Legal Help in Virginia for Burn Survivors

Helping Burn Victims Obtain Fair Compensation in Cases of Electrocution, Building Fires, Traffic Accidents, Flammable Clothing, Fireworks Accidents and other Cases Involving Burn Injuries

As legal advocates of the injured, our legal team sees the realities of horrific injuries every day, and we know that severe burn injuries are often the most difficult to endure. We know that the scars, disfigurement, disability and severe pain that attend many burn injuries require intensive medical care and the resources to pay for physical and emotional recovery and therapy, often for a lifetime.

Insurance companies, either the victim’s or the negligent party’s, are responsible for ensuring that victims receive the special care they need following a serious burn injury. But for many of the 1 million burn survivors who suffer permanent disabilities from burn injuries each year, the insurance money needed to recover from these injuries is difficult to come by.

Recovery means different things to different people. When an accident occurs, and an innocent victim suffers severe third-degree facial or bodily burns, scars and disfigurement as a result of actions that could have been avoided, the victims and their families view recovery as obtaining a sum comparable to the pain and suffering, medical costs, loss of income, loss of consortium, and loss of quality of life. But the chances are good that the insurance company involved doesn’t share that view. Their view goes something like this:

“You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. What happened to you wasn’t negligence. It was fate. We’ll do the best we can for you, but don’t harbor any illusions about getting the life you had back. That’s gone, and so is your right to dignity and self-respect. Here’s just enough money to begin your new life as a shut-in. If you outlive the money, well, hopefully you have a rich relative to help you further. Our work is done here. Good luck.”

In too many cases today, an insurance company’s fair weather view of its financial obligations to its policyholders sets the terms for victims of personal injury, condemning them to a life of dependence and charity from their loved ones. It is especially tragic when burn survivors are cheated by a greedy and unscrupulous insurance company. With so many advances in reconstructive surgery, skin grafting, and other medical treatment for burn survivors now readily available, there are medical steps that can be taken to improve the quality of life for every burn survivor.

Virginia attorney Joe Perez has always taken special pride in helping burn survivors obtain the resources they need to get the best medical treatment for their burn injuries. He understands the many social stigmas facing burn survivors in everyday life, and believes in giving them every opportunity to restore their sense of self through medical procedures. Joe doesn’t let self-serving insurance companies obstruct this important goal. In Hampton Roads, Joe has helped many burn survivors and their families hold the parties responsible for the injuries financially accountable in a court of law. Throughout his career, Joe has led and assisted in cases involving:

Electrocution Burns - Building Fires - Thermal Burns - Chemical Burns - Smoke & Heat Inhalation – Propane Gas Explosions - Flammable Clothing - Car and Truck Accident Fires - Flammable Liquids - Water Heater Fires - Defective Products - Work-Related Accidents

In a recent case, Joe obtained a $3.5 million verdict for a railroad employee who was involved in an electrical explosion that set him on fire. To learn more about Joe’s representation on behalf of burn victims, contact our offices today.

"Hundreds of thousands of people are burned in fires each year with many suffering from facial burns as a result. These burn victims not only have severe physical scars, but deep emotional scars, too. A team of plastic surgeons has successfully combined several reconstructive techniques to help burn victims regain some sense of self without undergoing multiple painful procedures and huge scarring often associated with reconstructing the face, according to a study presented at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery 2004 conference in Philadelphia...."