San Antonio House Fire Lawyer
People can suffer extremely severe injuries in house and apartment fires that occur in the San Antonio area. In some cases, landlords, builders, contractors, electricians, and others can be responsible for fires that occur at various residences. When residents suffer severe injuries, such as burns, they may require immediate follow-up medical treatment for all of their injuries. In addition, they might not work for a significant time after the fire.Assisting Victims of San Antonio Apartment and House Fires Seek the Compensation They Deserve
If you or a person you care about has suffered injuries in a house or apartment fire that you believe occurred because of someone else’s carelessness or negligence, you may have a right to pursue monetary compensation. The knowledgeable San Antonio house fire attorneys at Wyatt Law Firm can help you file a claim against the proper person with the appropriate insurance company. Your attorney can then help you negotiate favorable settlement compensation for your injuries, and if necessary, litigate your case in the court system. Please call us today to learn more about how we can assist you with recovering compensation for your house fire injuries.Fires in Rental Housing
Many people rely upon rental housing and apartments for their living arrangements in the Greater San Antonio region. However, rental house and apartment fires are unfortunately all too common. In some instances, these fires happen because of faulty maintenance and electrical work at the apartment. They also sometimes occur when appliances and other equipment in the apartment units are not working properly, such as stoves and refrigerators. Landlords and property owners must keep apartment premises and rental housing reasonably safe for tenants at all times. If they become aware of a defect, such as when a tenant complains about it, they must correct the condition promptly. When landlords and building owners do not respond to tenant complaints promptly and a fire occurs then the premises owner can be responsible for resulting injuries and damages. In addition, electricians and others who perform repair work in apartments and rental housing units can be responsible for fires. Technicians and others who perform these repairs must do so in a workmanlike manner. This means that they must exercise reasonable care and perform the work in a safe, complete, and competent manner. They must also certify that the apartment or rental housing unit is safe for an individual or family to occupy upon completing the repair. When that does not happen, and a fire burns the housing unit, individuals who suffer injuries can bring a personal injury claim or file a lawsuit in the Texas court system. In addition, many apartment tenants and rental home tenants suffer injuries in house fires because smoke detectors are defective. Similar to appliances, landlords and property owners must keep all smoke detectors on the premises are in proper working order especially when a tenant complains that they don't work. Tenants can suffer severe burns when a smoke detector fails to go off when a fire occurs. They can also suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning, asphyxiation, or some other serious complication from not getting out of their apartment or rental housing unit in time. If you currently reside in rental housing or an apartment building and you suffered an injury in a fire, you have legal options. A knowledgeable San Antonio house fire attorney at Wyatt Law Firm can let you know what those options are and can help you pursue monetary compensation for all of the injuries you suffered in the fire.Defective Building Materials That Builders and Contractors Use to Construct Rental Homes and Apartments
Residential house and apartment fires can sometimes occur when builders, contractors, and others use defective building materials when constructing the residence. The builder may not use fire-resistant materials. Consequently, these materials might catch on fire easily, leading to severe injuries for the occupants. In addition, builders and contractors must use reasonable care when they construct residences. Specifically, they need to use the proper techniques to reduce the risk of fires breaking out in the dwelling. When a construction supervisor, project manager, or someone else fails to reasonably supervise workers during construction, and a fire or other complication later occurs, that supervising individual or entity can be responsible. Suppose you have suffered burn injuries or some other type of injury in a residential fire that you think happened because of defective building materials or inadequate supervision. In that case, you can file a claim or lawsuit. The knowledgeable San Antonio house fire attorneys at Wyatt Law Firm can help you ascertain the identities of potentially liable individuals and entities. We can then file the necessary claim or lawsuit with the appropriate insurance company.Common Injuries That Victims of House Fires May Suffer
Victims of house and apartment fires can suffer extremely severe injuries. First and foremost, these individuals may suffer burn injuries of varying degrees. When an individual suffers a severe burn, he or she might need to undergo surgery or other medical procedure to correct the condition. Burn victims can also experience unsightly scarring at the injury site. This scarring can impact the accident victim for the remainder of his or her life and might cause the accident victim to experience shame, humiliation, or embarrassment. In addition, to burn injuries, victims of residential fires might suffer cuts and lacerations to their bodies. If debris falls on them in the fire, they can experience broken bones or soft tissue injuries. Finally, victims of house fires might suffer asphyxiation injuries due to lack of oxygen. As soon as possible after suffering injuries in a house fire, victims should seek medical treatment at an emergency room or urgent care center. In addition, they should speak with a knowledgeable San Antonio house fire lawyer at Wyatt Law Firm about their legal matter. Our legal team can investigate the cause of the fire and work to get you the compensation that you deserve for your burn injuries and other complications. Filing a Claim against Potentially Responsible Parties
