Most burn injuries are obvious, however, some electrical burns can cause deeper tissue burns not visible to the eye and require further medical investigations to properly diagnose and treat the burn injury.
Sustaining a burn injury can impact you in many ways, some of the things you might experience are:
- Risk of infection and infection
- Pain
- Poor sleep
- Reduced ability to care for self
- Inability to drive
- Impacted ability to work
- Psychological distress
- Diminished self esteem
We strongly recommend seeking urgent medical attention if you have sustained a burn injury in an accident.
Burn injuries at work
Sadly Queenslanders are injured at work all too often and it is not uncommon to sustain a burn injury in a work accident.
At work burn injuries can be sustained in a variety of circumstances including:
- Poor equipment, set up
- Faulty machinery/equipment
- Poor training or systems
- Lack of adequate warnings
- Lack of, or inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Co-worker error
Burn injuries sustained in motor vehicle accidents
The sad reality is that Queenslanders are injured on the road every day. Given the large and powerful nature of motor vehicles and motorcycles, it is not uncommon to sustain serious injuries including burns as a result of a road accident.
In a road accident, burn injuries can be sustained a in a variety of circumstances including:
- Being thrown from a motor vehicle
- Being thrown from a motorcycle
- Vehicle explosions and fires
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How long does it take to settle a burn injury claim?
Being involved in an accident and sustaining a burn injury can create such a time of uncertainty in many aspects of life. Will you recover, what treatment will you need, can you return to work, how long will you be without income or receiving reduced income? It is therefore natural to want to know how long it will take to settle your claim.
Unfortunately, there is no way to give you a specific or certain answer on how long it will take to reach a settlement in your burn injury claim. How long a claim takes to settle will depend on the unique circumstances of each case.
Once a settlement is reached in a case it is called a once and for all settlement. This means it is final and you can not come back seeing further compensation relating to that matter at a later time. So it is important that all losses and, as best as you can predict, future losses be taken into account when you reach a settlement. In assessing past and future losses it is important that your burn injury is stable, that means it has reached the maximum medical improvement after all the appropriate treatment, a simpler term for this is that the injury has stabilised, it isn’t getting better and isn’t getting worse. Lawyers have no way of knowing when your injury will reach this point and all losses can be assessed, this is why it is difficult to give you an exact time frame on how long it will take to reach settlement.
As a guide as to how long a burn injury claim might take to settle, the best estimate is that on average claims take 12-18 months to reach a settlement. Of course each case will depend on the specific and unique circumstances. Where an accident involves minor injuries and there is no dispute about who caused the accident, you would anticipate that a settlement could be reached quicker than where there is uncertainty about who caused the accident or more severe injuries.
A burn injury compensation lawyer will work to protect your interests within the required time frames and work efficiently to gather the necessary evidence so that when your burn injury is stable and all evidence is available they are in a position to advise you and promptly work towards reaching a settlement in your claim.
What steps should I take after I sustained a burn injury in an accident?
Sustaining a burn injury in an accident can be frightening, traumatic, and can have lifelong consequences. A lawyer will work with you through this uncertain time.
Regardless of the circumstances and severity of the burn injury there are some basic general steps that should be taken:
- Record The Details make a note of the date, time, place of the accident. Record any details of other people involved in the accident, their registration number, name, address, phone number will all be required. If there are witnesses, also take a note of their contact details. If you can take photos of the accident scene, and any damage, that will also be helpful.
- Report the accident. If you were injured at work, contact your supervisor or human resource department to report the accident. In a car accident, the Queensland Police Service should be notified to report the accident.
- Seek medical review and obtain a work capacity certificate. If you have sustained a burn injury it is important that you seek medical attention and get the appropriate advice and treatment. It is important that you report all symptoms to the Doctor so that they can properly treat you. The doctor should issue you with a work capacity certificate.
- Lodge the claim with the relevant insurer. Your lawyer can assist you with this.
Lawyers who specialise in burn injury accident claims are familiar with these laws and can take care of the necessary steps, claim forms, time frames and gathering evidence, which allows you to then focus on your recovery and rehabilitation. We recommend speaking with a lawyer to fully understand your rights and obligations specific to your circumstances.
Do I have a
Valid burn injury claim?
Personal injury claim, workers’ compensation, WorkCover claim, compensation, compo, damages, reimbursement, and claim are all expressions you may have heard which can mean the same thing. Assessing if you have a valid claim for a burn injury depends on where and how you were injured.
There are laws set out in legislation as well as case law from the Courts which establish who can claim compensation, how to go about making a claim and how claims will be assessed (put into a dollar value sum).
If you have sustained a burn injury caused in relation to an accident in Queensland and you are within the legal time frames, you may be entitled to make an injury claim and have a valid compensation claim.
