Dangerous Property
Accidents Caused by Dangerous Property Conditions
If you have suffered a slip and fall accident or were otherwise injured on unsafe property, contact a knowledgeable attorney at our Law Firm for a free consultation. We’re committed to helping our clients recover the greatest amount of compensation possible for their injury claims. At the same time, we work closely with our clients to help resolve any medical or practical problems that might interfere with a complete recovery.
Call toll-free for advice about premises liability litigation.
Premises liability is the legal term that covers the responsibility of a property owner to protect others from unreasonable risk of injury. Premises liability law can be highly technical, and the outcome of a property accident claim will often depend on some complicated questions of fact: should the owner have been aware of a dangerous condition? Were the posted warnings sufficient to let people know of the actual risks? Should negligence on the part of the victim excuse the owner’s negligence? What if the victim was a small child?
Our familiarity with the demands of premises liability litigation under Texas law can help you identify the strengths, weaknesses, and probable value of your personal injury claim. We can advise and represent you on such property accident claims as:
Slip and fall injuries suffered on wet or oily floors or in unlit hallways or stairwells
Injuries caused by structurally defective or badly maintained building components
Accidents resulting from inadequate warnings or barriers in maintenance or construction areas
Negligent security in parking lots, bars, restaurants, or public entertainment venues
Dog bites or other accidents caused by failure to restrain a pet or other animal
Swimming pool accidents
Accidents involving tourists at resort properties
We advise people whose injuries range from broken bones or extensive soft tissue trauma to the permanent or disabling injuries that can result from falls or blows from falling objects — brain injury, spinal cord damage, or loss of organ function.
To learn more about the scope of our premises liability practice, contact a personal injury lawyer at our Law Firm for a free consultation.
=================gtg
Out-of-State Accidents
Dependable Client Service for Drivers from Out of State
Drivers who get hurt while far from home face significant obstacles to the successful resolution of their claims for compensation. It’s hard to protect your interests from a distance. At our Law Firm, the attorneys know how to meet the needs of car crash victims from out of state.
For a free consultation about how we can help you while you’re focusing on your physical recovery somewhere else, contact our Law Firm.
Call toll-free for advice about accident claims.
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage that out-of-state accident victims face concerns the practical ability to preserve the evidence you’ll need to present an effective claim. Neither you nor your home-state lawyer will have the same opportunities as local counsel to interview witnesses, inspect vehicles, photograph the accident scene, or work with local police and investigators. Our ability to move quickly to develop the strengths of your case can help protect the value of your claims.
Our law firm’s experience with the proof of serious injury claims can also benefit an out-of-state driver who suffered an accident. We can monitor the accuracy and completeness of your local emergency treatment records and supplement them after you return home for further treatment. We’ll be able to make sure that all of your injuries and other losses are correctly identified and included in your demand for damages — not just the most obvious ones.
Because we’re thoroughly familiar with Texas insurance law and car accident claim procedures, we can protect you from the mistakes that might prevent you from realizing the full value of the insurance available to meet your claims under both the other driver’s policy and your own.
For additional information about the scope of our personal injury practice on behalf of out-of-state drivers injured in Texas highway accidents, contact a lawyer at our Law Firm.
=====================gtg
Wrongful Death
Serving the Needs of Surviving Families After Fatal Accidents
While even a simple injury accident can result in a wide range of problems for the victim and the whole family, it’s hard for people who haven’t suffered a sudden death through negligence to understand what a grieving family faces. At our Law Firm, our attorneys can protect your legal interests, investigate and present your damages claims, and help you through the challenges that the loss of a loved one will mean for everyone in your family.
If your family needs to pursue its rights to compensation while working through an extremely difficult transition, the advice and support of experienced lawyers can ease your burden. For a free consultation about your legal options, contact our Law Firm. Call toll-free for advice about wrongful death litigation.
Whether your wrongful death claim arises from a fatal car accident or from dangerous property conditions, our attorneys can help you with the legal, practical, financial, and personal consequences of your loss. We adapt our services to your needs as they come up and change over time.
An especially important advantage of our approach to client service is our ability to serve as a resource and sounding board while working to minimize the burdens of a wrongful death lawsuit.
