Burn injuries are painful and can leave long-lasting physical and psychological scars. Whether it is a chemical burn from an unsafe product, a burn caused by a hazard on poorly kept property, a gas explosion, or an accidental burn at a bonfire or gathering, you may need an experienced burn injury lawyer to make sure you are compensated for your medical costs and suffering.
If you or a loved one have suffered serious burns as a result of negligence, contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today to speak with one of our experienced burn injury lawyers or call us at (855) 866-5529.
Call Us At 844-686-5397 Burn Injury Facts and Figures
Burn injuries are, unfortunately, an all too common occurrence across the nation.
According to the American Burn Association, there were 486,000 burn injuries that received medical treatment in the United States in 2011. In 2013, 334 children under the age of 19 died because of fires or burns as a result of a residential home fire. In fact, 126,035 children were seen in emergency rooms for burn injuries in 2013. Victims who are in a situation that causes severe burns are also at risk of experiencing other health complications, such as those caused by smoke inhalation. In fact, one civilian fire death occurs every 2 hours and 41 minutes, and many of these are caused by smoke inhalation.
While it’s possible to obtain a burn injury in a wide variety of places, the most common place for victims to experience a burn injury is in the home; in fact, the American Burn Association notes that between 2005 and 2014, 73% of burn injuries occurred in the home. Some things that could potentially cause a fire and/or burn in/around the home include:
- Flammable clothing
- Heating pads
- Ammonia and other household chemicals
- Home appliances
- Generators
- Unsafe outlets or extension cords
- Fireworks
- And more
Types of Burn Injuries
There are five main types of burns:
- Thermal burns – caused by contact with fire, steam, hot liquids, or other sources of extreme heat
- Light burns – caused by sunlight or ultraviolet light
- Chemical burns – caused by chemical exposure to acid, alkali, or chemical explosion
- Radiation burns – caused by contact with nuclear radiation
- Electrical burns – caused by an electrical current
There are four categories of burn severity:
- First-degree burns – only the top layer of skin is damaged. First-degree burns are characterized by redness, minor inflammation. These burns cause minimal damage, and usually heal within a week. They can often be treated with aloe vera gel and cool water – not with ice!
- Second-degree burns – damage goes beyond the top layer of skin, also impacting the dermis, which lies just beneath the skin’s outer lawyer.. Second-degree burns are characterized by extremely red, blistered skin. These burns may take weeks to heal, and should be properly bandaged.
- Third-degree burns – sometimes referred to as a “full thickness urn”. The damage extends through two full layers of skin. While a second-degree burn typically turns the skin red, a third-degree burn often turns the skin black, brown, white, or yellow. This level of burn also causes damage to nerve endings.
- Fourth degree burns – the deepest and most severe type of burn, which can often be life-threatening to burn victims. Damage reaches all layers of skin, moving through to the deeper tissue beneath. Organs and bones can also be impacted. Due to the damage to nerve endings, there will usually be no feeling in the affected area. It’s important to seek medical care immediately if you have experienced or suspect you may have experienced this level of burn.
In addition to the initial and immediate trauma a burn can cause, a severe burn injury can also cause lasting impact. A 2016 study titled “Long-Term Study Of Health And Quality Of Life After Burn Injury” from the National Library of Medicine noted that longterm affects of burns can include “scarring, contractures, weakness, thermoregulation, itching, pain, sleep, body image and psychosocial wellbeing.” This study looked at the ability for burn victims to reach full health in the aftermath of their injury, and defined health as going beyond just a lack of infirmity, but also including true wellbeing, independence, access to a social life, and more.
Types of Fires That Can Cause Burn Injuries
- House fires. As noted above, fires in the home are the most common source of burn injuries. The majority of house fires are caused by cooking.
- Recreational fires include things like campfires, bonfires, and any other outdoor fire that is not contained by a grill or fireplace.
- Oil refinery fires are not uncommon, often caused by an explosion and resulting in substantial damage.
- Apartment building fires can be caused by any number of things; the most deadly apartment fire since 1978 occurred in California and resulted in 24 deaths.
- Chemical plant explosions usually occur when a chemical mixes and reacts with a heat source.
Burns resulting from any of these sources or incidents can be a catastrophic injury. Contact a Munley burn injury lawyer today to begin your path to justice and learn how we can protect your interests.
Compensation for Your Burn Injuries
Burns are one of the most expensive and traumatic injuries to treat. In fact, research has shown that total hospital costs can reach more than $125,000 per patient. This, of course, accounts just for the treatments of the burns, and not for any other healthcare the victim may require. Even a simple first degree burn can become infected and require medical treatment. Third degree burns can take years of treatment in order to heal, and usually have a significant impact on the victim’s quality of life and ability to work. Extensive burns can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for treatment, repeat admission, and rehabilitation.
Filing a burn injury lawsuit may be your best path to attaining the compensation you need in order to care for yourself. Compensation in these kinds of cases comes in two forms: economic damages, and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are specific, measurable damages, designed to compensate the burn injury victim for the losses they endured. This can cover things like hospital and medical bills, lost wages, lowered earning capacity due to the injury, and more. These damages are intended to restore the victim to their pre-injury status.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are intended to compensate for slightly more abstract things like mental and emotional pain and suffering, emotional distress, PTSD, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life. . These kind of damages are not measurable in the way economic damages are; you can’t tally up bills and receipts to understand the extent of someone’s general pain and suffering. That’s why it is the job of a burn injury attorney to review their client’s case in great detail and determine how much they should reasonable expect in non-economic damages.
If you have been the victim of a burn injury due to someone else’s negligence or carelessness, you should not have to bear the added weight of worrying about finances. You deserve both justice and compensation for what you’ve endured, and we’re here to help you achieve it.
