Burn Injury Accidents: Who’s Liable and How to Pursue Compensation

Burn injury accidents are among the leading causes of unintentional deaths in the United States. Studies show that more than 500,000 suffer burn injuries in the US every year. In addition, nearly 4,500 people lose their lives yearly to burn injuries.

If you or your loved one has suffered burn injuries caused by someone else's negligence, Morgan and Morgan burn injury attorneys might be able to fight for you. Fill out our free case evaluation form to get started.

Here's everything you need to know about burn injury accidents in 2022.

What Are Some Common Causes of Burn Injury Accidents in 2022?

Burn injury accidents occur due to many different reasons. Some common causes of burn injury accidents in 2022 include:

• Fires
• Electrical faults
• Hot liquids or steam, especially in cars, homes, and workplaces
• Chemical exposure, especially in workplaces

Who Is Liable for a Burn Injury?

Anyone can be held liable for a burn injury, especially if they acted negligently or recklessly, leading to the injury. However, the list of individuals or entities that might be held responsible varies depending on the nature of your burn injury case. For example, if you or your loved one suffered burn injuries while operating a particular kitchen device, the manufacturer might be held responsible.

Contact a Morgan and Morgan burn injury attorney for a free case evaluation. We might be able to help you identify the parties responsible for your injuries and hold them accountable.

What Damages Can I Recover When I File a Burn Injury Lawsuit?

The kind of damages you may recover will depend on the specifics of your burn injury case. In the past, we have handled cases where the plaintiffs were able to recover compensatory damages after a burn injury.

Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages in these cases include:

• Past, current, and future medical expenses
• Lost wages due to the burn injuries
• Loss of future earning capacity as a result of a permanent or temporary disability
• Future out-of-pocket expenses arising from your burn injuries, such as hiring a caregiver

Non-economic damages associated with burn injury cases include compensation for:

• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disfigurement
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life

It is important to note that each burn injury case is unique. An experienced attorney should be able to review the unique circumstances of your case and explain the kind of damages you may be able to claim.

How Long Do I Have to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit?

The deadline for filing a burn injury lawsuit varies from state to state. That said, most states have a two to three-year statute of limitations for filing such a lawsuit. If you fail to file a lawsuit within the provided window, you will automatically lose your right to take legal action against the defendant.

What Should I Do After a Burn Injury?

Burn injuries can be excruciating. For this reason, your health and well-being come first. Call 911 and request an ambulance if you have suffered serious burn injuries. You can also have your friend, colleague, or family member call 911 if you cannot do so.

Burn injuries might not allow you to take pictures of the accident scene or document everything — you will probably be in so much pain. However, you can have someone take pictures and document the accident scene on your behalf if possible. This information could come in handy when you take legal action against the party responsible for your injuries.

Contact a Morgan and Morgan burn injury attorney as soon as you can. If you are still undergoing treatment and cannot contact us directly, you can have your family or friend do it. You do not have to worry about visiting us when you are injured; our attorneys will come to you wherever you are.

How Much Compensation Will a Morgan and Morgan Burn Injury Lawyer Help Me Recover?

The settlement amount will depend on multiple factors. Typically, our attorneys will consider the severity of the burn injuries and how they affected you or your loved ones. For example, let's say you were the sole breadwinner and suffered burn injuries due to someone else's negligence, leading to permanent disability.

In that case, you may be unable to work and support your family. For this reason, we can fight for you and help you secure the compensation you need to cover such a loss.

The final settlement amount will also depend on whether or not you contributed to the injuries. Some jurisdictions allow plaintiffs to recover damages even if they were partly at fault for the injuries. In contrast, others do not allow recovery if the plaintiff was partly at fault, even by 1%.

What Are the Different Types of Burns?

Burns fall into four main categories, depending on their severity. The amount of compensation you may be entitled to could depend on the severity of the burns you suffered. These categories include:

Fourth-degree burns: These burns cause severe damage to the bone, nerves, skin, muscles, tends, and more. In most cases, victims of fourth-degree burns do not feel pain around the affected area due to nerve damage. When the nerves are destroyed, they fail to send pain signals to the brain.

Third-degree burns: These burns destroy the dermis and epidermis. They can also damage the underlying muscles, tendons, and bones. In most cases, individuals with third-degree burns do not experience any sensation in the affected area due to nerve damage.

Second-degree burns: These burns damage the epidermis and the dermis, leading to swelling and redness around the affected area. The burn victim might also develop blisters and scarring. In addition, because second-degree burns do not usually damage the nerves, victims experience severe pain in the affected area.

