Item: Law Office of Doug Goyen
Rating: 5
Author: Socorro V.

Burn Injury

Attorney Doug Goyen If you are injured as a result of someone else’s negligence you may be able to seek compensation. If you are needing a Dallas burn injury lawyer, the Law Office of Doug Goyen can help you fight for the best possible outcome. Contact our office today.

Attorney Doug Goyen has been working as a personal injury attorney in Dallas for over 23 years. We will immediately begin working on your case, providing expertise, experience, and powerful representation. For a free case review, please contact us at (972) 599 4100.

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DAMAGES FOR INJURIES CAUSED BY BURNING

Personal injury attorneys use the term “damages” to describe how you were harmed or lost money in your personal injury or wrongful death case. If you have one or more of the following types of damage as a result of your injuries, Texas law allows you to recover money to compensate you for the damage and injury caused by the other party’s negligent conduct. The person or company who caused the harm can be forced to pay if proof of the damage or injury is provided.

When calculating the damages due to a burn victim as a result of a wrongful act, the following factors must be considered:

Past and future medical expenses;
Past and future psychological counseling for victim and family for mental anguish;
Past and future loss of earning capacity;
Past and future physical pain and mental anguish;
Physical impairment;
Scarring and disfigurement;
Amputation;
Loss of consortium;
Loss of services; and
Bystander recovery.

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Following is a discussion of the factors to consider in each of these areas of damage.

MEDICAL EXPENSES, PAST AND PRESENT

In a major burn case, the past expenses can easily run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The intensive care by specially trained personnel using specialized medical equipment and supplies is usually required for the initial treatment, followed by physical therapy and multiple surgeries. Mechanical respirators, oxygen equipment, electrically powered beds, suction devices for endotracheal and gastric suction, suction devices for endotracheal and gastric suction, therapy tanks, whirlpool tubs, burn suits, splinting devices, physical therapy equipment, and special braces for mechanical stretching are frequently required.

Many complications, such as contractures and pulmonary complications, may not manifest themselves for months after the injury. Future medical damages must account for plastic surgery as well as the development of new medical treatments and medical devices to aid in the development of independence and ambulation.

PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING RELATED TO MENTAL ANGUISH, PAST AND FUTURE

In most cases, the victim’s psychological counseling should begin in the hospital and continue for as long as necessary. Counseling for the victim’s family to learn how to deal with the problem is also important. That should be recoverable in any jurisdiction, even if no cause of action for bystanders is established. Family members should be able to recover for any additional counseling to help them learn to cope with their own problems caused by the victim’s injuries under the right of bystander recovery. Each case is unique and must be judged on its own merits, as everyone has predisposing factors that influence their reactions.

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PAST AND FUTURE EARNING CAPACITY LOSSES

A burn victim’s ability to earn a living is likely to be severely harmed. Physical limitations caused by contractures, amputations, injuries to internal systems (such as pulmonary, circulatory, or endotracheal), or psychological complications caused by the stress reaction of both the injuries and treatment and resulting disfigurement can all cause impairment. A vocational rehabilitation counselor must assess these losses.

PHYSICAL PAIN AND MENTAL ANGUISH, IN THE PAST AND IN THE FUTURE

Burns are the most painful of all human body injuries. The loss of a sliver of your humanity is priceless. Pain has consequences – loss of mobility, loss of a limb, inability to enjoy things you used to enjoy – all due to pain. A burn injury’s pain can change a person’s personality. Restitution from the wrongdoer is necessary as a result of this type of loss. Nobody, and for good reason, wants to be hurt or in pain. If someone causes another person to suffer burn injuries due to negligence, the injured person should be compensated for the loss of their pre-injury and pre-pain condition.

SCARRING, DISFIGUREMENT, AND AMPUTATION ARE ALL EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT

The jury will consider each of these four types of damage separately. In an appropriate case involving any combination of two to four of these, the jury must award damages to each but not overlapping damages. Pain and mental anguish must be separated from these as well. The jury instructions will include language that limits their consideration.

While the physical nature of these injuries is obvious, the consequences for the victim’s life may be less so. They do overlap with other types of damage and must be explained and linked by the evidence. Amputation, for example, is painful, as are the limitations of motion that support a claim for physical impairment. Mental anguish is also caused by scarring and disfigurement. These injuries have far-reaching consequences that go beyond a reduction in earnings or earning capacity. They can make it difficult for a physically capable victim to obtain or keep a job.

For years after being discharged from the hospital, a victim may be required to wear compressive garments that make it difficult to find or keep work. The longer a person is out of work, the more difficult it is to find work. This, in turn, reinforces the victim’s already exaggerated feelings of rejection. Due to physical and psychological factors, many major burn victims are unable to return to the labor force. A large proportion of those who return experience a decrease in earning capacity and enjoyment of life.

