Seattle Burn Injury Lawyer

Did you suffer severe burns in an accident or explosion in Seattle? If so, help is available to you. The Seattle burn injury lawyers of Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers know how painful and debilitating burn injuries can be. We understand the stress that victims feel as they watch the medical bills pile up from surgeries and grafts. We know that the impact of the burns will stay with the victim for years or an entire lifetime, with disfigurement, lack of movement, and other physical reminders ever-present in your life. That’s why we fight so hard on behalf of burn victims to get them justice and the full compensation they are owed. Turn to us for help today, and we’ll put our experience to work for you.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2000, a person died in a fire every two hours and a person was injured in a fire every 23 minutes. In 2016, there were 486,00 burn injuries that required medical treatment resulting in 40,000 hospitalizations, according to the American Burn Association (ABA).

In its 2017 Annual Report, the Seattle Fire Department reported that it had responded to 96,822 incidents that year. Of these responses, 55 percent related to basic life support, 19 percent related to advanced life support, 17 percent related to fire, and 9 percent were unclassified. The Seattle Fire Department received 150,919 emergency calls in 2017.

If you or your loved one has suffered serious burn injuries in an accident caused by another party’s negligence in the greater Seattle area, it is very important that you quickly retain legal counsel. Make sure that you have an experienced attorney so you can recover all of the compensation to which you’re entitled.

Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers will fight to make sure that you recover every last dollar of compensation. Call (206) 312-0954 or contact us online to take advantage of a free consultation with a personal injury attorney in Seattle.

Do I Need A Burn Injury Lawyer?

Many burn injury cases require that victims file claims with a negligent party’s insurance company. It is important to seek legal counsel before you discuss your case with an insurer.

In many cases, a representative from the negligent party’s insurance company will contact the victim, acting concerned about their well-being, and expressing a desire to work with them to achieve a mutually satisfying conclusion. Do not fall for this, as the true purpose of these gestures is to create a false sense of security.

At some point, an agent or claims adjuster will likely ask you to provide a recorded statement. You should always refuse this offer until you have legal representation.

In other cases, an insurance company may try to resolve the case with a lump sum settlement. You are right to wonder whether the amount you are being offered is really the most that you could receive, as chances are very good it is not. A Seattle injury lawyer can help you obtain the maximum possible recovery.

Why Choose Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers To Handle My Case?

Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers will work very closely with you throughout your case. Our firm will help find you the best possible medical treatment to meet your needs, and will also find solutions to any financial issues arising for your care.

Jeffrey R. Caffee has been named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the country by The National Trial Lawyers every single year since 2013. In 2009, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers honored him with an Award for Advocacy for distinguished achievement in the art and science of advocacy. Mr. Caffee is also a member of the Washington State Bar Association, King County Bar Association, and Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association.

You should also know that you will not have to worry about paying for an attorney, as Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers represents individuals on a contingency fee basis. In other words, you pay nothing unless you receive a monetary award.

Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers will work towards a settlement that provides for all of your past, present, and future needs. Our firm is also ready to file a lawsuit should settlement negotiations reach a stalemate.

Types of Burn Injury Cases We Handle

Burn injuries may occur in many different ways. In most cases, burn injuries are the result of thermal burns, which usually involve contact with fire, hot objects, hot liquid, or steam.

Contact with an electrical current can also cause burns, and chemical burns (or alkali burns) can result from contact with acidic substances. Other types of burns include radiation burns (such as sunburn, caused by exposure to ultraviolet light) and friction burns (caused by skin rubbing against a coarse surface).

Serious burn injuries are typically classified into one of three degrees:

First-Degree Burns— Burns affecting only the epidermis, or the outer layer of the skin.
Second-Degree Burns— Burns affecting both the epidermis and the dermis, the layer of skin below it.
Third-Degree Burns— Burns affecting the epidermis, the dermis, and underlying tissues and sweat glands.

Other degrees of burn injuries do exist, but they are considerably rarer. Burns extending into the fat layer are fourth-degree; burns extending into the muscle are fifth-degree, and burns extending into the bone are sixth-degree.

Accidents that could result in burn injuries include, but are not limited to:

Fires
Explosions
Construction accidents
Machinery/Warehouse accidents
Defective products
Chemical accidents
Car wrecks

Insurance companies often undervalue the pain and suffering experienced by burn injury victims, which is why it is important to engage the help of an experienced attorney.

Seattle Burn Injury Statistics

The University of Washington (UW) reported that more than 480,000 people receive medical treatment annually for a burn injury in the United States. Furthermore, 40,000 people are admitted to hospitals for their burns, while 30,000 of those individuals are cared for at a burn center. Of the 700-900 people that UW Medicine Regional Burn Center cares for annually, one-third are children.

The Burn Model System Summary Report 1993–2014 from UW found that 5,519 people consented to participate in the Burn Model System (BMS) longitudinal database, 764 people did not agree to participate the study, and 448 people died before hospital discharge. The report found that 37 percent of the participants were under 18 years of age at the time of burn injury, and people under 20 years of age accounted for 39 percent of all participants.

Mean total body surface area burned in these cases was 24.0 percent across all cases, while the mean total body surface area grafted was 15.2 percent. According to the report, 44 percent of cases had a total body surface area burned over 20 percent. Patients with a total body surface area burned of 60 percent or more accounted for 7.7 percent of cases.

The cause of burn injuries in the report was fire or flame in 60 percent of cases, scald in 16 percent of cases, grease in 7 percent of cases, electrical in 6 percent of cases, contact with a hot object in 4 percent of cases, flash in 3 percent of cases, and chemical-related in 2 percent of cases. Burn injury locations included 3,071 head or neck burns, 3,482 trunk burns, 785 perineum burns, 3,889 arm burns, 3,602 hand burns, 3,246 leg burns, and 1,710 foot burns.

Contact a Seattle Burn Injury Attorney Today

Did you or your loved one sustain catastrophic burn injuries in an accident caused by another party’s negligence in the Seattle area? You should not have to struggle because of someone else’s wrongdoing. Turn to a legal team that has experience helping victims of burn injuries get the justice and compensation they deserve.

Caffee Accident & Injury Lawyers understands the tremendous financial and personal challenges people face when they suffer burn injuries, and our firm fights to help these individuals obtain all of the compensation they both need and deserve. You can have our lawyers help you explore all of your legal options when you call (206) 312-0954 or contact us online to set up a free consultation.