Lake Charles Personal Injury Lawyer

Lake Charles Personal Injury Attorney

Unfortunately, accidents are sometimes unavoidable, even when you take steps to protect yourself. If you have been injured in an accident that was caused by another individual or organization’s negligence or recklessness, a Lake Charles personal injury lawyer from Sanchez Burke can help you work toward getting the compensation you need for associated damages.

When it comes to liability cases, our personal injury legal team can help you gather the evidence you need to show that the other party was at fault. Our Lake Charles personal injury law firm tackles cases ranging from issues related to wrongful death to medical malpractice, and we can fight for the financial compensation you need for medical treatment or even pain and suffering.

By working with a personal injury lawyer from our firm, you shift the responsibility to our team to recover damages so that you can focus on your physical and mental healing.

Experienced Legal Counsel to Secure Fair Compensation

Sanchez Burke, LLC applies decades of litigation experience to personal injury matters, offering clients skilled and strategic representation in pursuit of fair compensation. Our attorneys have handled a wide range of cases, including auto accidents, trucking collisions, and premises liability claims.

Joseph M. W. Burke leads the firm’s personal injury practice. He focuses on helping individuals recover after serious injuries by building strong cases supported by facts, documentation, and thorough preparation.

Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch and Acadiana Profile’s “Top Lawyers of Acadiana,” Joe brings a steady, results-driven approach to every case involving injury or wrongful death.

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Common Types of Personal Injury Claims in Lake Charles, LA

Sanchez Burke handles a wide variety of cases, including:

• Car Accident: Car accidents are a leading cause of injury in Lake Charles. Victims may suffer broken bones, head trauma, or long-term disabilities due to distracted or reckless driving. A claim can help cover medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
• Truck Accident: Collisions involving commercial trucks or 18-wheelers are often severe. These crashes can result from driver fatigue, improper loading, or equipment failure. Truck accident claims often involve multiple liable parties, including the trucking company.
• Motorcycle Accident: Motorcyclists face a higher risk of catastrophic injury in a crash. Many motorcycle accidents occur because drivers fail to yield or notice riders. Common injuries include spinal damage, fractures, and traumatic brain injuries.
• Premises Liability: Property owners must maintain safe environments. If you’re injured in a slip-and-fall, elevator malfunction, or other hazard on someone else’s property, you may have a valid premises liability claim under Louisiana law.
• Maritime Injury: Workers injured on vessels, docks, or oil platforms may be eligible for compensation under federal maritime laws like the Jones Act or the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. These cases require knowledge of complex legal standards.
• Burn Injury: Burns can occur in vehicle fires, chemical spills, or industrial accidents. These injuries often lead to permanent disfigurement, nerve damage, and emotional trauma. Victims may require surgeries, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
• Dog Bite: Dog attacks can cause deep lacerations, infections, and scarring—especially in children. Louisiana law holds pet owners liable for failing to control dangerous animals. Victims may seek damages for physical and emotional harm.
• Traumatic Brain Injury: A TBI can result from car crashes, falls, or violent incidents. Symptoms can range from headaches and memory loss to permanent cognitive impairments. Brain injury cases often require expert testimony and long-term medical evaluation.
• Medical Malpractice: When doctors, nurses, or hospitals fail to follow accepted medical practices, patients can suffer avoidable harm. Common claims include surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and medication mistakes, often with serious consequences.
• Wrongful Death: Losing someone due to another’s negligence is devastating. In Lake Charles, wrongful death claims allow families to seek justice and financial relief for funeral costs, lost income, and emotional suffering resulting from a preventable death.

What Damages Occur in a Lake Charles Personal Injury Case?

The types of damages that may be sustained during an accident form the basis of a personal injury case. Damages can vary from minor bruises to traumatic brain injuries and even death. These are physical injuries that require medical attention. There are also damages to objects, such as vehicles, infrastructure, buildings, or telephone poles, that can occur as a result of a personal injury accident.

In addition to physical damages that can affect a victim’s health and property, there are emotional damages that must be considered. For example, if an individual develops chronic pain as a result of a slip and fall accident, then they are entitled to compensation for the emotional suffering related to their physical pain. Furthermore, if someone loses a loved one as a result of an accident, then their death and absence in life will lead to emotional damages that can be compensated.