First-degree burns: This burn only affects the outer layer of the skin (epidermis), leading to a red and painful patch around the affected area.

Do I Need an Attorney to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit?

You do not necessarily need an attorney to file this kind of lawsuit. However, having an attorney significantly increases your chances of obtaining reasonable compensation for your injuries.

A seasoned burn injury attorney can help review your case to determine whether you have legal grounds to sue the other party. If you have a valid claim, the attorney will walk you through the next steps.

The attorney can also help investigate the circumstances that led to the injury. To do this, they might need to consult experts in their networks, such as doctors, firefighters, product quality control specialists, etc.

The other party will not disclose the full damages you may be able to recover, but your attorney can. This is because an attorney has your best interests at heart, unlike the other party. So a win for you is a win for your attorney.

Because burn injury cases are usually severe, most victims do not get the chance to collect crucial evidence. That is understandable. An experienced attorney can help collect the most relevant evidence to your case, increasing your chances of obtaining a favorable outcome.

Keep in mind that having strong evidence alone is not enough. The other party, especially through their insurer, will likely offer a lowball settlement offer. Some insurance companies may also try to frustrate the claims process, forcing you to settle for less than what you truly deserve.

But you should not be worried about that when you have an attorney fighting for you. Because attorneys know the games insurance companies play to avoid liability, they cannot be easily manipulated into settling for less than what you deserve.

Your attorney can also help negotiate a reasonable settlement with the other party. Most burn injury cases settle out of court. However, if the other party refuses to settle, pursuing a burn injury lawsuit against them could be the only remaining option. Your burn injury lawyer can help prepare you for complex court processes such as deposition and discovery.

What Kind of Attorneys Handle Burn Injury Cases?

It depends. When you hire just any personal injury law firm you come across, they will likely have a general personal injury attorney handle your case. Although this is not a bad idea, having an attorney specializing in burn injuries is much better. Such an attorney can help prepare a strong case on your behalf based on their experience handling these cases. They know what to expect from the other party, how such cases are settled, who is responsible, where to get the best treatment for burn injuries etc.

If you hire a powerful personal injury law firm like Morgan and Morgan, you will have peace of mind knowing that your case is being handled by experts. And because we are the largest personal injury law firm in the country, boasting over 800 attorneys, we can always team up with attorneys from different specialties to build a strong case for you. For instance, if you were injured by a defective product, you need a defective product liability attorney to help with building a strong case. And, because we have such a huge army of attorneys, you will not need to hire a product liability lawyer separately to collaborate with your burn injury lawyer. We offer all these services under one roof and at no cost to you unless we win.

What if the Person Responsible for My Burn Injuries Cannot Afford to Compensate Me?

That is yet another good reason to hire an attorney. Although you might not be able to collect compensation for the damages directly from the individual who caused your injuries, you may be able to do so through their insurance provider. However, this will not be easy; insurance companies are always quick to avoid liability, which is why you need a lawyer to fight for you. Such an attorney can help maximize your claim in ways you didn't know possible.

Do I Still Need an Attorney if the Other Party Offers to Settle the Case Directly With Me?

No law requires you to hire an attorney but not having legal representation is very risky. When the other party wants to settle the case directly with you, chances are they will offer way less than what you truly deserve.

They want you to settle the case and sign the release of settlement agreement. These companies know that once they convince you to sign the settlement agreement, it is game over.

When you sign the release, you cannot reopen the case even if you later discover that the settlement offer did not reflect the actual value of your injuries. This explains why you should consider hiring an attorney right from the beginning. Hiring an attorney after signing the release will not help unless you can prove that the other party committed fraud or lied to convince you to sign the settlement. These two elements are extremely difficult to prove.

What Makes Morgan and Morgan Burn Injury Attorneys Different?

At Morgan and Morgan, we have what it takes to fight for you. But do not take our word for it. Here is why we are different:

• Morgan and Morgan is the largest personal injury law firm in the US, serving clients from coast to coast. We will come to you wherever you are.
• We have been fighting for our client's rights since 1988 and have dealt with countless insurance companies. You can trust us to stand up against the other party and fight for your best interests.
• We have the resources to fight for you. With an army of over 800 attorneys, paralegals, and a network of experts, you can count on us to deliver.
• We have won more than $13 billion as compensation for various accidents, including burn injuries. Check out our most recent results; you could be the next winner.

Morgan and Morgan Can Help

Do not nurse your injuries in silence—many burn injury victims are getting compensated by insurance companies and other entities, and so should you. Ready to get started with your claim? Fill out our free case evaluation form.