According to the National Fire Protection in the US, burn injuries are reportedly the second-highest cause of accidental deaths after auto accidents. Burn injuries are somewhat unique in nature as they tend to leave permanent disfigurement or scars on the human body.
Severe burns are life changing, and victims of burn injuries should certainly exercise their legal rights to claim personal injury settlements. Regardless of where you received your burns–at a car accident site, at the laboratory, at a construction site, or in the kitchen—you ought to be able to obtain suitable compensation with the help of your burn injury lawyers.
Types of burn injuries
Burns can happen due to many different circumstances, some of which are:
- Unusually hot water in baths or kitchen sinks
- Exposure to inflammable chemicals
- Exposure to faulty electrical systems
- Explosions
- Fire at home or the office
- Fire at an accident site
Any type of physical contact with heat, open fire, chemical radiation, or electricity can lead to severe burns and deep damages. If seemingly surface burns penetrate to deeper areas of the human body, even fat, muscles, or bones may be damaged leading to other health complications. Even when the physical burn injuries heal to some extent, bodily disfigurements or organ damage can permanently change your life. In such cases, you definitely need the support of a legal team to file a personal injury lawsuit.
How can an experienced legal team help you?
Any experienced law firm will systematically gather all the relevant evidences, medical reports, and full details of the circumstances of the fire incident to build a strong case for personal injury claims against the negligent party. The burn injury attorneys generally work hard to maximize the burn victim’s financial recovery. The whole purpose of fighting a burn injury case from the legal standpoint is to secure you and your family’s future and so you can walk away from this knowing you made the other pay for what they caused to happen to you.
Punitive damages for gross negligence in burn injuries
If your attorney can prove that the alleged negligent party acted “intentionally,” then the burn victim or the plaintiff will also be eligible for punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to penalize a grossly negligent defendant; so the wealthier the defendant, the higher the punitive damages the person will have to pay.
What can you get compensated for?
As medical expenses for multiple surgeries, required skin grafts, intensive after care, and extended rehabilitative care can cost a lot of money; the “medical expenses” part of the compensation can run quite high. In a burn injury case, the jury will be especially generous about awarding a generous compensation for medical expenses to the burn victim.
Following a fire or burn incident, the victim is expected to contact an experienced personal injury law firm to build a solid case of negligence or carelessness. The primary factors deciding the legal outcome are usually the extent of the burns, the intentions of the negligent party, and the financial strength of the defendant. The types of compensation that the plaintiff can demand are:
- Incurred medical expenses and future medical expenses
- Financial compensation for lost earnings
- Emotional pain and suffering due to permanent disfigurement
- Punitive damages for intentional (gross) negligence if any
RMFW Law at 212-344-1000.
If you or a close family member suffered a traumatic fire accident, it is critical that you contact a New York City law firm to recover monetary damages. RMFW Law offers a confidential and free consultation and they also do not charge you until you win the case. They just keep a portion of the settlement so in effect, you really never pay us anything at all.
To schedule your meeting, contact us at RMFW Law at 212-344-1000.
