Escondido, California, Burn Injury Lawyers

Burns are not only among the most painful of all injuries, they are also the most disfiguring. Burn injuries serious enough to require medical treatment affect approximately 450,000 people in the United States every year. Ten per cent of these are admitted to the hospital, and around 3,500 die, about three quarters of these from infection, the most frequent complication of burns.

Many burn injuries are the result of some individual, business, or other entity’s carelessness, negligence, or unsafe act. In these cases, the victim is entitled to seek compensation for economic and non-economic damages directly associated with the injury.

Burns are often catastrophic and the damages extensive. Insurance companies are loath to pay the large settlements that fairness requires, and they typically pull out all stops to avoid paying out a large award. To significantly improve the likelihood that you or your family member will receive sufficient compensation to cover all of your damages, you should hire a California personal injury attorney to advocate for you.

Causes of Burn Injuries

• Car crashes: when a car’s fuel tank is cracked or punctured in a collision, gas can leak out and ignite, causing the car to burst into flames. Broken hoses, fuel lines, filters, and caps are other sources of leaks that can cause fires. Vehicle fires often happen very quickly, before occupants of the car can escape.

Burns can also occur in car accidents when toxic chemicals or scalding fluids, gases, or steam come into contact with skin, or when the skin comes into contact with a hot surface. Blistering, scarring, disfigurement, or death may result.

• Electrical burns: Electrical burns usually have a clear entry and exit point. Electricity can cause burns to the skin and severe internal damage, including cardiac arrest, but the extent of the internal damage may not be apparent at first. They can be caused by faulty or ungrounded wires, electric cords, outlets, machinery, or high voltage wires. An arc flash burn is a type of electrical burn that occurs when a powerful, high-amperage current travels, or arcs, through the air.

• Structural fires: Flames from a burning building—a hotel, apartment building, factory, office building, or other structure—coming into contact with the skin or inhalation of smoke and gas can injure or kill people when a building burns. Structural fires can be accidental, caused by someone’s negligent act, or a deliberate act, in the case of arson.

• Chemical burns: A strong chemical acid or base coming into contact with skin can cause a serious chemical burn. These occur most commonly as workplace accidents in certain industries that use dangerous chemicals, for example mining and chemical fabrication. Caustic chemicals in battery fluid, cleaning products, pool chemicals, drain cleaners, and fireworks can also cause chemical burn injuries.

• Gas explosion burns: Gas explosions are often workplace or premises accidents. Poor ventilation, gas line leaks, defective products, and lack of appropriate safety standards are often a factor in explosions. In many cases, an investigation of the explosion will reveal code violations, which can be used to prove the liability of the premises owner or operator in burn injury cases.

• Scalds: Scald burns are another type of burn often resulting from a premises or workplace accident. Serious burns occur whenever skin is exposed to a steam or heated water higher than 120 degrees. Setting a heater higher than that can incur liability for scald burns that result.

Getting Help Following a Burn Injury

Burns are expensive to treat, physically painful, and often emotionally devastating. If you or someone you care for has suffered a burn injury in Southern California, caused by another’s negligence, the Liljegren Law Group in Escondido can help. Contact us today to arrange a free case evaluation and learn about your legal options from our highly experienced burn injury attorneys.