A 20-year old man living in Encinitas just north of San Diego has defied the odds by surviving a devastating car accident and burn injuries that consumed more than 85-percent of his body. The injured man understands that for all practical purposes he should not have survived and he's extremely grateful just to be alive. Needless to say, he received a great deal of assistance along the way.

The young man was a passenger in an SUV that crashed on a California expressway. Three passengers in the SUV (including the injured man's girlfriend) died in the accident, and another individual in another vehicle died as well. The burns were so severe that the young man was only given a 1 percent chance of surviving.

It's difficult to call someone fortunate that has had 85-percent of his body burned, though this particular individual does seem to feel that way. Burns are quite possibly the most painful kind of injuries that most of us would ever have to endure. Such injuries do not automatically go away with hospitalization, and often whatever recovery is sustained will be a long time in coming. The chance of permanent disability involving burn injuries is great.

Trying to understand what would be the appropriate amount of compensation for someone sustaining burn injuries is complicated, and it would likely require an attorney experienced in the area of personal injury and burn injury litigation to understand what such cases are worth. Compensation will never make up for the pain and scarring victims of such accidents will have to endure, but at least it presents the opportunity of medical expenses, care and services being covered without a family having to resort to bankruptcy.

It's rare to find a positive story coming from a victim that has been severely burned in this manner, and the above story of the 20-year old man may be as close to one as we will ever find. "At this point I'm fully independent," he was quoted as saying. He added: "I'm feeling good emotionally and physically too."

Source: U-T San Diego, "Burn survivor defies odds," by J. Harry Jones, Feb. 4, 2012