Severe burn injuries often are excruciating and require significant treatment. Even when successfully treated, burns can result in substantial scarring and disfigurement that may be permanent. If others were negligent in causing your injuries, you should contact a Sandy Springs burn injury lawyer for legal assistance.
Various laws govern personal injury claims, including filing deadlines. An experienced catastrophic injury attorney can assist you in meeting all legal requirements. Together, you may be able to claim the compensation to which you are entitled.
What Are the Different Types of Burn Injuries?
Burns can vary in severity from first-degree to third-degree burns. While first-degree burns are mild and typically affect only the outermost layer of skin, second-degree and third-degree burns tend to be significantly more severe. Second-degree burns cause damage to the skin layers below the top layer of skin, resulting in blisters and redness, whereas third-degree burns penetrate all layers of the skin.
The most severe burns may lead to damage to internal organs and bones, as well as a heightened risk of infection. Skin graft surgeries may be periodically necessary over long periods of time, which can be painful and disfiguring. In some cases, burns over large portions of the body can be fatal.
Burns may originate from different situations, whether they occur at home, at work, or in motor vehicle accidents. Ovens, hot liquids, steam, and fire all can lead to significant burns. However, as an experienced Sandy Springs burn injury attorney may advise, chemicals and electricity also can cause catastrophic injuries, including burns.
Proving Negligence in Burn Injury Case
Burn injuries can stem from the negligence of individuals, factories, and manufacturers of consumer products. Negligence is a legal concept that refers to behavior that falls below the reasonable standard of care that others would exercise in a similar situation. If specific actions that led to an accident were not reasonable, given the circumstances, then negligence may form the basis for a valid personal injury claim.
In all burn injury claims based on negligence, injury victims must prove the following four elements:
- The negligent parties owed a duty of care toward the victims
- The negligent parties failed to exercise the requisite duty of care
- The violation of the duty of care harmed others
- The resulting harm caused compensable damages for the victims
For instance, drivers owe a duty of care to others when they operate motor vehicles. Business owners owe a duty to keep their premises safe for customers, such as maintaining operable fire alarms and avoiding fire hazards. A seasoned burn injury attorney in Sandy Springs may be able to help establish negligence on behalf of injury victims in a personal injury claim.
What Is Comparative Negligence in Burn Injury Claims?
Some accidents involve more than one potentially liable party. In other cases, the injury victims bear some responsibility for the accident that led to their injuries. However, these parties still may be able to seek compensation for their losses under state law.
O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 establishes comparative negligence for personal injury claims in the state of Georgia. Under this legal theory, individuals who are less than 50 percent at fault for the accidents that injured them still can maintain personal injury actions against other partially liable parties. They will be entitled to a lesser amount of damages, but they still can pursue their claims for partial compensation.
For instance, suppose a court finds that injury victims were ten percent at fault for an accident, and another party was 90 percent at fault. In this scenario, injury victims would be limited to seeking 90 percent of their total damages in a personal injury claim.
Work With a Sandy Springs Burn Injury Attorney
Burn injuries can constitute life-altering, catastrophic injuries that cause you to incur significant medical expenses and other damages. A Sandy Springs burn injury lawyer may be able to hold negligent parties responsible for causing your injuries. You may recover damages to compensate you for your substantial losses and changes to your life.
The aftermath of burn injuries can be devastating, but all is not lost. By seeking legal counsel, you may be able to focus on your physical and emotional recovery while your legal advocate seeks damages on your behalf. Call today to get started.
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