Severe burns are some of the most devastating injuries people can suffer. They can destroy skin, muscle, and bone tissue while leading to infections and overwhelming medical bills. Additionally, people with burn injuries often experience severe emotional distress due to scarring and disfigurement. If this happened to you, how do you recover the money you need for missed income, medical expenses, and other losses? You hire a Southern California burn injury lawyer. As an experienced Los Angeles personal injury law firm with a proven track record in burn injury cases, we are committed to helping burn injury victims get the support they need.
Dordick Law Corporation understands the toll of burn injuries and can lead your fight for fair compensation. We’ve represented injured Californians for nearly 40 years and recovered billions for our clients. As experienced Los Angeles burn injury lawyers, our law firm is dedicated to helping burn injury victims recover the compensation they deserve. Our burn injury attorneys in Southern California can handle all the legal work in your case, giving you the time and energy you need to focus on healing. We don’t charge any fees unless you win, so call now or complete our contact form for a free consultation.
Challenges in Burn Injury Cases and How We Can Help
Burn injury cases are medically and legally complex. Many burn injury cases require the expertise of experienced personal injury attorneys to handle complex medical and legal issues. You may need multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and long-term rehabilitation to heal. Burns can also cause nerve damage, infections, and permanent disfigurement. The full cost of treatment adds up fast.
Furthermore, insurance companies may downplay your suffering or argue that the burn isn’t as serious as it looks. In cases involving workplace accidents, you may have to deal with overlapping claims involving workers’ compensation and third-party liability. Proving who caused your injury can also be difficult, especially if the fire, chemical spill, or explosion destroyed key evidence. Our personal injury attorneys are committed to helping clients demand compensation for all their losses.
Our burn injury attorneys in Southern California can uncover how your injury happened and who is responsible. We can collect all available evidence, from witness accounts to expert testimony, to identify the liable party. We can also make sure your medical records reflect the true extent of your injuries.
Additionally, our team works with specialists to estimate your future medical needs, lost income, and the emotional toll of your injury. We handle negotiations with insurance companies and fight lowball offers that don’t match the harm you’ve suffered. If a fair settlement isn’t possible, we’ll be ready to go to trial and present your case to a judge or jury. Our experienced personal injury attorneys work tirelessly to achieve maximum recovery for our clients.
Types and Levels of Burn Injuries
Knowing the types and levels of burns can help you understand how your injury occurred, what may have caused it, and who might be responsible. Burn injuries happen in many ways, including exposure to flames, electrical sources, thermal contact, and chemical agents, often as a result of workplace hazards or negligence. Burn injuries burns are classified by their severity and depth, which can lead to a range of health complications. Our firm has handled numerous burn cases involving different types and severities of burns.
Types of Burn Injuries
Some common types of burns in Southern California include:
- Thermal Burns – These are the most common type of burns and result from contact with heat sources. The skin or tissue is burned by exposure to fires, steam, hot metal, or boiling liquids. Thermal burns often happen in house fires, car accidents, or workplace accidents.
- Scalds – Scalds often affect young children and kitchen workers after contact with hot liquids or steam. In these cases, the skin is burned by the hot liquid or steam, which can cause deep tissue damage, especially if clothing traps the heat on a victim’s skin.
- Chemical Burns – Chemical burns result from contact with acids, alkalis, or other corrosive substances. Here, the skin or tissue is burned by caustic cleaning products, industrial chemicals, or battery acid. Chemical burns are particularly harmful because they can keep causing damage until fully neutralized.
- Electrical Burns – Electric shocks can burn the skin and damage victims’ internal tissues, muscles, or organs. The skin is burned by the passage of electrical current. Victims may also suffer heart problems or nerve injuries. These burns often occur in construction or utility jobs.
- Friction Burns – These burns happen when skin rubs against a hard surface, like asphalt or a treadmill. The skin is burned by the intense friction. Road rash is a common example of a friction burn.
- Radiation Burns – Exposure to UV rays, X-rays, or radiation therapy can cause radiation burns. In these cases, the skin is burned by radiation. Sunburn is the most common type, but radiation burns can also affect cancer patients undergoing treatment or people exposed to radioactive materials at their jobs.
- Cold Burns (Frostbite) – Prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures or materials like dry ice can damage skin tissues, much like a heat burn. The skin is burned by extreme cold. These injuries are common in areas with extreme weather or specific workplaces with industrial freezers or dangerous chemicals.
Levels of Burn Injuries
While any burn injury can cause intense pain and other complications, more severe burns have more devastating effects. From least severe to most severe, the levels of burn injuries are:
- First-Degree Burns – First-degree burns only affect the outermost skin layer. Symptoms include redness, pain, and mild swelling. These burns usually heal relatively quickly without leaving scars.
- Second-Degree Burns – Second-degree burns are more severe and damage the underlying skin layers. Blisters, swelling, and excruciating pain are common symptoms of these injuries. Pain management may be necessary for relief. Healing can take weeks, and the burn may leave scars.
- Third-Degree Burns – These are the most serious burns, destroying all layers of skin and potentially affecting underlying fat, muscle, or bone tissue. Third-degree burns are often life threatening and may require immediate medical attention. They often appear white, charred, or leathery. While a third-degree burn can cause excruciating pain, some are painless due to nerve damage. Serious burn injuries can result in permanent scarring and may require skin grafting or plastic surgery to repair the damage and restore function.
If you or a loved one suffers a serious burn, seek medical attention immediately. Prompt medical attention is critical for serious burns to prevent complications and support recovery.
