Burn Injury Lawyers for Rockford, and Surrounding Areas

Burn Accidents Can Be Complicated

Hiring A Burn Injury Lawyer Significantly Increases Your Chances At Recovery

Burn Injuries, Bodily Injury Claims and other bodily issues in Rockford Web Image

Reach out if you’ve suffered ANY burn injuries that you feel could have been prevented. Our lawyers have worked with hundreds of burn injury cases – we can significantly help increase the chances of obtaining recovery compensation.

Do This If You’ve Just Experienced A Burn Injury

If you’ve just suffered a burn injury take these steps to protect yourself and the possibilities of filing a future lawsuit.

Seek Medical Attention

Regardless of the severity of the burn you should be cautious and see a medical professional. Even if you feel the burn isn’t bad enough, a medical professional will be your best advocate for your health. Additionally, if there is a chance that you need to file an injury lawsuit, seeing a medical professional helps strengthen your case.

Document Everything and Take Good Notes

Some burn injury cases can take months or years to process. By this time your injuries might have healed and you’ve gotten back to normal. Taking good notes, pictures, and documenting everything that has happened will really help your case. A judge, jury, or even settlement from the insurance company will REALLY see how your injuries affected your life. It’s so much better than trying to paint a verbal image for them, and then they see you sitting there looking normal.

Contact Our Attorneys

We’ve handled hundreds of burn cases for our clients. There will be legal options you’re not aware of. We’ll be able to protect you from aggressive insurance companies. We’ll be able to give you peace of mind and guide you on what to expect next. We’ll handle all the paperwork and give you suggestions for how we can best help you win your case. It’s well-proven that hiring a personal injury lawyer results in more compensation and quicker settlements.

Can I File a Lawsuit For My Burn Injury?

Due to the complexity, each case is different. There is no swift yes or no answer. Each burn accident needs to be evaluated and investigated. Burn injuries can be complex and long-lasting. They have some of the most severe consequences and commonly, the most severe form of physical and emotional trauma. Treatment for burn injuries can be expensive and extensive. They can easily reach and exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Attorneys that work with burn injuries will be able to listen to your story and give you feedback on how strong your case might be. Tell us your story our consultation if free – Available 24/7 – (815) 964-8303

Getting Compensation For Your Burn

If you feel that your burn was the cause of neglect there are a few ways our attorneys can help you obtain compensation for medical bills, missed work, and pain.

Personal Injury Lawsuit

If your accident was the result of negligence our offices can file a personal injury claim against the person who caused your injuries.

Personal Injury Covers Many Accident Types, Learn More Here

File An Insurance Claim

If the burn was the result of a car crash, or in a place of business a claim can be filed against the insurance company.That is if the policy covers it. But, sometimes there are limits on what is covered and the coverage might not be enough to cover all of your damages.

A lawyer can help navigate all the specifics and provide you with your best course of action.

More About Car Accidents and Insurance Claims Here

Workers’ Compensation Claim

If you were burned at work your employers workers’ comp insurance can cover the costs associated with your accident. Our lawyers can help you fill out all the paperwork and make sure you’re claiming everything you need to so you can get back to work.

More About Workers’ Comp Here

Types or Degrees of Burn Injuries

There are 4 Levels or Degrees of Burn Injuries:

First-Degree Burns: A person sustains first-degree burns when the outer layer of skin is affected. Such as a mild to moderate sunburn. The damage to one’s skin involves mild pain and redness but does not involve blistering or permanent scarring.

Second-Degree Burns: A person sustains second-degree burns when both the outer layer of skin and the dermis are damaged. Besides pain and redness, second-degree burns may lead to swelling and blistering. A second-degree burn may be superficial, whereby only a part of the dermis suffers damage. Or a second-degree burn may be deeper (“partial-thickness burn”), resulting in scarring and skin discoloration.

Third-Degree Burns: A person sustains a third-degree burn, also known as a “full-thickness burn,” when the two top layers of skin are destroyed. Rather than being red, a third-degree burn appears white, black, or yellow, and because third-degree burns damage nerve endings, a burn injury victim may not feel the extent of the burns.

Fourth-Degree Burn: A person sustains fourth-degree burns, which can be life-threatening when all layers of one’s skin are destroyed. As well as damage to one’s muscles, tendons, and even one’s bones.

