It’s a fact of life that accidents happen, but many accidents aren’t caused by errors you make, and when that happens, it means that you are entitled to compensation for injury, pain, and other sufferings you may have endured. Explosion accidents typically require the assistance of a lawyer to file a personal injury lawsuit, which can help you seek justice for your explosion injury.
How Do You Start a Personal Injury Lawsuit After a Gas Explosion?
The first step of starting your lawsuit is to contact expert legal representatives who will assess your claim and help you build your case. You will need legal help who understands the consequences of an explosion to make sure you receive fair compensation for your explosion injury. Personal injury lawyers who have tried cases successfully about explosions at home or on private property in your area are generally the best.
Types of Explosions At Home
Two main types of gas explosions can happen at home. The first is related to how many citizens of Texas power their homes, which is through natural gas. When you have a gas line hooked up to your home, a gas leak can occur. Aside from gas leaks making you physically ill, any type of combustion when there is a leak in the home is enough to spark an explosion. Anything from striking a match to flipping on a light switch during an undetected leak can cause an explosion.
The other type of gas explosion that can happen at home is from a defective propane tank, such as the one used to power a heater during the winter or used for a grill. Propane-related accidents tend to have more severe injuries to your person and damage to your home than natural gas explosions. This is because propane is a different, more highly combustible type of gas because it has a heavier weight that makes it easier to ignite when propane tanks leak.
Can Pipelines Cause Explosions at Home?
Yes. Although you may think of a pipeline as being a large rig monitored by the gas company, many gas pipelines may run several feet beneath your home. In some Texas homes, digging as deep as 16 inches into the ground may put you into contact with a natural gas pipeline placed by the utility company. If pipelines are inaccurately marked, you may be at risk of puncturing a pipeline during outdoor projects or renovation.
How Can a Lawyer Help?
So, how can a personal injury lawyer help you with your lawsuit? In short, your legal team will do all the hard work for you, including building your case, so you can focus on your physical and financial recovery. Hiring a legal team experienced with home explosions and explosion injuries will set you on the right track for fair compensation. Some specific tasks a lawyer can help with include:
Gathering Documents
Your lawyer will gather several documents related to your case, such as your medical records for your treatment and medical bills. Documents can include proof of loss of wages or other consequences of your injury. Depending on your case, documents may also include information about the gas company or propane company that may be liable for your accident.
Witness Testimony
Witnesses for your case can include other people who were in your home a the time of the explosion, neighbors who might have witnessed the accident, and experts who can testify with expert opinions for your case. You can also be a witness to your accident. The role of a witness is to outline the events the preceded the accident to establish the timeline of the events that led to the injury or to provide expert information on how gas explosion accidents happen.
Filing With the Court
Your legal team will also your case information with the court with various motions and evidence submissions. Your lawyer will be in communication with the court to keep track of any deadlines for documents or dates where you need to appear at court. As an extension of this role, your lawyer may also interact with an insurance company looking to settle your case on your behalf.
How Do You Prove Your Case?
So, how do you prove a gas explosion case? There are a few different strategies that can be used to prove your case, but the main strategy is to use liability laws to prove your case. Liability means that an individual or a company is responsible for your accident, usually through negligence, poor maintenance, or defective products.
For example, if a natural gas leak was undetected in your home, it may be because the gas company poorly maintained the pipeline or did not have an adequate gas odor additive that would allow you to detect a leak. In the case of a defective propane tank, the company may have several historical cases of faulty parts or bad product manufacturing that leads to installation errors.
Could You Be Liable for Your Accident?
Although usually a company is responsible for your accident, the court may find that part of the accident was caused by your own actions or inactions. For example, if you noticed a dent in a propane tank and used it anyway, or if you came home to the scent of rotting eggs but did not report the potential leak to the gas company, you may be at least partly responsible for your accident. This may affect the settlement of your case.
What Can a Personal Injury Lawsuit Compensate For?
In general, most of the compensation for a personal injury lawsuit will be related to economic factors. For example, this type of lawsuit can help you pay for medical bills, ongoing treatment, loss of wages, loss of personal property, and wage compensation for temporary or permanent disability. The economic compensation will take a great strain off your finances and allow you to recuperate in peace.
This type of lawsuit can also help you compensate for non-economic factors, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of life. The degree of your injury, the length of your recovery, and any other troubles related to recovering from your injury can all be used to help your lawyer advocate for more compensation on your behalf.
Common Explosion Injury Consequences
The consequence of having severe burns, smoke inhalation, and even broken bones can have a grave impact on your daily life. One of the most poignant consequences is the loss of earning potential because of time off work or even losing a job because you are no longer able to work due to severe injury. Expensive medical bills are also a common consequence.
But more important than either of these examples is the fact that recovering from explosion injuries is incredibly painful. If you have moderate to severe burns, then you are like to have a painful healing process and lifelong scars. A good personal injury lawyer can help you seek compensation for your pain and suffering related to your explosion injury.
Gas explosions at home can change your life in an instant. Whether your explosion was caused by a defective propane tank, a damaged pipeline, or an undetected gas leak, there is likely a company that is legally liable for your injuries. A personal injury lawsuit can help you win the compensation you deserve for your injuries and expenses related to the explosion accident. Visit us at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston, TX to start your personal injury lawsuit for your explosion injury.