San Diego Burn Injury Lawyers

What Are Burn Injuries?

Severe burns are a horrible way to be injured. Along with intense pain and suffering, they may cause permanent disfigurement and disability. If you have suffered a burn injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may have a claim in civil court for compensation.

Burns cause harm to the body’s skin and tissues as a result of heat, fire, chemicals, radiation, or electricity. They can cause severe physical consequences, including:

• Blistering
• Swelling
• Scarring
• Tissue and muscle loss
• Shock
• Death

Burn injuries damage the skin’s protective barrier, allowing entrance to bacteria and foreign invaders. For this reason, burns can also lead to dangerous or deadly infections. Severe burn injuries may require extensive medical treatment, including multiple surgeries and skin grafts.

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How Do People Get Burned?

People can suffer burn injuries from dry heat (fire), wet heat (steam or hot liquids), contact with hot objects, electricity, radiation, or chemicals. The most common types of burns are thermal. These injuries occur when flames, hot objects, steam, or scalding liquids come into contact with the skin. Common causes of burn injuries include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Building fires
• Electrical malfunctions
• Exposure to acids
• Hot liquid spills
• Contact with hot steam
• Lung damage from inhalation of toxic substances

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Degrees of Burn Injuries

The severity of burns is classified by degrees, according to how deep the injury extends and how large an area it affects. Deeper burns heal more slowly, require more extensive treatment, and are more prone to complications, such as infection and scarring. The degrees of burn injuries are:

• First-degree: A minor injury that damages only the epidermis (outer layer of the skin). First-degree burns typically heal on their own within a week.
• Second-degree: A more serious injury that damages the dermis (deeper layer of skin), as well as the epidermis. Second-degree burns may require skin grafting and may leave scars.
• Third-degree: Serious burns that damage or destroy the epidermis, dermis, hair follicles, and sweat glands, and damage underlying tissues. Third-degree burns invariably require skin grafting.
• Fourth-degree: The burn damage extends to the fat layer beneath the skin.
• Fifth degree burns: Burn injury extends through the skin and fat layers into the muscle.
• Sixth-degree burns: This is the most severe level of burn injury. In sixth-degree burns, the damage extends to the bone.

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What Compensation Is Available to Burn Injury Victims?

If you have suffered a burn injury caused by the negligence of another, you may be entitled to pursue damages, designed to compensate you for your losses. Compensatory damages you are entitled to claim may include economic damages (to compensate you for out-of-pocket expenses or losses) and non-economic damages. Depending on the circumstances and the extent of your burn injuries, you may be able to pursue compensation for:

• Medical expenses, including past, current, and future
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Physical impairment
• Scarring
• Disfigurement
• Loss of consortium (right of association and companionship with one’s spouse)

In certain situations, you may also be entitled to seek punitive damages, designed to punish the wrongdoer and to deter similar actions in the future. These damages are limited to cases in which the defendant’s actions were malicious, fraudulent, oppressive, intended to cause harm, or extremely reckless.

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Why You Need a Lawyer

Burn injuries can be devastating to victims and their families. They may require extensive medical treatment and lead to permanent disability and disfigurement. If you or your loved one has been seriously burned in an accident that was someone else’s fault, it is critical to pursue full and fair compensation for your losses.

Our San Diego personal injury lawyer at jD LAW can aggressively pursue the maximum compensation available under the law. We have the knowledge, resources, and trial experience to provide effective representation in your burn injury claim. Call us today at (760) 630-2000 to find out about your options under the law and how we can help.

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Additional Information

• Burns - National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• Burns - MedlinePlus