Types of Burns

Thermal Burns: These burns result when skin cells begin dying from an increase in temperature of the skin, such as a fire.

Electrical Burns: These burns are the direct result of exposure to an electrical current.

Cold Burns: Frostbite is a “cold burn” that results from the death of skin cells upon freezing. Many frostbite injuries or cold burns lead to amputation.

Friction Burns: These burns happen when an object rubs off one’s skin. Such burns are often associated with motorcycle or bicycle accidents. A person gets thrown or tossed on a roadway, and suffers what many call “road rash.”

Chemical Burns: These burns result from contact with acids, solvents, or detergents.

Radiation Burns: These burns result from exposure to the sun (sunburn), x-rays, or radiation therapy.

Deadline Or Time Limitation For Filing A Burn Injury Claim

The statute of limitations for lawsuits involving burn injuries will vary based on the type of lawsuit at issue. Under Illinois law, most statutes of limitations involving injuries are consistent, providing an injured person two years to file a lawsuit.

Per 735 ILCS 5/13-202, a burn injury victim has two years from the date the cause of action accrues to file a personal injury lawsuit. The accrual date, in most cases, is the date the injuries are suffered. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-213, a burn injury victim has two years from the date he or she became aware that his or her burn injuries were caused by a defective product to file a product liability lawsuit. The date at issue — in most cases — is the date burn injuries are sustained.

However, with some liability lawsuits, the date one becomes aware that his or her burn injuries are linked to a defective product may come days, weeks, or even months after the injuries are sustained. In such cases, the statute of limitations begins to run at that later “discovery” date.

Wrongful Death Burn Accident Time Limits

When burn injuries are fatal, a surviving spouse, adult child, or another legal representative may choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit. According to 740 ILCS 180/1, the legal representative must file the wrongful death lawsuit no more than two years after the date of the injury victim’s death, regardless of whether the lawsuit involves negligent conduct or allegedly defective products.

Frequently Asked Questions About Illinois Burn Injury Claims

This is where our law office can help.

Finding out whether a person or party is at fault for causing another person’s burn injuries often requires an extensive investigation of the facts surrounding the burn injuries. Filing a lawsuit or insurance claim opens the door to an exchange of information that helps put the pieces together of what went wrong and why.

Exploring legal options, and investigating potential legal claims should be handled by a legal professional with the necessary experience and knowledge related to these types of claims. We have worked several burn injury accidents and each one is never the same.

A person who sustains burn injuries in the state of Illinois — regardless of whether the injury victim resides in Illinois — can file a personal injury lawsuit in the state of Illinois.

However, when the parties involved in a lawsuit are from different states, lawsuits may be filed in federal court. In such cases, Illinois state law still governs the substance of the legal claims.

The time it takes to secure a trial date in an Illinois state or federal court will be dependent on where a case is filed.

A case filed in Cook County may schedule a trial date one to two years after a lawsuit is filed, but in some cases, the trial date may even be more than two years after a lawsuit is filed. A smaller county may have a more open trial schedule that allows for an earlier trial date (such as one that happens less than one year after a lawsuit is filed).

All burn injury claims should involve an assessment of future costs and damages.

If a burn injury victim has chronic pain, permanent scarring, disfigurement, requires future medical treatment, and/or results in future job loss or an inability to work at all, an injury victim should have an opportunity to seek compensation that equals what these estimated future costs may be.

Contact A Lawyer Who Can Answer All Your Questions

Paul Marriett working a personal injury case with accident victim.

No Fees Unless We Win – FREE CONSULTATION

At Rockford Personal Injury Lawyers, our office is uniquely situated to handle burn injury cases. We keep a trim caseload and have the time and resources to adequately investigate, and prepare a case to seek maximum compensation. From doing onsite investigations, talking to witnesses, and building a case for trial from the very beginning. We’ve helped hundreds and have the right systems in place to help maximize the recovery for our clients.

For a FREE and honest consultation, call, text, or email us 24/7/365: (815) 964-8303, contact@rockfordpersonalinjuryattorney.com.

All burn injury victims in Illinois should consider how an Illinois Burn Injury Lawyer can significantly help increase the chances of obtaining compensation.