When a victim of a residential fire suffers severe injuries, he or she can file a claim or lawsuit against the at-fault person or entity. A San Antonio house fire attorney can help you identify parties who may potentially be responsible for your accident and injuries. Your attorney can then help you take the necessary legal action to get you the compensation that you need. The accident victim’s lawyer will likely file a claim with the insurance company for the premises owner, manager, or operator as part of the process. The claims-filing process begins when a personal injury lawyer submits a demand package to the insurance company. The demand package will include a settlement demand letter that makes an opening demand. The package should also include copies of investigative reports, incident reports, witness statements, medical records, medical bills, photographs of injuries, and other related documentation. The insurance company will need to review all of this documentation and make a decision about whether or not to accept liability for the incident. In the event the insurance company accepts fault, settlement negotiations can begin. Accident victims should be extremely wary of accepting initial settlement offers from insurance companies. An insurance company will offer as little money as possible, at least from the onset, to resolve the case through settlement. After all, the insurance company saves itself a significant amount of money by settling cases cheaply. Your attorney will begin to negotiate on your behalf, and if necessary, he or she can file a lawsuit in the court system to try and convince the insurance company to offer you more money. If the case does not settle at that point, the parties will need to litigate their case, which may involve the defendant’s attorney taking the accident victim’s deposition. If the parties do not resolve their case during the litigation stage, they can take their case to trial and let a jury decide what, if any, damages to award the fire victim. As an alternative to trial, the parties may consider mediation or binding arbitration proceedings, where a neutral, third-party mediator or arbitrator can help the parties resolve the case. Before a mediation proceeding, the parties will select a person to serve as a neutral mediator in the case and help bring them together as far as the settlement numbers are concerned. In binding arbitration, the parties agree to let an arbitrator listen to and review the evidence and come to a decision about the types and amounts of damages to award the fire victim. A skilled San Antonio house fire lawyer at Wyatt Law Firm can represent you at all court hearings, trials, mediations, or arbitration proceedings that go forward in your case and fight for your right to recover favorable monetary compensation. Recoverable Damages in San Antonio House Fire Personal Injury Cases
Victims who suffer injuries in house and apartment fires may be eligible to recover certain types of monetary compensation and damages as part of their house fire cases. The damages that a victim can recover will depend upon the severity of his or her injuries, the extent of treatment, and the cost of treatment he or she received. First of all, the injured individual can pursue monetary compensation for all of his or her related medical expenses. Even if health insurance paid for some or all of those bills, this is true. In addition, if the victim had to miss time from work for burns and other injuries he/she suffered in the fire, lost wage compensation might be available. In some cases, house and apartment fire victims suffer injuries so severe that they can no longer return to work or they can only do so in a light-duty fashion. When that happens, and the victim has to accept a lower rate of pay, compensation for loss of earning capacity might be available. In addition, victims of house and apartment fires can pursue compensation for inconvenience, mental distress, pain and suffering, and other non-economic damages. If the victim suffered a scar injury as a result of a burn in the fire, he or she can seek compensation for pain, humiliation, embarrassment, and/or loss of the ability to use a particular body part. Finally, fire victims can seek monetary recovery for loss of enjoyment of life resulting from their injuries. The knowledgeable house fire attorneys in San Antonio at Wyatt Law Firm can zealously advocate for your legal interests, both at the settlement negotiation table and in the courtroom. Let our skilled legal team help you recover the compensation that you deserve for all of your house fire injuries.Talk With a Knowledgeable San Antonio House Fire Attorney About Your Situation Today
Client Testimonial
Excellent knowledge from all staff aspects. Paula knows how to work in her clients corner and she brings so much experience and energy to make sure her clients are treated fair. She helped fight with Tricare on my husbands behalf and she will not stop fighting until the client is happy. My husband won his case with her and her staff. I highly recommend if you need someone to listen and go fight for you let this Lady do the work. Gabby is a great asset and kept my husband very informed during the whole process. They deserve more than 5 stars.
March 2021
-Misty M.
Wyatt Law Firm, PLLC 21 Lynn Batts Lane, Suite 10 San Antonio, Texas 78218