All types of damages, whether physical, emotional, property, or health-related, can be valued and translated into compensation that can be recovered by victims of an accident. A personal injury lawyer from Sanchez Burke can help you accurately and efficiently translate all damages into a comprehensive compensation package that will help cover the past and future costs resulting from your personal injury accident. All your damages should be compensated for, including those that are intangible in nature.

What Type of Compensation Can I Receive for Physical Injuries?

If your personal injury accident resulted in physical harm, then you could be entitled to reimbursement for all medical expenses that were related to your injury, including hospital bills, clinic visits, medication costs, examination costs, like CT scans or MRIs, and surgery costs. Transportation to and from medical visits can also be covered in personal injury case settlements.

If your injury has resulted in long-term physical damages, then you can ask for compensation that covers projected medical costs in the future, such as additional surgeries, physical therapy, and regular check-ups. Therefore, you can get both past and future medical expenses covered. It’s important to note that you can be compensated for physical pain and emotional suffering as a result of your injuries as well.

In order to ensure compensation for medical expenses, it’s important to keep comprehensive documentation of your diagnoses and subsequent treatment. This can include medical records, hospital bills, and medication receipts.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Louisiana?

If you or a loved one has been harmed or killed as a result of an accident, then there is a certain amount of time that you have to submit a claim for your case in Louisiana. Usually, the time that can elapse between the accident and the day you file your claim, or the statute of limitations (prescriptive period), is one year in the state.

However, it’s important to note that your personal injury case could be restricted by other critical deadlines as well. Additionally, your actual statute of limitations (prescriptive period) could vary depending on the specific details of your case. Therefore, it is critical to work with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can walk you through the legal steps of your lawsuit, helping make sure that no details or deadlines are missed. Without a lawyer, filing paperwork thoroughly and on time will be much harder.

Sometimes, determining the statute of limitations (prescriptive period) of a case can be complex. For example, a worker who develops a respiratory disease as a result of their exposure to workplace hazards may slowly realize that their disease has developed. A personal injury lawyer from Sanchez Burke, can help you understand what your statute of limitations may be based on your specific case.

What Portion of My Personal Injury Settlement Will My Lawyer Be Entitled to?

Most personal injury lawyers work based on contingency fees. This means that they do not charge an hourly rate or a lump sum to take on your case, but they will ask for a portion of your settlement. Because you only get your settlement if you win your case, the personal injury lawyer will only be paid if your case is won.

It’s important to work with a personal injury firm in Lake Charles that is transparent about all of their fees upfront, including the amount that they will charge in contingency fees. In Louisiana, personal injury lawyers typically charge anywhere from 33 to 40 percent, but this can vary depending on the details of your case. Whatever the case, a contingency fee removes any financial risk to you.

Set Up A Free Initial Consultation: Work With Our Lake Charles Personal Injury Firm Today

If you or a loved one has been in an accident that resulted from someone else’s negligence, it is important to fight for the compensation you deserve. Financial compensation is a way to award victims with justice so that all parties involved in the accident can begin to move on.

At Sanchez Burke, our team has extensive experience helping people like you get the financial support they need to recover from personal injuries, both physically and mentally. If the damages were severe or deadly, our team has experience helping victims and loved ones receive large settlements to compensate for their losses. To arrange a free initial consultation with a lawyer at Sanchez Burke simply call 337-433-4405. You can also contact the firm online.

About Lake Charles, LA

Lake Charles is one of the larger cities in southwest Louisiana. It’s home to many workers in the industrial, shipping, and service sectors. With busy roads like Interstate 10 and Highway 171 running through the area, traffic is a regular part of daily life for residents.

In 2023, Calcasieu Parish reported over 3,000 vehicle crashes, and more than 900 of those involved serious injuries, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Transportation. These numbers show that accidents happen often in and around Lake Charles, especially on major roads.

For people who are hurt in these accidents, it’s important to work with a local attorney who understands the area, the traffic patterns, and the impact an injury can have on someone’s life.

We Also Serve The Following Areas:

• Lafayette
• New Iberia
• Cameron Parish