New York City Burn Injury Attorney

Burn injuries be extremely painful and lead to years of recovery, healing, rehabilitation, and potentially permanent disfigurement. Often, burn injuries occur due to the negligence of another party.

If you or a loved one suffered a burn injury due to negligence, contact the New York City personal injury attorneys at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP today for a free consultation. Our New York City burn injury attorneys can help you get maximum compensation.

Who is Liable For My Burn Injury?

The liable person or entity will be the one most responsible for causing your burn injury. It may take an investigation to identify the most likely party. Liability refers to someone’s legal accountability for the accident and injuries. The liable party will have to pay for the victim’s damages during a personal injury claim. Some burn injury claims may involve more than one party that shares fault.

• If your burn injury occurred at work, your employer could be liable for damages. A workers’ compensation claim does not require you to prove your employer’s fault or negligence. However, it may not result in maximum compensation for your injuries. If you believe an NYC burn injury attorney could obtain evidence of your employer’s negligence, a personal injury lawsuit could result in greater financial recovery.
• Product manufacturer. Defective and dangerous products cause thousands of burn injuries every year. In these cases, injured consumers may have product liability claims against the manufacturers. A victim does not have to prove fault in a strict product liability case. He or she could obtain compensation by showing the product contained a defect, and this defect caused the burn injury.
• Burn injuries that happen in auto accidents could come down to the at-fault driver’s liability. Dashboard cameras, security cameras, eyewitness interviews, and subject-matter experts could help establish a driver’s fault for causing a wreck in New York. Since it is a no-fault insurance state, burn injuries must be serious for a victim to have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.

A case involving multiple defendants could result in joint and several liabilities, or each defendant individually responsible for paying full damages. The cause of the burn injury will determine who may be liable. Proving liability takes establishing the defendant’s duty of care, breach of duty, and connection to causing the accident in question. A New York City burn accident attorney can help a burn injury victim identify the liable party and take the right person or company to court in pursuit of fair compensation.

What Type of Compensation Can You Claim After a Burn Injury?

Compensation awards in burn injury claims serve to reimburse a victim for all accident-related expenses. What these depend on the nature of the accident and the severity of the burn. An attorney can help a victim claim the correct types and amounts of damages in the initial insurance claim. This can improve the odds of a successful settlement without needing to go to court. Although all cases are unique, the types of damages that may be available to claimants in New York remain the same according to state law.

• Medical expenses. A burn injury survivor can seek recompense for all past and future burn-related medical costs. These include the prices of any surgeries, skin grafts, follow-up care, and disability costs for permanent injuries.
• Disability damages. Severe burns can cause permanent disabilities, loss of limb, scarring, and disfigurement. Disability damages available can cover lifetime medical costs, as well as lost earning capacity for the inability to return to work.
• Lost wages. If a burn injury forced you to miss time from work during recovery, seek compensation for your lost income. You could be eligible for two-thirds lost wages in a workers’ compensation claim, or 100% lost wages in a personal injury lawsuit.
• Pain and suffering. The New York courts permit accident victims to seek recovery for non-economic damages, such as physical pain and emotional suffering. A jury will determine this amount of compensation if any.
• Punitive damages. A judge may award punitive damages if the defendant’s actions in causing the burn injury were grossly negligent, wanton, reckless, or committed with the intent to harm. Punitive damages are additional awards on top of compensatory damages.

The amount of your total settlement or jury verdict depends on numerous factors. The severity of your burn injury, how it will impact the rest of your life, whether you lost a loved one in the accident, how your burns occurred, who is liable, and the negotiation skill of your attorney could all affect your final compensation amount. Our past case results include six- and seven-figure outcomes for our personal injury clients. Learn the specific figure your claim could be worth during a free consultation with one of our NYC burn injury attorneys.

What to Do After Sustaining a Burn Injury

The steps you take after suffering a thermal, chemical, electrical, or radiation burn can determine your prognosis for recovery as a victim. Seeking emergency medical care is critical to preventing infections and facilitating proper healing. While you wait for emergency personnel to arrive, you can take steps on your own to control pain and protect your rights, should your burn injury lead to a personal injury lawsuit.

