural gas, propane gas, faulty equipment, automobile accidents, broken furnaces, smoke detectors that have broken down, aerosol spray cans, along with defective appliances in homes.

What Types of Injuries Result From Electrical Burns?

There are numerous injuries that an individual can sustain when shocked by electricity. Although the most obvious type of electrical burn injury occurs to the skin, there are also serious internal injuries that can occur as well in many cases.

Some of the most serious internal injuries that occur include the following:

Being unable to breathe without medical help
Involuntary spasms or twitches
Internal bleeding
Tissue destruction
Muscle wasting from nerve damage
Brain death or coma
Damaged nerves
Cardiac arrest

Can You Sustain Burn Injuries From A Car Explosion?

In the United States, there is a motor vehicle involved in one out of every five fires, and about one in eight deaths by fire are caused by vehicle explosions.

Vehicle explosions occur due to various causes and can result in serious burn injuries as well as other types of lifelong personal injuries. Car accidents caused by reckless driving may cause a gas tank to explode or catch fire. Faulty car design, including poorly placed fuel lines and fuel tanks that are found in numerous sport utility vehicles, may also cause a vehicle explosion when a rollover occurs or other types of car accidents. Whether your accident was caused by a faulty car part or another driver’s negligence, we can determine who was at fault for the burn injuries you sustained in a vehicle explosion.

Do Our Attorneys Represent People Injured In Car Explosions And Fires?

A car explosion or fire are events that a majority of individuals never think they will see – never mind being affected directly by one. However, a broad range of motorcycles, trucks, and cars pose an unacceptable risk of fire or explosion if they are part of a crash. If either you or a member of your family has sustained burn injuries or any other severe consequences, our car fire attorneys in Minnesota are available to assist you in any way possible.

Our focus is on assisting accident victims to recover the maximum amount of compensation through the use of assertive legal action and insurance claims. We have successful and extensive case experience from many auto defect cases that we have handled. You can rely on our law firm to investigate thoroughly with what occurred and fight for your rights against any corporation or individual.

Trucking Accidents

Why Is Understanding Driver Fatigue Important?

Driver fatigue has a huge impact on driver safety. Among the thousands of accidents that are reported, driver fatigue is the cause of approximately 10 to 20 percent of those accidents. This data is based on the information from the above-mentioned report.

For this reason, there are policies in place that require bus drivers and truck drivers to have a maximum amount of hours on the road vs hours off the road. This ensures more time for rest and sleep prior to their next shift. Thus, they are believed to be more alert and ready for any inevitability.

Per the research, the majority of bus drivers and truck drivers are faced with a variety of stresses that can include economic pressure and work schedule changes. Drivers are so more vulnerable to lack of sleep, they are also more prone to such conditions as diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiovascular diseases, and other health concerns that may make them more susceptible to such conditions.

Do I Need To Hire A Trucking Lawyer?

After you have been involved in a car accident, you may be wondering whether or not you actually need help from a lawyer. Truthfully, like any attorney will say, it will depend on many different factors.

For example, if you were in a minor accident where you suffered minor injuries and no or little property damage, then you might be able to handle your own insurance claims without needing assistance from an attorney. This is especially true when you consider that most personal injury attorney fees are on a contingency basis, or if you have a small claim, the amount you will be able to keep after settlement will be quite small.

However, if you have sustained severe injuries or a loved one has died after a truck accident, then we highly recommend that you get help from an experienced trucking attorney.

Is There a Shortage Of Truck Drivers And How It Affects Safety?

With the high visibility of big rig trucks, 18-wheelers, and semi-trucks appearing on all roads in the U.S. from interstates to highways, it may come as a surprise to most people that there is a huge shortage of commercial truck drivers all over the country. The figure is estimated to be 60,000, however, according to one analysis, it can be as high as 100,000 with experts in the industry predicting that it will triple by 2026.

But why is there such a shortage of truck drivers? Experts in the industry link the decline to things like an aging workforce, high turnover rates, and reduced capacity due to regulatory changes. A major reason for leaving the industry can be contributed to safety and lifestyle concerns According to USA Today, truck driving is the seventh most dangerous occupation in America. In 2016 alone there were 24.7 fatalities per 100 drivers with the most common injuries including overexertion and impaired bodily reactions due to the strain of the job. Trucking takes its toll on the bodies of truckers who have to work extended shifts because of the shortage and prolonged periods of sitting in one position.

What Type Of Compensation Can I Obtain For My Injuries Caused By A Big Rig Accident?

When victims file for truck accident claims, the primary reason behind these suits is aimed at receiving an award or settlement to cover the damages that these victims have suffered. The damages cover many aspects which include both non-economic and financial losses that the person has suffered due to the accident. Some of the examples of damages that are cited in the big-rig accident claims often include:

– Costs for physical therapy
– Medical expenses
– Loss of income when the person is unable to return to work
– Prescription medication costs
– A decrease in earning potential due to a disability that was caused by the accident
– Current and future medical treatments
– Pain and suffering
– Emotional trauma

What Type Of Damages Can I Claim After A Truck Accident?

Accidents involving large semi-trucks can result in serious injuries and expensive hospital bills for a number of reasons. The courts will award damages to a successful plaintiff for an amount related to both tangible and intangible losses. There are three primary types of damages awarded in personal injury cases. These include economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

If you or a relative were involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler truck that has resulted in personal injuries and damages, it is essential to hire an experienced truck accident attorney to take your case. Choosing a personal injury lawyer to represent your case may be the best decision you can make when it comes to obtaining just compensation for your loss and injury sustained by an accident involving an 18-wheeler or any other large commercial vehicle. A personal injury lawyer is a professional experienced in gathering necessary evidence and negotiating settlements on behalf of clients who have been involved in these types of accidents and ensuring that they receive the compensation they deserve.

Why Is A Truck Tire Blowout Dangerous?

If you check out a big semi-truck, one of the first things that you will notice is that there are many more tires on it compared to a regular passenger vehicle. You might assume the extra tires might help with avoiding problems in case one tire fails. Although the extra tires do provide the truck with support and help it avoid veering off of the road, the fact is that tire blowouts can still be quite dangerous, and at times, even fatal.

If you were injured in an accident that was caused by a tire blowout on a truck, you might need help from an expert truck accident attorney. Our skilled attorneys are knowledgeable and experienced in handling numerous issues that involve truck accidents and can fight aggressively for you to make sure you are fully and fairly compensated for your damages and injuries.