The recovery process for serious burn injuries can be long and complex, often involving multiple medical procedures such as debridement, skin grafts, and ongoing pain management. Physical therapy is frequently necessary to restore movement and function, especially when muscles or tendons are affected. Emotional support and specialized care are also important to aid healing and improve overall well-being.
Common Causes of Burn Injuries
Many burn injuries result from similar examples of careless or dangerous behaviors, often caused by someone else’s negligence or negligent behavior. Some of the most common causes of burns are:
- House Fires – Fires from cooking accidents, electrical problems, candles, or space heaters can spread quickly and cause severe burns. Smoke inhalation and toxic fumes may also contribute to injuries in these cases, and burn victims often suffer severe burn injuries due to these incidents.
- Car Accidents – Vehicle crashes can lead to fuel leaks, engine fires, or explosions that can cause burns. Victims may also suffer thermal burns if they become trapped inside the car, resulting in severe burn injuries for burn victims.
- Workplace Accidents – Working at construction sites, factories, and restaurants often involves hot surfaces, open flames, or hazardous chemicals. Burns can happen in seconds when equipment fails or employers ignore safety procedures, frequently due to someone else’s negligence, leading to severe burn injuries for injury victims.
- Scalding Liquids or Steam – Hot water, grease, coffee, or steam can cause painful burns. These injuries are widespread in kitchens, restaurants, and homes with small children or elderly adults, and burn victims may require extensive treatment for severe burn injuries.
- Electrical Accidents – Contact with live wires, faulty appliances, or downed power lines can cause deep electrical burns. These injuries can also affect victims’ hearts, muscles, and nerves, often resulting in severe burn injuries for burn victims.
- Chemical Exposure – Industrial cleaners, acids, and solvents can burn the skin on contact, causing severe burn injuries for injury victims.
- Explosions – Gas leaks, fireworks, and industrial accidents can cause powerful blasts that result in thermal and friction burns, often leaving burn victims with severe burn injuries.
- Defective Products – Malfunctioning appliances, electronics, or flammable goods can overheat, catch fire, or explode and burn users, leading to burn injury cases involving someone else’s negligence.
- Radiation Exposure – Overexposure to UV rays, tanning beds, or radiation therapy can cause painful skin burns, sometimes resulting in severe burn injuries for burn victims.
Our firm has handled many Los Angeles burn injury cases and has helped numerous injury victims and burn victims recover compensation for their losses.
Who’s Liable for a Burn Injury?
The first step to recover compensation for a burn injury is to identify who caused it. In many burn injury cases, property damage is also a significant part of the claim and can greatly increase the total compensation available. Based on how the injury occurred, the potentially liable parties might include:
- Property Owners – A property owner may be responsible if your injury happened due to unsafe conditions. This falls under premises liability laws. Hazards that can cause burns or fires include faulty wiring, a lack of smoke alarms, or blocked exits.
- Employers – Employers must provide a safe work environment. Your employer may be liable if you suffered an injury due to poor training, unsafe equipment, or missing safety gear.
- Product Manufacturers – Companies that design or sell defective products can be held accountable for resulting burns. Faulty appliances, batteries, or flammable materials can all cause severe injuries.
- Contractors and Subcontractors – A contractor may be responsible for your injury if they created hazardous conditions at a worksite or failed to follow safety protocols.
- Drivers – Car accidents can sometimes cause fires and explosions, making a negligent driver liable for your burn injuries.
- Chemical Suppliers – If a company failed to properly label or store dangerous chemicals, or failed to warn users, it may be liable for chemical burn injuries.
Establishing liability in a burn injury case often requires gathering evidence from medical facilities where you received treatment. Consulting a personal injury attorney can help you determine liability and ensure all relevant documentation from medical facilities is collected to support your claim.
What to Do After a Burn Injury
Seeking medical attention and obtaining prompt medical treatment is crucial after a burn injury. You should seek medical attention immediately to protect your health, prevent complications, and establish important evidence for your legal claim. Doing everything you can to protect your legal rights is vital once you’ve seen a doctor for your injury. Keep medical records, photos of your injuries, and notes on how the burn affects your daily life.
Similarly, save receipts for your treatments, medication, and related expenses. Tracking these costs is important for recovering compensation, including lost wages and future medical bills. Avoid discussing the incident with insurance adjusters until you’ve spoken to a lawyer. Don’t post about your injury on social media, as insurers can use what you share against you.
If possible, preserve any damaged clothing, equipment, or products involved in the incident. Finally, talk to a Southern California burn injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Compensation for Burn Injuries
Your compensation for a burn injury increases in relation to the physical, emotional, and financial harm you’ve suffered. Personal injury lawyers help burn injury victims demand compensation and recover maximum recovery for all their losses. A burn accident attorney in Southern California can make sure your claim accounts for all your losses, including:
- Your lost income, lost wages, and reduced future earnings
- Your current and future medical expenses, including future medical bills
- Your pain and suffering
- Your emotional distress
- Your diminished quality of life
- Your property damage and damaged personal property (if applicable)
Deadline to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit
In California, you usually have two years from the date of your burn to file a personal injury lawsuit. You want to talk to a lawyer right away, though, so they have plenty of time to gather evidence and build your claim. Waiting to speak to a burn injury attorney could mean you recover less compensation or lose your case.
Contact Our Southern California Burn Injury Attorneys
The burn injury lawyers in Southern California at Dordick Law Corporation are fully prepared to handle your legal case. Our law firm can fight on your behalf for fair compensation. Call (310) 551-0949 now or complete our contact form for a free case evaluation. Our team of attorneys can get you the compensation you deserve.
