| Questions and Answers Concerning A Burn Injury
Accident Scenario (in Pennsylvania):
My son was just burned at his job when a coworker was moving a
container of molten metal on a truck. The container fell off the truck,
and the molten metal hit a wet surface, superheated, and exploded. The
molten metal splattered my son's work uniform causing it to catch on
fire.
How can my son support his family, now that he is in the
hospital?
What kind of benefits can my son receive from Workers' Compensation?
My son has tremendous medical expenses due to his burn injuries.
What will Workers' Compensation cover?
Is there any other responsible party as a result of my son's
accident?
Will my son be able to get compensated for his pain and
suffering?
My son is receiving excellent care in the hospital, but
he and our whole family have so many questions about what his future will
be. Is there anyone we can speak with who has had a similar experience?
What if my son is eventually able to return to work, but
may require some restructuring of his job in order to perform his duties?
If his employer refuses to accommodate his needs, does he have any recourse?
Accident Scenario: Our home burned down when my husband fell asleep
smoking. We had smoke detectors, but they did not work.
As a result of the house fire, is there any way for us to
get compensation?
Do we have a claim against the manufacturer of the smoke
detectors?
The smoke detector was burned in the house fire. Is there
anything that can be done to prove our case?
Accident Scenario (in Pennsylvania): My son was just burned at his
job when a coworker was moving a container of molten metal on a truck.
The container fell off the truck, and the molten metal hit a wet surface,
superheated, and exploded. The molten metal splattered my son's work uniform
causing it to catch on fire.
How can my son support his family, now that he is
in the hospital?
Since your son's burn injury occurred at work, his only claim against
his employer is limited to Workers' Compensation benefits. In almost every
state, an injured worker cannot sue his or her employer, even for gross
negligence.
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What kind of benefits can my son receive from Workers'
Compensation?
Workers' Compensation is an important benefit that pays a percentage
of wages and all necessary medical expenses.
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My son has tremendous medical expenses due to his
burn injuries. What will Workers' Compensation cover?
His company is required to pay for medical expenses related to his workplace
injury. The company must pay for all doctor and hospital bills, medications,
prostheses, physical therapy, psychiatric counseling, home health care,
home modification, etc., as long as they represent treatment for his work-related
injury.
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Is there any other responsible party as a result of
my son's accident?
It is very possible that there may be a claim against someone other than
the employer. Civil law exists to compensate people for injuries caused
by someone's negligence, a defective product, or other forms of misconduct.
For example, there may be a claim against the uniform supplier for your
son's company, since his work uniform should have been flame resistant
for the type of work he performed. There also may be a claim against the
truck manufacturer, if the truck was specifically designed to haul molten
metal containers and may have been improperly designed.
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Will my son be able to get compensated for his pain
and suffering?
If your son has a viable claim against someone other than his employer-such
as the clothing supplier-then he can make a claim for pain and suffering.
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My son is receiving excellent care in the hospital,
but he and our whole family have so many questions about what his future
will be. Is there anyone we can speak with who has had a similar experience?
Support groups give burn survivors and their families a way to connect
with other burn survivors. They provide emotional support and coping strategies
with those affected by burn injuries. Many organizations serve the needs
of burn survivors. Two examples include:
Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors
2153 Wealthy Street SE, #215
East Grand Rapids, MI 49506
Phone: 800-888-2876
e-mail: info@phoenix-society.org
www.phoenix-society.org
Burn Foundation
1201 Chestnut Street, Suite 801
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-988-9882
e-mail: burnctrs@aol.com
www.burnfoundation.org
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What if my son is eventually able to return to work,
but may require some restructuring of his job in order to perform his
duties? If his employer refuses to accommodate his needs, does he have
any recourse?
If his employer fails to accommodate his needs, he may have a claim under
the Americans with Disabilities Act. He must file a claim with his regional
office of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Contact information for the regional offices is available on the EEOC
website at www.eeoc.gov. His claim must be filed within 300 days of the
act of discrimination.
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Accident Scenario: Our home burned down when my husband fell asleep
smoking. We had smoke detectors, but they did not work.
As a result of the house fire, is there any way for
us to get compensation?
If you have homeowner's insurance, depending on your policy, you may
be covered for property damage, loss of personal property, medical expenses
of those not residents, and liability insurance for claims made against
the homeowners by someone who is not a member of the household.
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Do we have a claim against the manufacturer of the
smoke detectors?
Many smoke detectors fail to activate until smoke becomes very thick.
Manufacturers of defective smoke detectors may be held liable for burns
suffered in house fires that might have been avoided with more sensitive
smoke detectors.
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The smoke detector was burned in the house fire.
Is there anything that can be done to prove our case?
A common challenge of burn cases is that important evidence is destroyed
as a result of the fire. If you can determine the supplier and/or the
manufacturer of the smoke detector, you may have a case if the defect
in the product is inherent in all the similar smoke detectors made by
the manufacturer.
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