Our understanding of the legal dimensions of wrongful death litigation can help ensure that the full range of your damages claims will be presented for compensation. For example, your family will have two sets of claims: your own losses directly resulting from the death of a parent, spouse, or child; and certain losses suffered by the victim, such as pain and suffering, that you essentially inherit as the next of kin.
The counsel of a dependable and compassionate attorney can help you protect your rights and make sound decisions about your alternatives. For additional information about what to expect in wrongful death litigation, contact our Law Firm.
=========================gtg
Drunk Driving Victims
Practical Advice About Drunk Driving Accident Claims
Collecting the damages caused by a drunk driver can be more complicated than it seems like it should be, especially when a DUI arrest or conviction strengthens your negligence claims against the other driver. It can get even more complicated if the drunk driver left the scene of the accident or carried little or no liability coverage.
For dependable advice and practical solutions in drunk driving accidents, contact a knowledgeable personal injury attorney at our Law Firm. We advise people about the best ways to resolve alcohol-related accident claims.
Call toll-free for a free consultation about your legal options.
Although every situation is different, drunk driving accidents, in general, have a number of distinctive features:
* Serious or fatal injuries due to the drunk driver’s reduced ability to avoid impact
* Possible award of punitive damages to supplement your actual damages — but insurance won’t cover punitive damages
* Reduced likelihood that the drunk driver has enough insurance to meet the full range of your car accident losses
* Higher frequency of claims against unlicensed or uninsured drivers
* Greater possibility that you’ll need to look to your own insurer under your uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage
Proving liability against the intoxicated driver isn’t usually the main problem in a drunk driving accident. Instead, the real challenge often involves collecting the damages that you have coming, either against the drunk driver, his or her insurer, or your own insurance company.
Recent changes in insurance law make it possible to collect damages up to the limits of the other driver’s coverage, then proceed under your own underinsured motorist benefits for the losses that aren’t covered, up to your UM/UIM coverage limits. To take advantage of these so-called stacking benefits, however, they need to be included in your policy, or you need to take certain steps to protect your rights.
At our Law Firm, our lawyers work hard on behalf of accident victims to recover as much compensation as possible from all available sources. For a free consultation about the ways you can benefit from our experience with drunk driving accidents, contact our office.
=====================gtg
========================gtg
===================gtg
====================gtg
Burn Attorneys – Burn injury on the foot
This site is especially for people who have suffered serious burn injuries and for their loved ones.
Serious burns are one of the most painful and difficult medical conditions to treat. They require a prompt response, and even after the immediate emergency is addressed, the continued risk of infection and damage to tissue and organs means that hospital care and treatment may continue for months. Even with the best medical care, burn injuries can leave a person disabled and disfigured. Everyone who suffers severe burn injuries faces major and disruptive changes in their lives.
Here you can learn more about how burns heal, and the latest research in burn treatment and rehabilitation. You can also learn about the causes of burns, and the ongoing efforts in burn safety and prevention to reduce the frequency of burn injuries and fatalities.
A burn is tissue damage caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, nuclear radiation, or sunlight. Most common are burns caused by scalds, building fires, and flammable liquids and gases. No matter what the cause of the burn, the effects on the tissue are the same. Burns are described as first, second, or third-degree, depending on the depth to which the burn has penetrated, and the kind of tissue damage sustained. Very severe burns involving damage to organs and bone are classified as fourth, fifth, and sixth-degree burns.
First, second, and third-degree burns
First-degree burns affect only the epidermis or outer layer of the skin. A first-degree burn usually heals without scarring. Second-degree burns damage both the epidermis and the dermis, the under layer of skin. The risk of infection increases with a second-degree burn because the skin is the body’s protective layer. When skin is damaged or destroyed, the body is more vulnerable to infection.
Third-degree burns involve damage or complete destruction of all layers of skin and damage to underlying tissues and organs. People who have suffered third-degree burns frequently need skin grafting, the replacement of destroyed skin with new skin taken from another part of the body.
