A burn injury can negatively impact your life. First, a burn requires a lot of medical treatment, including hospitalization in some cases. Then, you could face ongoing medical needs and permanent scarring or disfigurement. This can impact many different areas of your life, including your ability to work and your interpersonal relationships.
By filing a personal injury lawsuit against a responsible party, you can possibly recover compensation for some of your medical expenses and lost wages. You can file the lawsuit on your own or with the support and assistance of a lawyer.
Consulting with a fire injury attorney in Decatur can help you get the answers you need to make an informed decision about your next steps of what to do. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC at 800-691-7111 for a free consultation with a member of our team. We want to be able to help you throughout the difficult process of recovery. You are not alone.
Types of Burn Injuries
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one million people suffer from burns each year in the United States. Generally, burn injuries are broken down into three different categories:
- First-degree burns: This type of burn involves only the outer layer of skin.
- Second-degree burns: This type of burn involves the outer and inner layers of skin, and often includes blistering.
- Third-degree burns: This impacts deep tissue and bone. Charred or white skin might be visible.
This is just an overview of how burn injuries are categorized. There might be other descriptors that your medical team uses to identify and describe the extent of your burn injuries.
For a free legal consultation with a burn injuries lawyer serving Decatur, call 800-607-2992
Causes of Burn Injuries
There are hundreds of ways that you can get burned at the hand of someone else and have the ability to hold them legally responsible. This includes too hot foods at restaurants, apartment buildings with inadequate fire protection, home builders that skip safety steps when building and wiring your home for electricity, fireworks displays, and chemical burns in workplaces.
Depending on the specific nature of the accident, the severity of your injuries will vary. In general, the longer you are exposed to a heat source or the larger the fire or explosion, the more significant and severe your injuries will be. Child abuse is another cause of burn injuries. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), most child abuse burn victims are under the age of two.
It is important to note that you do not need to have significant, life-altering injuries to hold someone else responsible for hurting you. There is no reason that you should feel that getting burned is a natural incident to occur.
By taking legal action against the person or entity responsible for your burns, you can potentially protect other people from suffering a similar fate by making them aware of the possibility of injury and forcing the other party to make changes to its operations.
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Determining Responsibility
It can be unclear who is responsible for a burn injury. For instance, if your own personal actions have some effect on what happened, the other party may not be fully at fault.
Conversely, more than one party could be partly responsible for what happened to cause your burn. Discussing the specifics of your case with a lawyer and collecting relevant police and fire department reports can help to figure out who is responsible. This can make a difference with regards to who to hold accountable for your burn injuries.
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Long Term Effects
A burn injury can cause long term effects that can negatively affect your life, such as:
- Financial burden
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
- Loss of home
- Loss of employment
- Pain and suffering
- Premature death
This list features just some of the long-term effects of a burn injury; however, a burn is a deeply personal injury that impacts people in different ways. You may experience other long-term effects that have severe or minor consequences on your way of living and the overall quality of your life. No matter how your burn injury affects you over the long term, you can choose to try to recover compensation related to your burn injury either alone or with the help of a burn injury lawyer.
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Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in the state of Georgia is two years from the date of the injury, according to Georgia Code Section 9-3-33. Since serious burns often require extensive medical treatment and time to treat, this time period often goes quickly. This is why it is always a good idea to start the legal process as quickly as you can.
Plus, starting earlier means that you will have extra time if anything is delayed or requires more time. Even if you are unsure about whether you want to seek legal action, you can speak with a burn lawyer to have a better idea about the process and the time you will need to build your case.
Seeking Legal Action
It is ultimately your decision on whether to seek legal representation. You can opt to file a lawsuit on your own or with the assistance of a burn lawyer. No matter which route you decide to take, it is your decision. The process of filing a lawsuit can be a lot to undertake while still recovering from a serious burn injury. Working with a lawyer could allow them to focus on your case while you simply recover.
Call to Schedule a Free Consultation
Call the office of a Decatur burn injuries lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, at 800-959-1444 to speak with a member of our team. We offer free consultations to help you determine your legal rights.
Call or text 800-607-2992 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