You will need an experienced personal injury attorney to protect your rights. Serving Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, the personal injury lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys will fight to recover the damages you are owed for your burn-related trauma. We work on a contingency-fee basis, so we do not collect a fee unless we win for you. At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we work as a team, so you will have the benefit of having several lawyers working on your case. We are among the best law firms in the nation, and we have been named as the Best Lawyers in America by our peers. We have had many of the leading settlement and verdicts in the country, and we are ready to put our experience to work for you. Contact a Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys burn injuries attorney today.
“For more than three generations, our family has been fighting for justice. It’s more than a career choice—it’s written into our DNA. That legacy shapes how I approach every case. The people who walk through our doors aren’t case numbers; they’re families in crisis, looking for someone to fight as hard for them as we would for our own.”
Robert W. Munley, III
Determining and Proving Fault In a Burn Injury Lawsuit
With most personal injury cases, one of the first important steps is to determine who is at fault. In cases that would warrant a personal injury suit, the burn must be caused by someone else’s negligence. The negligent party can be anyone — although, as you’ll see later in this article, things are more complicated if the negligent party is an employer. In that case, the victim will likely seek worker’s compensation instead of filing a suit.
Many parties can be responsible for a burn. Many people may have heard about the infamous 1994 case in which a woman sued McDonald’s after she was scalded by a cup of hot coffee. At the time, and for years after, this case was a punchline. But in reality, the plaintiff had a right to demand justice, and most definitely experienced the blunt end of a massive corporation’s negligence. In fact, the coffee was 190 degrees F — nearly at boiling point — and what’s more, McDonald’s knew the product was unsafe, having received hundreds of complaints about burns from this coffee. In the end. the plaintiff received a settlement of nearly $600,000.
Other potentially liable parties can include:
- A manufacturer, if a burn was caused by a defective product
- The individual who installed an electrical device, if the burn was caused by improper installation
- Landlord, if the burn occurred due to negligence behavior on their part
- Healthcare provider, if the burn occurred during medical treatment
- And more.
Proving Liability in a Burn Injury Lawsuit
In order to prove liability in any kind of a personal injury case, including those that involve burn injuries, the plaintiff must work with their burn attorney in order to establish a few key items.
There Was a Duty of Care
First, the victim and their burn injuries lawyer must show that the defendant had a duty of care to the victim. A duty of care is a legal responsibility that one party owes another, to act with a reasonable amount of care and safety in order to prevent causing harm an injury. Let’s think, for example, about cases that involve apartment building fires. In these cases, the owner or landlord owes a duty of care to tenants to keep their environment safe.
The Duty of Care Was Breached
Second, the victim must prove that the duty of care was breached. With the apartment building fires examples, the duty would be breached if, for instance, the owner of the building had electrical wiring unsafely installed, causing electrical cord fires. This, of course, is just one example — a duty of care can be breached in any number of ways.
The Breach Resulted in Damages
Lastly, the victim must show that this breach of the duty of care directly resulted in damages. This could be done by showing that the electrical cord fires, for instance, caused the victim to experience fourth degree burns, and those burns required medical attention that the victim had to pay for. The burn injury victim may also have needed to take time off work in order to recover, resulting in lost wages.
This can be a lot of information to take in, and injury lawsuits can be very complex. But working with a burn injury attorney can help ensure that the right person is held responsible for your injuries.
Burn Injury FAQ
What Should I Do If I Sustain a Burn Injury at Work?
Workers’ compensation is the main route for employees injured on the job, including those who suffer burn injuries. However, if a third party — someone other than your employer or coworker — caused your burn injury, you might also have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. If you’re unsure which route to pursue, a burn injury attorney can help you understand your options and seek the compensation you deserve.
Why Do I Need a Burn Injury Attorney?
Burn injury claims involve a complex legal process that can be overwhelming, especially while you’re focused on recovery. An experienced burn injury lawyer will evaluate every aspect of your damages — medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering — to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve. If the other side makes a low offer, your attorney will handle negotiations and ensure you don’t settle for less than you’re owed. Contact Munley Law today for a free case assessment.
What Is a Friction Burn?
A friction burn is a hybrid injury caused by both blunt trauma and heat, often resulting from skin contact with a rough surface at speed. Road rash from motorcycle accidents is one of the most common causes, but friction burns can also happen from exercise equipment, carpet, or sports involving sliding or diving. These injuries can range from minor to severe depending on the speed and surface involved.
What Should I Do If My Child Suffers a Burn Injury?
Fires and burns are the fifth leading cause of injury-related death in children, and burn injuries can cause lasting physical and emotional effects. If your child has suffered a burn injury, working with a burn injury attorney gives them the best chance at the compensation needed for their long-term recovery. Munley Law’s experienced attorneys can guide your family through the legal process from start to finish.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Burn Injury Attorney?
Munley Law’s burn injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case. If we recover compensation for you, our fee is a percentage of that amount — so there are no upfront costs or financial risks to you. If you have questions about fees or your case, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Why Choose Munley Law?
The burn attorneys at Munley Law are experts in the field and will fight tirelessly to ensure your personal injury claim is successful. We prioritize your best interests, and our burn lawyers have a stellar record of winning cases for our clients.
At Munley Law, each of our lawyers has over a decade of experience, including hands-on trial and courtroom expertise. We do not get paid unless we win your case, and we will be by your side as you seek justice after your accident.
If you are seeking legal representation or want a free case assessment, contact an injury lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys. We are a leading law firm with extensive experience handling burn injuries and accidents, and we can provide you with an experienced attorney to support you every step of the way. Call us today to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help protect your interests.
If you or a loved one has been seriously burned, you may be legally entitled to damages for your injury. Call us today for a FREE consultation and evaluation of your burn injury case.