The swelling and blistering that occur with burns are caused by the loss of fluid from damaged blood vessels. When the burned area is extensive, fluid loss can be great enough to cause shock. When this happens the burn victim requires immediate transfusion of blood or of a physiological salt solution to restore adequate fluid levels to maintain blood pressure. After serious burn injuries, healing aims at preventing infection and minimizing scarring as damaged tissues heal.
Medical researchers have made significant progress in their ability to treat serious burn injuries. Twenty-five years ago, a person with third-degree burns covering half the body was not expected to live. Today many patients survive burns that covered 90 percent of the body, albeit with permanent disabilities. The increased survival rate is the result of advances in resuscitation, better wound cleaning and follow-up care, nutritional support, and infection control. Grafting with the patient’s own skin or artificial materials also speeds the healing process.
If you or a loved one has recently suffered serious burn injuries, or if you have lost a loved one due to burn injuries, you will want to learn more about your rights. After a serious burn jury: should you consider legal action? Contact our Law Firm for useful information that can help you think through the new financial realities you face, and your options for funding them.
Many serious burn injuries are the result of defective products or negligence. A manufacturer who builds and sells a defective product, or a landlord or other property owner who is negligent in the maintenance of a property and where that negligence results in a fire can be held financially responsible for injuries. Here are the products that most often lead to fires:
Portable electric heaters
Kerosene heaters
Wood and coal-burning stoves and fireplaces
Cooking equipment
Upholstered furniture, and bedding, and mattresses
Articles of clothing
If you believe that your burn injuries or your loved one’s burn injuries resulted from a defective product or a property owner’s negligence, you should contact a burn injury attorney immediately for review of a potential claim. There are deadlines set by laws that regulate the filing of lawsuits, called statutes of limitation, which vary state by state. If the statute of limitations expires, your right to pursue a claim against the entity may be forever barred.
===================gtg
Causes of burn injuries and fatalities
The most frequent causes of severe burn injuries are scalds, flammable liquids and gases, and building fires. Most of these are preventable by careful attention to heat sources and proper maintenance of machinery and heating devices.
Burn injuries at work
About a quarter of all serious burn injuries requiring hospital admission occur at work, and workplace burn injuries account for 5% of workplace deaths. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, estimates that 200 American workers die each year, and more than 5000 more are injured in workplace explosions fires. Workplace-related burns can result not only from fires but from contact with hot objects and machinery. Electrical, radiation, and chemical burns are dangers in many workplaces, including construction sites and road-building, steel and specialty metals mills, scrap metal shops, roofing operations, laboratories, refineries, chemical plants, kitchens, and other workplaces. Burns most often affect respiratory functions (lungs, throat), eyes, and skin.
Chemical burns are sometimes more severe than open flame burns
Thermal workplace burns are usually scalding from hot liquids such as boiling water or hot grease. Open flames, hot objects, and explosions are frequent causes. The burns are usually skin burns.
Chemical burns usually result in a more severe type of burn. Strong alkaloids, acids, or other caustic and corrosive materials can eat away skin and underlying tissue; this is a chemical burn. These very severe burns can be caused by rust removers, highly basic drain cleaners, and other industrial cleaners used in laboratories, factories, and other industrial sites.
Molten metal at an -industrial plant
Electric current traveling through the body meets resistance in the body’s tissues, resulting in heat burn injuries. Workplace safety laws require high voltage areas and dangerous machinery to be clearly marked.
Many workplace burn injuries are preventable. OSHA sets the following general fire prevention standards for workplaces:
To prevent deaths and injuries by fire in the workplace, all fire exits must be provided and clearly marked, and employees must be trained in their location.
If employees are expected to fight small fires, appropriate fire extinguishers must be readily accessible and employees who will use fire extinguishers must be trained about the hazards of fighting fire, how to operate the fire extinguishers, and how to alert other employees to the fire emergency.
If employees are to evacuate, the employer must have an emergency plan printed and train employees in evacuation procedures.
The basic OSHA requirements for fire exits are:
A workplace must have a minimum of two 2 escape routes for fire emergencies; these should not be close to each other.
When employees are in the building, fire doors must not be locked or access to them blocked from the inside. Routes to the fire exits must be free of obstructions and properly marked with exit signs.
