Building Stronger Burn Injury Cases with Medical Record Review Services

Joey Terry
Oct 23
6 min read

Updated: Oct 27

Among the most complicated personal injury claims are burn damage cases, which call for close attention to detail, extensive supporting documentation, and a thorough comprehension of the subtleties of both medicine and the law. By giving lawyers the information they need to create a strong case, medical record review services are essential to bolstering these cases. This article examines how these services improve situations involving burn injuries and explains why they are essential to getting positive results.

Understanding Burn Injuries: Types, Severity, and Causes

Understanding the nature of burn injuries is essential to appreciating the function that medical record reviews play in burn cases. Burns are categorized according to their depth and extent, and their severity is frequently assessed using the "rule of nines" or the percentage of total body surface area (TBSA). Only the outermost layer of skin is affected by first-degree burns, which can cause pain and redness but rarely necessitate lengthy legal proceedings. Third-degree burns eliminate the entire thickness of the skin, perhaps harming bones, muscles, and nerves, while second-degree burns pierce deeper and cause blisters and edema. Amputations or permanent disability are frequently the outcome of fourth-degree burns, which spread to underlying tissues like tendons or bones.

Scalds from hot liquids are another significant cause, particularly in youngsters and the elderly, while flame burns are responsible for 41% of injuries in the United States, according to the American Bar Association's National Burn Repository. Typical situations include mishaps at home (72% of burns happen at home), car fires, electrical failures, and workplace catastrophes (such as chemical exposures in factories). The tragic fact that a burn-related fatality happens in the United States every three hours emphasizes how urgent prevention and accountability are.

The Complexity of Burn Injury Cases

From devastating third-degree burns that harm inner tissues and organs to first-degree burns that merely affect the skin's outermost layer, burn injuries can range greatly in severity. These cases frequently include:

Medical Complexity: Burns may result in organ damage, infections, or long-term problems, including scarring or impaired mobility, all of which call for intensive care.
Liability Disputes: It can be difficult to assign blame in burn injury cases, whether the injury was brought on by negligence, defective products, or workplace mishaps.
Long-Term Impact: Accurate damage assessments are necessary because victims may require continuous medical treatment, rehabilitation, and psychological stress.

Because of these complications, personal injury lawyers need to use thorough medical records to prove causation, calculate damages, and successfully refute defense claims.

Why Medical Record Review Services Are Essential

Services for reviewing medical records make it easier to analyze complex and large amounts of medical material. The following are some ways that lawyers can improve burn injury claims by utilizing these services:

1. Precise Records of Injuries and Therapy

The burn victim's injuries, therapies, and prognosis are all described in detail in their medical records. Expert review services guarantee that no important detail is missed, including:

The extent and severity of burns, such as the proportion of the body's surface area that is impacted.
Surgical procedures such as debridement or skin grafting.
Complications like respiratory problems or infections brought on by smoking.

These revelations assist lawyers in determining the extent of the harm and how it affected the victim's life, which is essential for determining just compensation.

2. Establishing Causation and Liability

Proof that the defendant's carelessness or wrongdoing resulted in the injury is frequently the deciding factor in burn injury proceedings. Reviewers of medical records can find important evidence, including:

Emergency room reports that describe the victim's initial condition.
Medical records attributing the harm to a particular event (such as electrical failure or chemical exposure).
Diagnostic testing, such as toxicology studies for chemical burns, that verify the cause of burns.

Reviewers assist lawyers in creating a concise narrative synopsis that links the injury to the responsible party by arranging this data.

3. Quantifying Damages for Maximum Compensation

Significant financial and non-financial losses, such as medical bills, missed income, pain and suffering, and psychological distress, are frequently caused by burn injuries. Services for reviewing medical records help by:

Compiling treatment expenses, such as those for hospital stays, operations, and rehabilitation.
Drawing attention to long-term care needs, like counseling for psychiatric issues or physical therapy.
Finding proof of deformity or persistent impairment to back up future damage claims.

This comprehensive analysis ensures that all damages are accounted for, strengthening the case for maximum compensation.

4. Identifying Inconsistencies or Gaps

Inconsistencies in medical data are frequently used by defense teams to weaken a case. Expert reviewers carefully examine records to:

Find inconsistencies in diagnosis or treatment schedules.
Find any missing records that would make the case less strong.
Verify adherence to medical coding guidelines, which opposing lawyers or insurance may contest.

Lawyers can make a stronger argument by taking proactive measures to remedy these problems.

5. Supporting Expert Testimony

In situations involving burn injuries, expert witnesses like economists or burn specialists are frequently crucial. Professional medical record review services give these professionals clear, well-structured summaries that emphasize important details so they can give strong testimony. For instance, an economist can utilize cost summaries to forecast future medical costs, while a burn specialist can use examined records to explain the long-term effects of a third-degree burn.

The Legal Challenges in Burn Injury Cases

Lawsuits for burn injuries encounter particular challenges. It might be difficult to prove causation that the defendant's acts caused the burns, especially if recovery is hampered by subsequent infections or pre-existing disorders. It can be difficult to quantify damages since non-economic damages, such as pain, suffering, and deformity, need specific proof, whereas economic losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages, are easy to calculate. Insurance companies frequently examine claims, citing contributory negligence or contesting the severity of injuries. Inadequate documentation may cause cases to stall. For this reason, medical records are essential. They help to verify accusations and refute defenses by offering an unbiased chronological timeline of events, from initial emergency care to rehabilitation. These documents prove the existence of the damage, its cause, and the necessity for ongoing care in personal injury cases, which has a direct impact on determining compensation.

Benefits of Outsourcing Medical Record Review

For lawyers defending clients with burn injuries, there are various benefits to contracting with expert services to analyze medical records:

Time Efficiency: It takes a lot of time to go through thousands of pages of medical records. Attorneys can concentrate on client communication and case strategy by using professional services.
Expertise: Reviewers who possess legal and medical expertise are able to decipher technical jargon and spot relevant information that non-experts could overlook.
Cost-Effectiveness: For smaller businesses with fewer resources, outsourcing is frequently less expensive than in-house reviews.
Tailored Reports: Services include summaries, timelines, and charts that are specifically designed to meet the requirements of each case.

Case Studies: Real-World Impact

Think about a fictitious yet representative example based on actual events: Due to malfunctioning machinery, a factory worker sustains 85% TBSA burns from a chemical leak. According to early records, decontamination was delayed, which made the injury worse. A medical record review service compiles a timeline that shows the employer's disregard for safety procedures and connects it to serious consequences like repeated surgeries and irreversible disability. This proof results in a settlement for millions of dollars.

After receiving urgent care, a 94-year-old patient with serious burns healed in another documented case; however, records examined in a negligence lawsuit against a nursing facility revealed insufficient supervision, leading to successful pain and suffering compensation. Research on intensive care unit burn patients highlights how thorough record analysis in legal reviews might reveal violations of resuscitation care, transforming weak cases into strong ones. Medical records also distinguished between deliberate and incidental injuries in a self-harm burn analysis, which is important for insurance disputes.

Conclusion

A thorough grasp of both the medical and legal facets of burn injuries is necessary to construct a compelling case. By offering precise, well-structured, and useful insights from intricate medical documentation, medical record review services enable lawyers. By using these services, lawyers can determine culpability, calculate damages, and foresee defense tactics, all of which help their clients get better results. Partnering with a trustworthy medical record review service is not only advantageous but also essential in the high-stakes world of burn injury litigation.

Need help with medical record review services for a hair relaxer lawsuit claim?