San Jose Burn Injury Lawyer

A burn injury is generally characterized as injury to the skin caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation or friction. Most burns affect only the skin which is comprised of epidermal tissue and dermis. However, on rare occasion’s deeper tissue burns that affect muscles, bone and blood vessels do occur.

When 12,000 volts exploded in front of me, my whole life changed. The first lawyer I hired was slow, visited me in the hospital and told me my case was hopeless. Ten months later Richard Alexander explained to me what he could do...my scars will always be there, but my financial future will always be secure thanks to Richard Alexander and his firm. They are great lawyers for which I am forever greatful. Dick is a great lawyer, and a friend for life. They don't come any better. - Dave McNabb

First degree and light partial-thickness second degree burns are often treated with first aid in the home or on an out-patient basis with the family physician or urgent care center. Deeper second, and full thickness third and fourth degree burns can require specialized treatment in a burn treatment facility.

The correct medical treatment is vital to the successful recovery of a burn injury.  Burn injuries are extremely painful and can result in disfiguring and disabling scarring, amputation of affected parts or death in severe cases.
Complications such as shock, infection, multiple organ failure, electrolyte imbalance and respiratory failure can occur. The treatment of burns may include the removal of dead tissue also known as debridement, applying dressings to the wound, administering large volumes of intravenous fluids, administering antibiotics and skin grafting.

While large burns can be fatal, immediate treatment by medical professionals trained in burn injuries can significantly improve the prognosis of full thickness burns, especially in children and young adults. In the United States only four out of one hundred third degree burns will be fatal.

Record of Success in Burn Injury Cases

Alexander Hawes has been litigating burn injury cases for over 30 years.  Some of our more recent cases include:

$15,500,000 Recovery

For a technician who suffered electrical burns over 65% of his body after he was told to repair an electrical switchbox where the power was to have been shut off but it was still hot. 

$8,500,000 Recovery

For triple amputation electrical burn injuries suffered by a teenager trespassing on railroad property, climbing on a box car and having 12,000 volts arc from the overhead catenary wire.

$1,680,000 Recovery

Man rear-ended in his 1969 BMW 1600.  The BMW exploded into a fireball and caused third degree burns to 65% of his body.

Confidential Settlement

A nine-year-old boy was burned by a model rocket engine that shot up his sleeve at a school science fair. Suit was filed against the Palo Alto Unified School District, the boy's teacher and the Stanford University engineering professor who set off the rocket, according to the Mercury.

$750,000 recovery

For burn injuries caused by a defectively designed electrical switch injuring a PG&E lineman.

Confidential Settlement

Four teenage boys, were burned to death when a defective 1978 four wheel drive Dodge Ramcharger over-turned at 20 miles per hour, landed on its roof in a creek bed and burned.

$3,000,000

For a son who burned to death in a pickup truck with a defective fuel system in Missouri. Settlement required the name of the manufacturer not be disclosed.

$975,000 recovery

For the loss of a major hand and forearm of a 35 year-old man after a defective cross-arm on a utility pole had rotted and caused a major distribution line to drop close to the ground.

Why Consider Alexander Hawes

• We have over 30 years of litigating complex burn injury cases against major insurance companies and large corporations. Alexander Hawes has a reputation for going all the way and never backing down.
• Our investigators and experts are the best in their fields. We hire only the best to ensure maximum recovery for our clients.
• There is never a fee or costs unless we make a recovery for you.
• Our firm is consistently ranked as one of the best by other attorneys year after year.
• Alexander Hawes has recovered over $1 billion for their injured clients and their families.
• We will meet with you wherever or whenever is best for you. Our attorneys are available to meet with you in the hospital, at your home, in your office or in ours.
• Our attorneys were named Trial Lawyers of the Year by the Santa Clara County Bar Association in 2009.
• Alexander Hawes has been named as one of the top 100 California Law Firms by the American Trial Lawyers Association.

Memberships & Awards

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