Burn Injury Lawsuits: When Can You Sue for Negligence?
Burn injuries can result in severe pain, long-term medical treatment, and permanent damage. Whether caused by a workplace accident, a defective product, or negligence, burn injuries can drastically affect a person’s quality of life.
If you’ve sustained burn injuries, it’s crucial to understand when you may have grounds to pursue a lawsuit. Negligence is often at the heart of these cases, and proving that someone’s failure to act responsibly led to your injuries can lead to a fair compensation claim.
At The Law Office of George O. Haskell, IV, we help clients in Macon, Georgia, and the surrounding areas, including Milledgeville, Houston County, Warner Robins, Monticello, and Forsyth, seek justice after suffering burn injuries. We understand how life-altering these injuries can be and work hard to protect your rights while seeking the compensation you deserve.
What Is Negligence in Burn Injury Cases?
Negligence occurs when someone fails to take reasonable care to prevent harm to others, leading to injuries. In burn injury cases, negligence can happen in many ways, such as:
Defective products: A manufacturer may be negligent if their product is defectively designed, manufactured, or fails to include proper safety warnings, resulting in burns.
Workplace accidents: Employers are required to follow safety protocols to protect their employees. If safety measures are ignored, employees could suffer burn injuries.
Property owner negligence: Property owners have a duty to maintain safe conditions on their premises. If hazardous conditions, like exposed electrical wires or flammable materials, cause a burn injury, the property owner may be liable.
Medical negligence: In some cases, burn injuries are caused by errors made by healthcare professionals, such as improper treatment or failure to monitor a burn victim properly.
Negligence in a burn injury case involves proving that the responsible party had a duty to act in a certain way, failed to do so, and that their failure directly led to your injuries. The first step in pursuing a claim is to establish that someone else’s actions—or lack of actions—resulted in your harm.
When Can You File a Burn Injury Lawsuit?
Not every burn injury will lead to a lawsuit, but there are specific circumstances under which you may have a valid claim. You should consider filing a burn injury lawsuit if:
The injury resulted from someone else’s negligence: If the burn injury occurred because of a third party’s failure to take reasonable precautions, you may have a strong case for negligence.
The injury caused significant harm: Burn injuries that result in permanent disfigurement, scarring, or long-term physical, emotional, and financial consequences may justify filing a lawsuit.
You’ve suffered financial loss: Medical bills, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, and other financial setbacks caused by your injury can be addressed through a lawsuit.
The injury is the result of a defective product: If your burn injury occurred due to a faulty product, such as a defective appliance, electrical device, or vehicle, you might be able to file a product liability lawsuit.
Filing a lawsuit is often the best way to hold negligent parties accountable and seek the financial compensation necessary to cover your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Proving Negligence in a Burn Injury Case
To succeed in a burn injury lawsuit, we must prove negligence. This typically requires demonstrating the following elements:
Duty of care: The responsible party owed a duty of care to the injured person. For example, a property owner has a duty to maintain safe conditions, or an employer has a duty to provide proper safety equipment for workers.
Breach of duty: The responsible party breached their duty of care by acting (or failing to act) in a way that created a risk of harm.
Causation: The breach of duty directly caused the burn injury. For example, a property owner’s failure to fix a broken heater directly led to someone being burned.
Damages: The injured party suffered actual damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress.
Proving negligence is often challenging, and each case is unique. However, with the right evidence, such as photos, medical records, expert testimony, and witness statements, our firm can help build a strong case.
Types of Burn Injuries That Can Lead to Lawsuits
Burn injuries can vary in severity, and some may have more substantial legal consequences than others. Some common types of burn injuries that can lead to lawsuits include:
Thermal burns: These are caused by contact with hot surfaces, flames, steam, or hot liquids. Thermal burns are among the most common types of burn injuries in workplace and household accidents.
Chemical burns: Exposure to harsh chemicals, such as acids, can cause chemical burns. In these cases, manufacturers or employers who fail to provide proper safety equipment or warnings may be held liable.
Electrical burns: These occur when the body comes into contact with an electrical source. Electrical burns can cause severe damage, especially if the current travels through vital organs.
Radiation burns: Exposure to sources of radiation, such as sunburn or radiation therapy, can cause significant burns that may lead to lawsuits if caused by negligence or improper safety measures.
The severity of the burn injury plays a role in the damages that can be claimed. Burns that cause permanent disfigurement, scarring, or loss of function are likely to result in higher compensation due to the significant impact on quality of life.
What Damages Can Be Claimed in a Burn Injury Lawsuit?
If you decide to file a burn injury lawsuit, you may be entitled to various types of compensation. These damages can help cover the financial, physical, and emotional impact of your injuries. Some common types of damages in burn injury lawsuits include:
Medical expenses: This includes the cost of emergency care, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and any other medical treatments required for recovery.
Lost wages: If the injury caused you to miss work, you may be entitled to compensation for the income you lost during your recovery.
Pain and suffering: Burn injuries can cause significant physical and emotional distress. Compensation for pain and suffering helps address the mental and physical toll the injury has taken on your life.
Disfigurement: If the burn injury resulted in permanent scarring or disfigurement, you may be entitled to additional compensation to reflect the impact on your appearance and quality of life.
Emotional distress: In some cases, burn injuries cause long-lasting emotional trauma, such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The amount of compensation you can receive depends on the severity of your injuries, the extent of negligence, and the impact the burn injuries have had on your life.
Contact an Experienced Law Firm Today
If you or a loved one has suffered burn injuries due to someone else’s negligence, it’s important to act quickly. Time limits, known as statutes of limitations, exist for filing burn injury lawsuits, so it’s essential to seek legal guidance as soon as possible.
At The Law Office of George O. Haskell, IV, we are committed to helping clients in Macon, Georgia, and surrounding areas, including Milledgeville, Houston County, Warner Robins, Monticello, and Forsyth, get the compensation they deserve after a burn injury. Contact our trusted law firm today to discuss your case and take the first step toward seeking justice.