Cedar Rapids Burn Injury Attorney
Legal Help After A Serious Burn In Iowa
Severe burns change daily life in an instant. Pain, repeated procedures, and time away from work can leave injured people and their families unsure how they will cope. When a burn happens at work or because someone else was careless, you may be left wondering where to turn for guidance.
Pothitakis Law Firm helps injured Iowans understand their options after serious burns, including workers' compensation and personal injury claims. Led by attorney Niko Pothitakis, the firm has spent more than two decades focused on injury law in Iowa, including claims for workers in and around Cedar Rapids.
Contact our Cedar Rapids burn injury lawyer by calling (319) 318-0450 today!
Serious Burn Injuries & Your Rights
Burn injuries vary widely. Some are relatively small and heal in weeks. Others require hospitalization, skin grafts, and long term care. Many serious burns that lead people to contact an attorney involve heat, chemicals, electricity, or explosions in workplaces, on roads, or in medical settings that serve communities like Cedar Rapids.
When a burn happens while you are working for an employer in Iowa, the matter typically falls under the Iowa workers' compensation system. This system can provide medical care and wage replacement, and in some situations, benefits for permanent impairment or disfigurement. However, navigating the rules, deadlines, and paperwork can be challenging without guidance.
Some burns also involve a separate personal injury claim. For example, a worker burned by defective equipment, a driver injured in a vehicle fires caused by another motorist, or a patient harmed by negligent medical care may have a claim against a third party. In those situations, the workers' compensation case and the personal injury case can affect each other, which is one reason coordination is important.
A person who has suffered a serious burn often wants to know what types of benefits or compensation may be available. Although every situation is different, Iowa workers' compensation can provide medical treatment and a portion of lost wages for covered workers. A personal injury claim may allow recovery for medical costs, lost income, and other harms such as loss of function, subject to proof and Iowa law.
Pothitakis Law Firm focuses its practice on these Iowa systems. The firm reviews where and how a burn occurred, which employers or other parties were involved, and what insurance coverage may apply. That evaluation helps determine whether the claim should proceed only through workers' compensation or whether a separate personal injury case may also be appropriate.
See Our Success Stories
-
$1 Million Workers Slip and Fall
After hearing, the Deputy Workers’ Compensation Commissioner entered an award fully in favor of the Claimant finding him permanently and totally disabled. The Decision resulted in an award with the present value of in excess of $1 million. In addition, the Defendants were ordered to pay the Claimant’s medical expenses for the remainder of his life.
-
$450,000 Partial Commutation
In 2013, our client was a truck driver who was fatally injured in a tragic auto accident. He was married at the time and as a result his wife was entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits. Those benefits would end upon her death or shortly after she were to remarry. The surviving spouse was finding it difficult to live on the weekly Workers’ Compensation benefits and for other reasons wanted to have the money paid in a lump sum.
-
Workers’ Comp Appeal Results in Settlement
Pothitakis Law Firm pursued this claim for in excess of three and a half years. Mr. Pothitakis conferenced with the claimant’s doctors and obtained reports over those years to put the claimant in the best position to obtain a favorable result at hearing. When the initial decision was inappropriate, Pothitakis Law Firm filed an appeal and was successful on that appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my burn injury qualify for workers’ compensation in Iowa?
A burn injury is generally covered by Iowa workers’ compensation if it arose out of and in the course of your employment. Whether that standard is met depends on the facts, such as where you were working and what you were doing. Our firm can review your situation and explain how the law may apply.
