A severe burn can be a life altering event that results in permanent disability. Even when a burn victim recovers fully, they may require significant medical intervention, need time off work, and and endure considerable physical and emotional pain
If you or a loved one suffered burns in an accident that was someone else’s fault, contact a Midland burn injury lawyer right away. Our own catastrophic injury attorneys will review your case, identify the responsible parties, and hold them accountable for your losses.
How Negligence Can Cause Burns
A burn can occur whenever a person comes into contact with flame or with a heated liquid, gas or solid surface. Many situations that cause burns could be prevented if someone had used reasonable care. When another party’s conduct contributes to a situation that leads to a burn injury, that party may be liable for a burn survivor’s injuries.
Burns sustained in a house or apartment fire could be the result of a defective product, shoddy construction, careless smoking, or some other cause. Burns often occur on work sites and may be due to careless handling of volatile substances or power tools. Accidents involving explosives and fireworks can cause severe burns.
Whatever the circumstances, a Midland attorney will investigate the incident and identify the parties who may have contributed to it. Sometimes a burn survivor’s conduct was a contributing factor. According to Texas Civil Practice Remedies Code § 33.001, an injured person can bring a claim against negligent parties as long as the claimant is not primarily to blame for an accident.
Recovering From Severe Burns
Severe burns require skin grafts, which is a procedure to attach skin from a donor or from an unaffected part of the body to the site where the patient’s skin is destroyed. The graft will eventually connect with the patient’s vascular system and grow over the injured area. This process can be quite painful.
Sometimes body parts are so badly damaged that they must be amputated. Even when the body part can be spared, severe scarring may restrict function. Burn survivors may suffer severe psychological consequences from the trauma of the accident combined with the physical pain of recovery and the emotional and social impact of their scars.
An attorney in Midland will get to know a burn survivor and their loved ones to fully understand the impact the accident has had on their physical and mental well-being. The parties responsible for the accident that caused the burn are liable to pay compensation for all the impacts of the injury.
Compensation in a Burn Injury Case
Burn injury survivors suffer various types of losses. Burn treatment is extremely expensive and recovery takes a long time, so a survivor may miss substantial time at work. Sometimes the more severe losses are the long-term impact of the burns, such as disfigurement, disability, social isolation, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Special damages cover an injured person’s injury-related expenses and losses. These include medical care, ongoing treatment when necessary, lost income, and diminished future earning capacity. General damages cover the losses that do not have a fixed value such as pain, humiliation, disability, and disfigurement.
Responsible parties will sometimes contact a burn survivor offering a settlement. When representing a burn survivor, a Midland attorney’s priority is to obtain maximum compensation for their losses. They will insist the other parties negotiate in good faith and present an offer commensurate with the survivor’s losses and suffering.
Work With a Midland Attorney to Pursue a Burn Injury Claim
Recovering from a serious burn is usually a lengthy ordeal. Knowing you have a skilled personal injury attorney by your side can make the process a little easier. If you survived a severe burn in an accident that was someone else’s fault, contact a Midland burn injury lawyer immediately. Schedule a consultation to discuss your situation today.