In assessing if you have a valid claim for a burn injury, lawyers will examine:
- Location – to have a valid neck injury compensation claim in Queensland the accident has to have occurred in Queensland.
- Time limits – lawyers will establish when the accident occurred and if you are within those important time frames to make a claim. In special cases, if you are outside those important time frames, there may be special circumstances in which the deadline can be extended.
- Fault – lawyers will look at the issue of negligence. As an example at work, negligence might be established through poor training, poor systems, faulty equipment, the wrongdoing of another staff member or even bullying. Examples of negligence from road users might be failing to stop, and failing to drive with due care and attention.
- Injury – a claim is to compensate you for any injuries you have suffered and any losses incurred as a result of the injuries sustained. Your lawyer will gather evidence about the burn injury, the likelihood of recovery or ongoing issues as well as the impact of the burn injury on your ability to work and care for yourself.
A lawyer can examine the matters listed above and make an assessment as to whether they believe you have a valid compensation claim for the burn injury you sustained.
How much compensation can I receive for my burn injury in Queensland?
When someone is involved in an accident and sustains a burn injury it can create such a time of uncertainty in many aspects of life. Questions like, will you recover, what treatment will you need, can you return to work, how long will you be without income or receiving reduced income can all be overwhelming. It is therefore natural to want to know how much money you will be awarded for your burn injury claim.
Unfortunately there is no way to give you a certain answer on how much compensation you will get for your burn injury claim. How much a burn injury claim will settle for will depend on the unique circumstances of each case.
Once a settlement is reached in a burn injury claim it is called a once and for all settlement. This means it is final and you can not come back seeking further compensation relating to that matter at a later time. Therefore, it is important that all losses and, as best as you can predict, future losses be taken into account when you reach a settlement. In assessing past and future losses it is important that your burn injury is stable, that means it has reached the maximum medical improvement, a simpler term for this is that the injury has stabilised, it isn’t getting better and isn’t getting worse. If you are seeking legal advice before your burn injury has stabilised and been medically assessed, lawyers have no way of knowing the long term impact of the injury and will not be in a position to give you that specific advice about the dollar value of the claim.
During a claim, lawyers will gather evidence about the impact of the burn injury and the associated financial losses and future losses and any expenses likely to be incurred. Each case is unique and must be assessed looking at that set of circumstances. Once they have this evidence, they will then be in a position to give you very specific advice about how much you would likely be awarded in compensation by a court.
A common question people have when contemplating making a claim for compensation in relation to a burn injury is whether it is financially worth pursuing. There are two aspects to this, assuming you have a right to make a claim:
- will you be awarded a sum of money large enough to justify your efforts (in time and emotionally) and;
- will there be anything left for you after the lawyers and any Government refunds are paid?
It is common for lawyers to offer an obligation free assessment to look at exactly this issue. While all the medical evidence might not be available at this time and the lawyers can’t give you specific advice, they can make an assessment based on their experience as to whether it is worth pursuing. The lawyers will take your instructions and gather information about the circumstances of the accident, including: your burn injury, cost of treatment, medical prognosis, and the impact of the injury on your ability to work. This information will help the lawyer assess the merits of your case and whether it is one worth pursuing.
The lawyers will want to be reasonably confident that your compensation claim for a burn injury is worth pursuing before they offer you a no win no fee agreement/ arrangement. It is then up to you whether you proceed or not or whether you seek a second opinion from another lawyer.
Are there time limits for filing a claim for a burn injury in Queensland?
The date you are injured is a very important piece of information your lawyer will want to establish as soon as possible so that they can advise you of any important time limits that will apply to your burn injury claim. Time limits create a deadline in which notices have to be given to insurers and court documents are to be filed with the Court. These timeframes are very important and missing them can result in you losing your right to make a claim.
It is recommended that you call a lawyer as soon as possible and get advice on what time limits will apply to your circumstances. Making a note and reminders of these dates is wise as the impact of missing the time limits could mean losing your entitlement to claim.
Generally in Queensland you have a three year period to make a claim for compensation.
We recommend contacting a lawyer and discussing the specific circumstances of your accident and burn injury so that you are properly advised and protected and do not lose any rights by missing any important time limits.
Page author
This page was written by Kathryn MacDonell, CEO at Trilby Misso Lawyers.
Kathryn’s journey in the legal field began in 2001 at Trilby Misso as an Article Clerk, leading to her official admission into the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2005. Her career at Trilby Misso saw her rise to the position of Principal Lawyer by 2011, where she was responsible for leading teams across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. Despite her management responsibilities, Kathryn remained dedicated to securing compensation for her clients, driven by a passion for assisting Queenslanders. Her legal acumen has been showcased in numerous challenging cases, with her making appearances in the District Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and even the High Court of Australia.
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During this initial conversation, we will:
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