Galveston Burn Injury Lawyer

On top of being uniquely painful, high-degree burns can also result in permanent and sometimes even life-threatening damage to your skin, nerve endings, and underlying muscle tissue. Put simply, these are serious injuries by any possible description, and anyone who caused you to suffer burn injuries through their own misconduct should be held financially accountable to the fullest extent possible.

As any seasoned catastrophic injury attorney could tell you, though, knowing someone else is to blame for your burn and holding them legally liable for the burn’s consequences are two very different things. If you want a good chance at getting the best possible result from your lawsuit or settlement demand, working closely with a Galveston burn injury lawyer will be necessary.

Difference Between “Degrees” of Burn Injuries

Medical professionals classify burns into “degrees” based on how much physical damage they cause. As a Galveston burn accident attorney can further explain, the degree of burn someone has can actually have a significant impact on their ability to file suit over it.

For example, first-degree burns—which only cause minor discoloration, sensitivity, and mild pain to the outermost skin layer—often do not justify litigation even if they stem entirely from another person’s negligence. This is because they usually are not serious enough to require medical care beyond basic first aid, in which case they would not be serious enough to serve as the basis for a lawsuit.

Conversely, second-degree burns usually do require professional treatment, since they cause damage to multiple skin layers and can lead to permanent scarring if not treated quickly. These burns are characterized by extreme physical pain, splotchy red-and-white discoloration, swelling, and blistering.

Finally, third-degree burns always require immediate emergency care, as they can be life-threatening and very often cause permanent scarring. These burns penetrate completely through both the outer and inner skin layers to destroy nerve endings and damage fat layers and muscle tissue underneath. They leave the skin looking leathery and discolored as black, brown, or pale white.

Getting Paid Fairly for Past and Future Losses

If a burn injury caused by someone else’s misconduct (such as a negligent property owner or a vehicle driver who created a car accident which led to a fire) is serious enough to necessitate professional medical attention, the person responsible for the injury may be legally liable to pay for both economic and non-economic consequences of that burn. This can include both short-term and long-term losses like:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Expected costs of future rehabilitative and maintenance, including surgical procedures like skin grafts and physical therapy treatments
• Disability-related costs for things like wheelchairs and other assistive equipment
• Lost working ability or work income and benefits
• Personal property damage from the accident which led to the burn
• Physical pain and discomfort
• Emotional and psychological distress
• Lost enjoyment of life, potentially including lost consortium

Even if a burn injury causes permanent and debilitating harm, injured people in Galveston typically have a maximum of two years after initially sustaining harm to file suit themselves or have a qualified lawyer do so on their behalf, as per Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.003.

Contact a Galveston Burn Injury Attorney Today

High-degree burns can be traumatic on physical, financial, and psychological levels. No one who sustains a burn solely through another person’s negligence should have to pay for their ensuing losses all on their own. However, if you fail to properly enforce your legal rights after this sort of accident, that might be exactly what you end up having to do.

Help is available from a capable and compassionate Galveston burn injury lawyer for anyone who wants to take action over an accident which left them severely burned. Call today to learn more from our personal injury law team.