LOSS OF CONSORTIUM, LOSS OF SERVICES, AND RECOVERY OF BYSTANDERS

In a serious burn case, these three types of damages are frequently involved. Each one represents a separate damage claim.

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STATISTICS CONSEQUENCES AND OCCURRENCES OF BURNS

The fifth most common reason for injury deaths in the USA and the third most common reason for deaths in the home are from Burns and Fires. Out of 25 developed countries, the US is 6th in its mortality rate related to fires.

Fatalities and injuries from house fires have gone down in the past decades, but many are still preventable and are a public health issue.

Every 2 hours somebody died in the USA from a fire, and every 29 minutes someone was hurt due to fire, in 2005. 80% of the fire deaths in the US in 2005 happened in homes. 3030 people died in 396,000 home fires in 2005 in the USA. 13,825 were hurt in those fires. Toxic gases and smoke killed most, not burns.

GROUPS AT RISK FOR BURN INJURIES

People most at risk of fire injury/death are young children under 4, over 65 years old adults, the poor, rural Americans, people in substandard housing or manufactured housing.

People with serious burns need specialized and focused care to help with the physical and mental problems that are caused by their injury. We understand that getting your medical bills taken care of, alleviating financial suffering, relief from lost income, and ensuring that the insurance company pays the claim is most people’s main goals in hiring an attorney.

We will consult with you to make sure you understand your options. We will help work with the insurance company(s). We will help deal with other parties that are involved to make sure you receive quick and appropriate help.

If you are suffering from a burn injury due to an injury to yourself or someone you love, call me. I work in the North Texas and Dallas area call us at (972) 599-4100 to set up a FREE consultation to discuss your case.

Call For A Free Case Review (972) 599 4100

BURN INJURY TERMS

ALLOGRAFTS-Skin grafts made from cadaver skin stored in a graft bank and used as a temporary graft.

AUTOGRAFTING-Create a graft from the victim’s own body.

AXILLARY BURNS -Burns in the armpit.

AUTOGRAFTING-Transferring tissue or an organ into a new position in the body of the same individual by grafting; not taken from another member of the same species. Also known as autotransplantation.

A BLEB is an irregularly shaped primary skin lesion that is at least one centimeter in diameter and contains fluid.

BULLAE-5mm and larger skin lesions that are elevated, circumscribed, and contain fluid.

CHEMICAL BURNS-Burns caused by contact with corrosive substances such as acid.

DEBRIDEMENT-The removal of all foreign matter as well as devitalized skin and tissue in order to expose healthy tissue.

DECUBITUS ULCER-Ulcer caused by a patient’s position in bed; bedsore

BURN DEGREE-

First Degree – first-degree burn under the old classification. Healing time is usually one week.
Partial thickness burns – involve the epidermis as well as verifying dermal depths. Pain, sensitivity to cold air, hyperesthesia with blistering, mottling, and possible draining and scarring are the acute sequelae. Healing time is usually two to three weeks. Due to damage to the underlying tissue, infections can cause it to become a full thickness injury. This was classified as a second-degree burn in the past.
Full thickness burns – affect the entire epidermis and dermis, as well as varying depths of subcutaneous tissue. Pain with possible shock, hematuria, hemolysis of the blood with charring, and pale white, dry, broken skin with edema are the aftereffects. Scarring is unavoidable because healing is entirely dependent on the depth, involvement, and severity of the burn. This was classified as a third-degree burn in the old system.

DERMIS-The true or underlying skin.

ELECTROLYTE-A substance that dissociates into ions in solution, allowing it to conduct electricity.

ENZYMATIC DEBRIDEMENT-A method of debridement that employs a proteolytic enzyme to selectively digest necrotic (devitalized) tissue while leaving viable tissue alone.

EPIDERMIS-The non-vascular skin’s outer layer. It is made up of five layers.

EPITHELIUM-A purely cellular, avascular layer that covers all free surfaces, cutaneous, mucous, and serous, as well as glands and other structures derived from them.

Avascular: Devoid of blood vessels; nonvascular; devoid of blood or lymphatic vessels.
Cutaneous: Concerning the skin.
Mucous: Of or pertaining to mucus or membrane.
Serous: Relating to, containing, or producing serum or a liquid-like substance.

ERYTHEMA-Skin redness and inflammation.

ESCHAR-Necrosed tissue that has been separated from living tissue due to thermal or chemical burns or gangrene.

EXPOSURE METHOD-A treatment method in which the burn is exposed to light in a cool environment in order to control bacteria while drying and healing the burn area. It is most commonly used to treat burns to the face, neck, perineum, and large areas of the trunk.

EXTRAOSSEOUS – Without, on the outside of.

Extra: without, outside of.
osseous: of or relating to bones.