Fire extinguishers
If an employer wants employees to fight small fires, the proper types of fire extinguishers must be available. Extinguishers must be approved for the types of fire hazards in the plant, and maintained and inspected regularly. Employees who will use fire extinguishers must be trained about the hazards of fighting fire, how to operate the fire extinguishers, and how to alert other employees to the fire emergency. If employees are to evacuate instead of fighting small fires, an employer must have a written emergency plan.
A sound emergency action plan:
Designate evacuation routes and procedures to account for all evacuated employees after evacuation;
Assigns responsibilities for procedures to shut down critical operations at the time of evacuation and perform rescue and medical duties;
Establishes methods to alert employees to the fire emergency; this may be voice communication, bells, whistles, or horns; and
Identify persons who can provide more information.
Trains all employees to know the evacuation signal and what to do in an emergency.
A sound fire prevention plan will minimize the number of times an evacuation is needed. Provisions of a fire prevention plan include:
Housekeeping procedures for storage and clean-up of flammable materials and flammable waste;
Procedures for controlling likely sites of ignition such as smoking, welding, and burning;
Procedures for maintenance and cleaning of heat-producing equipment, such as burners, ovens, stoves, and fryers; and
Training of employees in the potential fire hazards and the control procedures in the fire prevention plan.
Automatic fire suppression systems such as automatic sprinkler systems which improve workplace fire safety.
Fire safety equipment
An automatic system will detect fire, sound an alarm, and deliver water or other appropriate fire suppression materials to the fire. Automatic systems must be properly maintained. If a system is taken out of service during work hours a fire watch must be substituted. An automatic system that uses hazardous chemicals will have special safety requirements. When an automatic system is used, it must be incorporated into the fire prevention and emergency action plans.
If you or a loved one has been burned in a workplace fire, and you believe the workplace was not compliant with OSHA standards, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries. You should contact an experienced burn injury attorney as soon as possible to learn about your rights.
======================gtg
Burn safety: preventing burn injuries and fatalities from burns
Burn prevention tips
GENERAL MEASURES
Smoke detector
Install smoke detectors in each bedroom corridor, at the top of each stairway, and along your normal exit route. Replace the batteries at the same time twice yearly.
Set your water heater no higher than 120- 25º F. At 130º F. a severe scald burn can occur in just 30 seconds.
Do not overload power sockets, or use damaged power cords.
IN THE KITCHEN
Hot burner
Keep pot handles turned in and the appliance cords away from the edge of the counter.
Keep hot liquids and other hot items away from the edge of the table or counter.
Establish a safe area where a young child can be placed away from risk. Establish a “No Go Zone” in front of the stove, and teach your child to stay away from that area.
Be careful using microwave ovens. Steam escaping from the container can cause scald burns. Foods can be warm in one spot and scalding in another.
Never leave hot oil unattended. Oil can ignite if allowed to overheat.
IN THE BATHROOM
Scalding hot water
When filling a tub, run cold water into the tub first, and then add hot water. Keep your child away from the faucets.
Never leave young children alone in the bathroom for any reason.
OUTSIDE
Gasoline can
Do not use gasoline for any purpose other than to fuel an engine. Use the safest product available for the intended job.
Always fuel power mowers outside where there is adequate ventilation.
Indoor heater safety
Space heaters are a convenient and effective source of heat, but their potential for burns is high. They can burn by direct contact, but also by igniting clothing or anything else that’s flammable. Using the wrong fuel in a space heater can cause an explosion, and using a space heater for cooking, or heating water is an invitation to burns. For all kinds of indoor heating devices, be sure to keep a fire extinguisher handy.
Here are some basic safety practices for space heaters and wood and coal-burning stoves.
Keep heaters free of dust and lint
Do not use or store any flammable liquids near the unit
Provide protection against direct contact with a cage or fire screen
Provide proper ventilation
Have an annual maintenance check
Keep electric heaters away from bathtubs or wet areas
PORTABLE KEROSENE HEATERS
Space heater
Use a protective cage around the heater, especially if small children will be near it. Don’t touch the heater when it’s in use.
