Dirty Tactics Insurance Adjusters Use In Burn Injury Claims (And How to Fight Back)

Burns are one of the most disfiguring and emotionally traumatic type of personal injuries we handle. Whether a result of a fire, chemical, electrical, or scalding liquid, these injuries often necessitate extensive medical care, reconstructive surgeries, and psychological counseling. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters are trained to minimize payouts — even if they are dealing with catastrophic situations such as burn injuries. They employ several sly maneuvers — and sometimes outright lies — in an effort to devalue your claim or to shift blame, or to drag things out in the hope you’ll take a lesser settlement than you’re entitled to.

This guide describes the typical dirty tricks insurers use on burn injury claims and what you can do to spot them and protect yourself.
Burn Injury Claims: A Complicated Process Burn injuries often result in:
Long-term physical pain and disfigurement, Psychological trauma like PTSD and depression, Continuing treatment like skin grafts or plastic surgery, Lost wages or permanent disability, Extensive future medical costs.

Add this all up and cases of burn injury law are high value and a favorite for insurance companies to down play or contest. Common Underhanded Tactics Used by Insurance Adjusters in Burn Injury Claims

Strategies employed to deny burn injury claims: Put an end to these Tricks of the trade of Insurance Adjusters
Discover standard ploys insurance adjusters employ to deny or lessen burn injury claims. So protect your rights and seek the full compensation you deserve after a serious burn injury.

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Reducing the Depth of the Burns

The Trick: Adjusters like to say your burns are “superficial” or “minor” when they are likely second- or third-degree burns that need to be treated at significant expense.

Why They Do It: Playing down your injuries lowers the value of your claim.

How to Protect Yourself: Obtain comprehensive medical records from burn specialists and plastic surgeons. Submit pictures, treatment records and professional diagnosis.

Blaming You for the Accident

The Trick: They can try to claim that the burn injury was a result of your own carelessness say, for example, that you didn’t follow safety protocols or ignored warning signs.

Why They Do It: To reduce or eliminate your compensation under the doctrine of contributory or comparative fault.

How to Protect Yourself: Compile all incident reports, witness statements and expert analyses that establish fault. A skilled lawyer may be able to piece together what happened.

Offering a Quick, Lowball Settlement

The Trick: Adjusters will offer you a lowball settlement and it might be attractive early in the game, especially if you’re struggling financially or emotionally.

Why They Do It: They understand your future medical requirements and your pain and suffering may be worth much more.

How to Protect Yourself: Never accept the first offer. Call a burn injury lawyer to learn more about your long-term losses.

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Delaying the Claims Process

The Trick: They delay your claim in hopes that you can’t stand waiting, and must accept a lower settlement.

Why They Do It: The delay works in the insurer’s favor, especially while you are faced with medical bills and have no income because of your injury.

How to Protect Yourself: Keep a record of all correspondence, sending regular follow-up notes by letter or email, and have your lawyer step in to apply legal pressure if necessary.

Requesting an Unnecessary Recorded Statement

The Trick: Adjusters will get to work shortly after the incident and ask for a recorded statement while you are still on medication or recovering.

Why They Do It: They are hoping you’ll say something inconsistent, confusing or just wrong that it can throw at you later.

How to Protect Yourself: Politely refuse to provide a recorded statement until you have spoken to an attorney.

Disputing Psychological Impact

The Trick: They might forget or underestimate the emotional and psychological cost — things like trauma, depression, anxiety or social isolation — that often comes with trauma-grade burns.

Why They Do It: Pain and suffering is personal so they are less likely to believe or downplay this part of your claim.

How to Protect Yourself: Get therapy and psychological evaluations. Write down how the distress makes you feel and how it affects your daily life.

Debating the Issue of Long-Term or Reconstructive Treatment

The Trick: Adjusters might say that reconstructive surgeries or treatments down the road are cosmetic procedures and not medically necessary.

Why They Do It: To skirt the cost of ongoing or future care, which often blooms as very expensive in burn injury cases.

What You Can Do: Just make sure that all the things that are written down as “medically necessary” are from licensed surgeons and specialists.

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Watching Your Social Media Activity or Daily Routine

The Trick: Your insurer could be eyeing your social media or even using surveillance to argue that your injuries aren’t what you’ve made them out to be.

Why They Do It: Use any post, photo or activity that looks (or can be construed to look) inconsistent with your claim to undermine your credibility.

How to Protect Yourself: Do not post on social media, and follow your medical restrictions diligently. Assume you're being watched.

Why You Need A Burn Injury Lawyer

What to do after you suffer a burn injury to construct a good case and fight for your rights:

Get medical help right away and see a burn specialist.

Get it in writing: copies of accident reports, medical records, photographs, personal journals.

Don’t get an interview with the insurance company without an attorney.

Document everything you spend, from out-of-pocket costs to lost wages.

If the latter, consult a personal injury lawyer specializing in burn injuries.

Burn Injury Cases Factors Of Evidence, Expert Testimony And Medical Costing In The Long-term. A specialized attorney can:

Properly estimate the value of your past and future damage
Communicate with insurance adjusters for you
Gather expert medical testimony
Sue if the insurance company does not treat you fairly to settle
Without legal representation, you could end up settling for much less than your injury is worth — or even having your claim denied.

Conclusion: Burns rank as amongst the most physically, emotionally and financially overwhelming injuries. Unfortunately, insurance companies are not always looking out for your best interests. They have been trained to get you to pay as little as possible through trickery and loopholes.

By knowing the stealthy tactics insurance adjusters rely on in burn injury claims and with the help of a dedicated legal team, you can defend yourself and stand your ground to get the compensation you deserve.

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Note: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

FOUNDER & TRIAL ATTORNEY

Meet Shawn Mangoli

“Shawn Mangoli, the founder of Beverly Hills Injury Firm, is a distinguished trial attorney specializing in personal injury law. With a decade of experience in civil litigation, Shawn has successfully championed the rights of those injured due to negligence, securing numerous multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts. Recognized consistently by Super Lawyers and a respected member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles and American Attorneys for Justice, Shawn’s commitment to justice is profound and unwavering.”

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