1. Request emergency assistance. Call 911 after suffering a burn injury of the second or third degree in a burn disaster scenario. If you see blistering, you have a second-degree burn. If you have a first-degree burn that covers a large area or a vulnerable area (such as your face), seek emergency medical care as well. Getting professional paramedics to the scene early could reduce the severity of the injury.
2. Conduct first aid. Burns are delicate injuries that can easily become life-threatening. Swift action from friends, relatives, co-workers, and other non-professionals can make all the difference. Do not wait until paramedics arrive to start repairing the flesh and beginning the recovery process.If possible, minimize the damage to the injury site by following the directions the 911 responder gives over the phone. It may be to run the affected area under lukewarm water or to remove any clothing from the burned area. Prompt pre-hospital care can reduce the extent of burn injuries and decrease the odds of burn-related morbidity.
3. Remove jewelry and clothing around burned area. One of the most common burn injury complications is foreign objects fusing with the burned skin. Prompt removal of all jewelry, rings, watches, and clothing near the burn can help prevent this painful complication. Keep the burned area clear of foreign objects while you wait for help to arrive.
4. Document your accident. Once you have obtained professional medical care for your burn injuries, start putting together a case file for your accident. This is an important step if you believe someone else’s negligence caused your burn injury. Document the names of everyone involved in the incident, where your burns happened, and who you reported your injuries to at the time. Take photographs of the burns and the location of the accident.
5. Watch for infections. Your physician will take steps to prevent infection, but this is one of the most significant risk factors involved in burn injuries. A serious infection could result in the need to amputate the limb. It could also lead to sepsis and death. Signs of burn injury infections include changes in surrounding skin color, a burn that appears deeper than it is, pus oozing from the wound, and fever.

If a negligent person made you suffer a severe burn injury that cost you money in medical bills and lost wages, you could have grounds for a personal injury claim. Contact a New York City attorney after sustaining a burn injury in New York and taking the above-mentioned steps. You could find out whether your case has merit during a free consultation with a personal injury attorney near you. If you have the elements of a lawsuit, a lawyer may help you obtain financial compensation from the liable party or parties.

What Can Cause a Burn Injury in NYC?

Fire is far from the only cause of such injuries. Burns can result from exposure to:

• Dry heat, as in the case of a fire.
• Wet heat from steam or hot liquids.
• Sufficient friction can cause a burn.
• Heated objects, coming into contact with the skin, cause burns.
• Electricity, in large enough amounts, can cause burns.
• Some chemicals cause the skin to burn.
• Exposure to sunlight can cause burns, including serious burns if the exposure is excessive.

What Kinds of Burn Injuries Are There?

Your skin is composed of two layers: the visible outer layer, known as the epidermis, and a layer underneath the epidermis known as the dermis. The seriousness of a burn injury is a reflection of how deeply the skin has been damaged.

• In a first-degree burn, only the epidermis is damaged. The effect may be limited to a reddening of the skin.
• In a second-degree burn, the epidermis and the dermis are both affected. This can lead to pain, swelling, and blistering.
• In a third-degree burn, the tissue below the dermis is also damaged. Skin can turn white or black or be numb.

In rare cases, people can also experience a “fourth-degree” burn. In this case, the damage caused is sufficient to affect muscle and even bone. Burns of this sort require highly specialized treatment and involve extended recovery time – treatments may be needed for years, or even a lifetime.

If you recently sustained a burn injury, you may be eligible for compensation. Speak to our NYC burn injury lawyers to find out how we can help.

Where Do Burn Accidents Occur?

Although burn injuries can seemingly occur in every circumstance, there may be certain industries and occupations where the risk of a burn is higher.

Certain occupations, such as construction, involve heightened risks – especially if negligence is a cause. Anyone could encounter faulty or poorly maintained equipment that overheats or catches fire. Careless actions by any individual in the possession of material or equipment that can cause burns can cause lasting harm, whether it’s a matter of fireworks, acid or welding equipment.

If you sustained a burn while working on a job, contact an NYC construction accident attorney for help.

The Total Number of People Injured in Fires – 2017 Data

According to data from the National Fire Prevention Association, roughly 14,670 people were injured in fires during 2017. The majority of these injuries took place in one- and two-family homes.

Contact Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP Today

If you are the victim of a burn injury due to negligence, contact Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP for a free consultation today. The recovery time for burn injuries can be extensive, and more serious burns will need even more time and may require additional interventions such as skin grafts. This can profoundly affect the quality of your life in the long term. In cases like this, a skilled, experienced burn injury lawyer in New York City can help you negotiate for the maximum possible recovery – taking a case to trial if necessary to secure compensation.

Contact us today – we operate on a contingency fee basis, so you do not have to pay any fees until we win your case.