Personal Injury Claims for Severe Burns

Burn injuries are some of the most painful and debilitating injuries a person can suffer. Severe burns can cause life-altering pain and other losses, making it impossible to live and enjoy life the way it was before the accident. There are many types of burn injuries that can happen, including chemical burns, radiation burns, electrical burns, flash or flame burns, scalding burns, and dry heat burns. Any of these can cause a major burn.

According to the National Library of Medicine, a major burn is defined as a burn covering 25% or more of total body surface area. Severe burns are considered a catastrophic injury when they are fatal, or cause permanent disability or disfigurement. In most cases, burns that cause this type of suffering are third and fourth-degree burns that break through the layers of the skin and destroy tissue. Anyone who experiences a serious burn should seek immediate emergency room care. Even with proper and timely care a severe burn will turn the skin dry and leathery in texture, and will sometimes permanently change the color of the skin to white, brown, or black.

Aside from the excruciating pain that a severe burn injury causes, the permanent disfigurement and potential paralysis is life altering; causing trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, and even the inability to earn a living. If you or a loved one was severely burned because of the negligence of another, contact a burn injury attorney in your area who can help you recover damages.

Severity of burns

There are several degrees of burns that affect the severity of the injury; third and fourth degree burns would be considered severe.

First-degree burns affect only the top layer of skin (the epidermis), causing some redness and swelling. The skin doesn’t blister and healing is quick because first-degree burns don’t involve the second layer of skin (the dermis).

Second-degree burns affect the top layer of skin and the layer underneath. Typically, blisters appear during the healing process.

Third-degree burns can be life-altering burns because they affect all layers of the skin and can kill nerve endings and damage the underlying muscle and other tissues. Third-degree burns can cause the skin to turn white or charred and leathery and take a long time to heal.

Fourth-degree burns damage all layers of the skin and the tissues underneath it. Fourth-degree burns may cause serious illness or death and any skin affected turns charred and black.

Recovering damages for severe burns in a burn injury claim

If you are suffering with a severe burn, it’s understandable that you would be focusing on your recovery and unable to even think about filing an injury claim. As personal injury lawyers, we want you to know that you are not alone. We are here to answer your questions, discuss your legal rights, place a value on your claim, and gather evidence and expert testimony as needed to ensure that our clients get full and fair compensation for their injuries and losses.

How much is my burn injury case worth?

The best way to learn how much your burn injury case is worth is to speak with an experienced local burn injury lawyer. Burn injury lawyers will assess all the particular factors in your case and make a complete list of damages from pain and suffering to lost wages, disability, disfigurement, emotional pain and more to ensure that you are getting a fair settlement. The value of settlements for burn injuries can vary dramatically from $10,000 to $1 million+ dollars based on the severity of the injury and other factors such as recovery time and permanent disability.

The Seattle Personal Injury Lawyers You Want on Your Side

The personal injury attorneys at Tinker Law Firm have been winning birth injury, medical malpractice, and personal injury cases for individuals and their loved ones in Seattle and across Washington State since 1974. We seek justice for injury victims who have been harmed by preventable medical errors, and the negligent or abusive actions of another. Our clients pay no fees or expenses to file a personal injury claim; our firm advances out-of-pocket expenses and is only reimbursed when we recover a settlement on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims in Washington State have a statute of limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time from the date of the injury.

Call us now at 206-842-1000 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our skilled and experienced injury attorneys.