GRANULATION EXUDATE-Exudate: to discharge a fluid, often coagulable, of formed blood elements through the tissues to the surface or into a cavity.

HETEROGRAFTS are grafts that are transferred from one species to another.

HEXACHLOROPHENE CONTAINING SOAP-An antibacterial sudsing emulsion for topical application. Winthrop-Breon manufactures pHisoHex under the brand name pHisoHex.

HOMOGRAFTS-A piece of tissue or organ transferred from one member of the same species to another, not identical twins.

KELOID SCAR-New fibrous (collagen) tissue formations in the dermis (the deeper of the two layers of skin) that replace skin substance loss. Scars and keloids are generally smooth and glossy, with no surface markings, no hair, no sweat, and often show fine wrinkling when compressed.

MACERATION-Softening caused by a liquid’s action.

OSSIFICATION-the formation of bones; a transformation into bone

PERICHONDRITIS is an inflammation of the fibrous membrane that covers the cartilage.

PRIMARY GRAFTING-Graft: A graft is a piece of epidermis or a strip of skin that is inserted into a part to fill a defect.

PROXIMAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL BURNS OF THE ARMS OR LEGS-

Proximal: nearest the trunk or the point of origin, said of part of an extremity, or an artery or a nerve, etc., so situated.
Circumferential: a bearing all the way around. The diameter of a circle.

SPLIT THICKNESS SKIN GRAFTING-

Graft: A graft is a piece of epidermis or a strip of skin that is inserted into a part to fill a defect.
Split thickness: only a superficial layer of the dermis is used.

TRANSUDATION – The passage of a fluid through a membrane is referred to as transudation. It differs from osmosis in that the fluid contains nearly all of the salts and other substances that are in solution or suspension.

VENOUS-STATIS-

Venous: pertaining to a vein or veins
Stasis: the accumulation of blood or other fluids.

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FREE CASE REVIEWS

If you are looking for a Dallas burn injury lawyer, call (972) 599 4100. We offer free phone consultations with a Personal injury attorney in Dallas. We also provide a free strategy session. The strategy session includes a summary of your case, legal issues involved, and legal issues we identify as being critical to maximizing the compensation owed.

THERE IS NO FEE IF WE DO NOT WIN

You owe us nothing if we are unable to recover. We charge a contingency fee structured to take a percentage of what we recover. As a performance-based contract, the better we do for you, the better we do for ourselves. This aligns our interests in the case with our client’s interests.

DIRECTIONS TO OUR OFFICE

Law Office of Doug Goyen
15851 Dallas Pkwy #605
Addison, Texas 75001
(972) 599 4100 phone
(972) 398 2629 fax

Directions to our office: We are on the southbound side of the service road to the Tollway. Stay on the Dallas North Tollway until you come to the Keller Springs exit. Take the Keller Spring exit. Stay on the service road on the southbound side and go just past Keller Springs. Our office is the 2nd building south of Keller Springs, located on the service road to the North Dallas Tollway in the Madison Business Center on the 6th floor.

By Doug Goyen, douggoyen@goyenlaw.com

Call For A Free Case Review (972) 599 4100

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★★★★★

You want a great lawyer who keeps you informed on whats going on speaks with you personally and gets the job done call Doug Goyen. He is excellent & very professional you wont go wrong choosing him!! Thanks again for all your help Mr. Goyen! Socorro V.

Very efficient staff. I am VERY pleased with this firm. Gina W.

Very professional job handling my accident claim. I had some ER bills, and some visits to my ortho after (and various other bills that kept coming in). I was afraid I was going to get stuck owing money, but Doug Goyen took care of the case and had everything paid, including compensating me for the injury. Great lawyer IMO. I felt like my case was taken care of very well. Thx!! Bernard M.

Doug is a great attorney. He took care of my auto accident claim promptly, and answered any questions I had. I also had one of my hospital bills go into collections for non-payment. I was able to contact Doug a year after the accident, and received a copy of the check the hospital claimed they didn’t receive. I highly recommend this guy. David J.

The Law Office of Doug Goyen helped me recovery every bit I was owed on my claim. Very happy I used them. They knew what they were doing, and kept me informed. I felt taken care of the whole way. You wont go wrong using them. Arthur H.

Mr. Goyen helped me take on my own insurance company, the great and mighty Allstate. My prior firm basically dumped me, with a permanent injury because the case didn’t meet their financial guidelines for a settlement. I was a bicycle rider hit by a car driver at an intersection, and Allstate was the company on BOTH SIDES OF THE CLAIM. My own insurance company tried to throw me under the bus to limit their payout! Without Mr. Goyen’s help, I would have been left with NOTHING! I had thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills, unable to receive treatment to correct the issue. He was unafraid and helped me get the best settlement I could … I am tremendously thankful! Pamala M.

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