Never move heater while it’s in use
Never use the heater to heat water or food
Use only the fuel recommended for your kerosene. Other fuels such as paint thinner, gasoline, or fuel oil can overheat and explode
At the end of the heating season dispose of any remaining kerosene, and buy a fresh supply at the start of the next heating season.
K-1 clear kerosene is the only grade you should use. Other grades create more smoke and vapors which can be toxic to animals and humans.
Always be sure that you have adequate ventilation. Leave a door ajar or a window slightly open. Be especially careful if your house is well insulated. Heaters produce carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases which may be hazardous, especially to high-risk groups such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and individuals with cardiovascular diseases or asthma.
When refueling your heater, turn it off and allow it to cool to room temperature. Fuel splashing on a hot surface can ignite.
Refill the heater tank outside. Fuel spilled indoors stains furnishings and is flammable.
Don’t overfill. Stop filling when the gage reads “full” so that kerosene doesn’t overflow.
Never leave a heater unattended. If you’re leaving or going to sleep, turn it off.
Don’t use a heater when you’re going to sleep, or when a child or a sitter is in charge.
Follow safe storage practices for kerosene. Keep in a safety-approved container clearly marked “kerosene.”
Keep fuel away from children.
COAL AND WOOD STOVE SAFETY
Woodburning stove
Use a qualified installer, and be sure the installer provides recommended clearances for stove and ductwork
Place on a ceramic hearth or another non-flammable base.
Have your stove, ductwork, and chimney cleaned every year.
Provide adequate ventilation. Leave a window or door slightly open. Be especially careful if your house is well insulated. Heaters produce carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases which may be hazardous, especially to high-risk groups such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and individuals with cardiovascular diseases or asthma.
Use the correct fuel: only coal in coal-burning stoves, and only seasoned wood in wood-burning stoves.
Don’t overload the stove with fuel
Store fuel at a safe distance from the stove
Do not use lighter fluid or other flammable liquids to help start the fire
Place ashes in a suitable metal container and take outdoors immediately
Always use a fire screen or keep doors closed
Keep children away from the stove.
=========================gtg
Treatment and rehabilitation of burn injuries
Classifying burns
Psychological aspects of burn care
Severe forearm burn and treatment
More than 60% of the 40,000 hospitalizations each year for serious burn injuries now occur at the 125 hospitals with specialized burn centers. This percentage of specialized hospitalizations has increased steadily in the last 30 years as emergency care and transportation have improved.
Until the last decade, the goal in the treatment of severe burns was simply enabling the patient to survive. As the range of therapies has increased, and survival rates have improved, burn specialists have widened their goals. In a recent article, a burn specialist wrote that the goal of burn treatment is to reintegrate the burn patient into the community. This expanded goal means that the burn care treatment team faces a far broader set of tasks than simply wound closure.
This effort involves three major areas: rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reintegration. Even at the beginning of acute care, a focus on long-term rehabilitation must be part of the treatment plan.
Stabilizing the patient
Fingers burned and bandaged
The first tasks after a serious burn injury involve stabilizing the patient: providing fluids, usually intravenously, to reduce shock and prevent dangerous drops in blood pressure, and monitoring the patient’s breathing, assisting if necessary. The skin is the body’s principal barrier against infection, and after a serious burn injury, the victim is at significant risk for infection. Immediate treatment aims at preventing infection with IV antibiotics and antibiotics in cream or ointment form applied directly to the burned areas.
Even while a patient is still critically ill and in the ICU, rehabilitation goals are part of the treatment. The aim is to limit the loss of range of motion, ROM, to reduce edema, the presence of excess fluid in tissues that contributes to joint stiffening, and to use positioning and splinting to prevent contractures. This process generally involves twice-a-day therapy sessions timed when anesthetics are strongest so that aggressive joint ROM therapy can occur.
During this time survival may be uncertain. The burn injury survivor will experience anxiety, fear, pain, delirium, sleep deprivation, and confusion, which must be managed by the ICU team and psychiatric consultants.
As the patient stabilizes, the burn treatment team begins a careful assessment of the extent of the burn damage and plans the course of treatment.
======================gtg
