Most people have experienced a burn at some point—whether spilling too-hot water, accidentally touching a candle, or even getting a carpet burn. People often assume that burns worthy of a lawsuit must be very serious. As a result, sometimes, people minimize the importance of their burns or do not seek proper medical attention. However, the reality is that burn injuries require immediate medical treatment and can have long-term consequences.
When you suffer from a burn due to someone else’s conduct, you should consult a local catastrophic injury attorney about filing a lawsuit. Burns can leave scars that can limit your movement or require several surgeries. They also come with the risk of dehydration, infections, and other dangerous complications. A Nashville burn injury lawyer at Ponce Law could help you pursue justice and compensation for your damages.
Most burn injuries result from fire, but that is not the only way they can occur. Some other common causes of burn injuries include:
Different types of burns need different forms of care. There are chemical, electrical, scalding, and even cold burns like frostbite.
Burn injuries can be major or minor. Minor burns usually heal by themselves. Major burns require urgent medical treatment because they can result in scarring, pain, disability, and deformity.
Burns are also classified into several degrees:
No matter how exactly you were burned, when you experience serious damages as a result of a burn injury caused by another person, our diligent Nashville lawyers could help you take legal action.
There are several courses of legal action burn victims can take. The first is settling with the other party’s insurance company. It is important to know that insurance companies often try to lowball victims who do not have an attorney to represent them. They usually offer a settlement that is not even close to what the injured person deserves.
If the parties are not able to settle, the other path is going to court. Hiring a well-practiced lawyer to represent you is the best thing to do when your burn injury case proceeds before a judge and jury. A dedicated legal professional could thoroughly investigate your case, collect evidence, and interview witnesses. It is essential to have a well-crafted strategy because the smallest details can sway a jury. Regardless of whether your burn injury claim settles or goes all the way to trial, you need an accomplished Nashville attorney by your side.
Often, burn injuries could have been avoided if the at-fault party had observed their legal duty of care. Numerous parties could be liable in a burn injury case. These could include property owners if unsafe conditions on their premises caused the burn or product manufacturers if a defective product led to the injury.
Additionally, service providers could be held legally responsible for maintaining equipment that malfunctioned and caused burns, and in some cases, government entities if the burn happened in a public area with faulty infrastructure. Likewise, you can sue a restaurant for a burn injury if you can prove the restaurant was negligent and caused you to suffer harm.
To establish liability against any person or entity in a burn injury case, you must prove that the party responsible acted negligently, meaning they failed to take reasonable care to prevent your burn injury. Depending on the circumstances, multiple parties could be held partially liable for a burn injury. A Nashville lawyer could identify the parties that may be held legally accountable in a burn injury claim.
Many burn injuries happen in a residential setting, often because the property owner or landlord acted negligently. Burn injury victims may be hesitant to bring a claim in these circumstances. An attorney can protect your rights and advocate on your behalf at every step if you have a viable negligence case against your landlord.
To bring a claim against a landlord for a burn injury, you need to demonstrate that the landlord was negligent in maintaining the property, leading to a hazardous condition that directly caused your burn injury. Hazardous conditions could include faulty wiring, malfunctioning appliances, or a lack of proper safety measures. You must prove that the landlord knew or should have known about the issues and failed to address them.
Landlords are legally responsible for maintaining their rental properties in a safe condition, including ensuring proper fire safety measures are in place. These responsibilities can include:
If a landlord neglects these or other vital safety measures, and a fire ensues that injures one or more tenants, the victims may be entitled to sue for monetary damages. They must prove that the landlord’s actions (or inaction) constituted negligence, meaning they failed to take reasonable care to prevent foreseeable harm.
For example, if a fire or electrical shock caused your burn injury due to exposed or damaged wiring, you may have a strong case against your landlord. Likewise, if a faulty stove, heater, or other appliance caused the burn, you could sue the landlord if they failed to repair it despite prior complaints.
If you believe you have a viable claim against your landlord to recover damages for your burn injury, seek legal advice from a personal injury attorney with experience handling these cases. A lawyer can ensure you understand your rights and the best course of action for your specific situation.
Our proactive team of attorneys at Ponce Law can investigate whether the property met Nashville’s local fire safety regulations and review other evidence related to fire hazards that may have contributed to your burn injury. For example, if you or other tenants reported issues related to fire safety prior to the incident, these notices could be valuable evidence in a personal injury claim.
Burn injuries have a socioeconomic impact on victims. They may require long-term occupational therapy, in-home care, and a complete change in how they live their day-to-day life. Because of the costly nature of these injuries, victims cannot hesitate to seek compensation for their losses.
Compensation, otherwise known as damages in a legal case, can be economic or non-economic. Economic damages are specific and can be documented or calculated through receipts or bills. Some examples are lost wages, lowered earning capacity, and medical care. Non-economic damages are subjective and tend not to be tangibly measurable. They compensate for losses like mental or emotional trauma, PTSD, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Our committed Nashville attorneys could review your case to determine how to help you win the comprehensive compensation you deserve for your burn injuries.
Burn injuries can be devastating. You need a compassionate advocate on your side to help you understand your legal options and figure out a path forward. Our lawyers at Ponce Law could help protect you from insurance companies and prove you deserve compensation from the party responsible for your injury. We are proud to be a part of our local community, and you can trust us to aggressively pursue justice on your behalf.
Call today to schedule a free consultation with a Nashville burn injury lawyer at our firm.
