Burn Injuries: Los Angeles & Nationwide
While sustaining any serious injury can be a traumatic experience, burns are especially scary. They tend to be extremely painful and debilitating, carrying a high risk of long-term damage. Burns can lead to functional limitations and permanent scarring, requiring multiple, expensive treatments to reach even partial recovery. If you’ve suffered a serious burn as a result of someone else’s negligence, you have the right to seek justice and compensation for the harm you incurred.
The Morris Law Firm pursues burn injury cases with your needs in mind. If you or a loved one suffered a serious burn as a result of someone else’s negligence, we have the legal resources and experience to help you recover. Our Los Angeles-based attorney will negotiate with defective product manufacturers, negligent trucking companies, bad doctors, unreasonable insurance companies, and any other parties who may owe you compensation for your injuries. If you don’t get the settlement offer you deserve, we’ll take your case all the way to trial and beyond to make sure that you get the recovery you are owed.
Types and Degrees of Burn
The medical community characterizes burns by degree. Higher-degree burns are more severe, leading to more potential complications and worse, longer-term damage. While even a mild burn can be extremely painful, more severe burns are likely to lead to scarring and disfigurement as well as possible functional limitations and disability. The most severe burns might result in amputation of a limb or other permanent damage.
An experienced personal injury lawyer at Morris Law Firm can help evaluate the potential value of your claim based on the severity of your burn injury and other factors, making sure that you are able to pursue the strongest claim possible for maximum compensation.
The categories of burn injury are as follows:
- First-degree burns. First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin. The skin may turn red and painful, but no blisters should result and long-term damage is rare.
- Second-degree burns. Second-degree burns affect the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) as well as the layer underneath (the dermis). The skin will turn bright red and swollen and may appear shiny. Blisters are likely to arise, and the burn will hurt to touch. The pain can be severe.
- Third-degree burns. Third-degree burns destroy the outer and inner skin layers and may affect the tendons, nerves, bones, or muscles underneath. The victim might not actually feel pain because of damage to the nerve endings. The skin can turn black, brown, white, or yellow instead of bright red. Permanent damage is likely, and treatment may require skin grafts or other serious procedures.
- Fourth-degree burns. Fourth-degree burns are the most severe, destroying all of the skin, muscle, bones, and tendons. Fourth-degree burns are life-threatening.
Who is Liable After a Burn Injury?
There are a number of parties who may be held responsible after a burn injury, depending on the circumstances that led to the injury. Depending on how your burn occurred, any of the following parties may be responsible:
- Landlords and building owners. If you are stuck in a house or apartment fire, or a fire in a hotel, store, or other public building, the owner or operator of the building could be responsible. If you suffered more severe burns because of a faulty smoke detector or lack of proper fire exits, you deserve compensation from the party that negligently allowed you to suffer. If your building was more dangerous because of faulty construction (g., faulty pilot light or loose fuel line), a contractor might be to blame.
- Negligent drivers. Traffic accidents can cause fuel lines to leak or electrical equipment to become exposed, creating the risk of a fire or explosion. If you were burned in a car or truck accident caused by a negligent or reckless driver, you have the right to compensation from that driver or the trucking company that employed a negligent commercial driver.
- Home appliance manufacturers. Many fires start because of faulty home appliances such as ovens, clothes dryers, hair curlers, and others. If a fire started in your home because of a defective product, the product manufacturer can be held liable for your injuries.
- If you suffer a burn injury in the workplace, you are entitled to workers’ compensation. If the burn resulted from OSHA violations or the negligence of third-party contractors, your employer or another party could face additional liability.
The dedicated burn injury claim lawyer at Morris Law Firm will investigate the nature of your injury to determine who may be held liable so that you are not left dealing with the fallout on your own. We’ll make sure the responsible parties pay you the compensation you are owed for your medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of wages, disability, scarring, and other damages.
Call Morris Law Firm For Help With a Burn Injury Claim After a Los Angeles Accident
We understand there are many ways you can suffer a serious burn, and we know just how dangerous burn injuries can be. Every case is unique and requires special, individualized attention. Contact our Los Angeles personal injury law firm today to evaluate your unique burn injury claim. Morris Law Firm will give you a personalized evaluation and help you figure out your legal rights and next steps.
Call us today at 747-283-1144 for a fast response or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.
