Burns can cause a variety of severe injuries that require expensive, long-term treatment. Some victims are left permanently scarred or disfigured, which can cause psychological problems and a variety of other issues in their personal lives, such as trouble maintaining relationships or obtaining employment.
Many of these injuries were caused by someone else’s carelessness, which means the victim’s suffering could have been avoided. If you think another person’s carelessness was involved in your injury, contact one of our Savannah burn injury lawyers for a free, no obligation legal consultation. We do not charge legal fees unless you receive compensation at the end of the legal process.
Our experienced attorneys have obtained compensation for people who have suffered many different personal injuries in a variety of situations. We know how to build a strong case for why you deserve compensation, whether we are filing an insurance claim or Savannah personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form or call 1-844-RESULTS to find out if we can help you.
If a burn injury resulted from someone else’s negligence, ensure your health and legal claim are secure using our free post-burn injury checklist.
Types and Causes of Burn Injuries
Our Savannah burn injury lawyers handle cases involving many different types of burns, including:
Thermal Burns
These types of burns can be divided into four different categories:
- Flash burns – These are caused by brief exposure to intense heat from a fire, which is often the result of an explosion of gasoline, propane, natural gas or another flammable substance. Flash burns often occur during kitchen accidents, such as an explosion or fire while cooking on a stove. Flash burns can also occur during Savannah car accidents and Savannah truck accidents, particularly if a fuel tank ignites during the crash.
- Flame burns – These are similar to flash burns except they are caused by prolonged exposure to intense heat. Flame burns and flash burns have similar causes, such as house fires and traffic accidents.
- Scald burns – These are the result of exposure to hot liquids, like water, oil, grease or tar. An example of a scald burn is a burn caused by spilling coffee on your skin. If water is heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it can cause a deep burn in only three seconds.
- Contact burns – These are the result of contact with plastics, metals, glass or coals that have been heated up. These burns are often very deep and could occur in an industrial setting or a Savannah construction accident.
Chemical Burns
These are caused by acidic or alkali substances such as bleach or ammonia. These substances are often found in household cleaners, like toilet bowl cleaners, swimming pool chemicals and metal cleaners. One of the worst parts of these burns is that they can continue to cause damage even after washing off the dangerous chemical.
Radiation Burns
These are burns that result from exposure to alpha, beta or gamma radiation. One of the most common radiation burns is a sunburn. However, you can also be exposed to radiation from a tanning booth, sunlamp or when receiving radiation therapy for treating cancer.
Electrical Burns
Electrical burns are the result of electrocution, either from lightning or another source of electric current, such as a wall outlet in the home. Electricians and other workers who come into contact with high voltage machinery can also suffer electrical burns. Even people who work in offices or restaurants could suffer electrical burns.
If you suffered any of these burn injuries, contact a Savannah burn injury lawyer from our firm for a free, no obligation legal consultation. You may be able to pursue compensation for your injury, including compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other damages.
Contact Roden Law right now by calling 1-844-RESULTS.
Degrees of Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are also categorized by degrees, based on the severity of the injury and how deep the damage goes. The higher the degree of the burn the more serious it is.
First-Degree Burns
These are burns that damage the first layer of skin, which can result in redness, swelling and pain. The common sunburn is an example of a first-degree burn. You can also suffer a first-degree burn from hot liquid or electrocution from a light socket in the home.
First-degree burns often heal in a few days or a week. Treatment for a first-degree burn could include cool water and gels, such as aloe. You can place a cool compress over the area for 15 minutes to help relieve pain and swelling. However, do not apply any oil to the burn because it prevents healing.
Victims of first-degree burns usually do not need to seek medical treatment. However, you should seek immediate treatment if there are signs of an infection, like oozing or swelling. You should also go to the doctor if you burned certain areas of your body, like:
- Face
- Groin
- Hands
- Feet
- Eyes
- Nose
- Mouth
Second-Degree Burns
These burns penetrate to the second layer of your skin and possibly deeper. The burn will appear red and blistered and may swell. In some cases, the burn will be white or discolored in an irregular pattern and appear wet and shiny to the touch.
A second-degree burn is often the result of:
- Scald burns
- Sunburns
- Chemical burns
- Electrocution
- Flame burns
It could take weeks or months to heal, and often requires treatment by a qualified medical professional. If the burn covers more than 10 percent of your skin, it will need to be treated in a hospital. Less severe second-degree burns can usually be treated in an outpatient facility.
Treatment for a second-degree burn could include:
- Antibiotic ointments
- Daily cleaning of the area
- Changing wound dressing once or twice per day
If any blisters form, leave them alone so they do not burst open, which could lead to an infection.
Third-Degree Burns
These are burns that penetrate all layers of the skin and could reach bones, muscles and tendons. Third-degree burns are caused by a variety of factors, but individuals who suffer them are often on fire for some period of time, as opposed to simply getting too close to flames.
Third-degree burns usually appear pale or charred. The skin could be black, white, brown or yellow and appear dry or leathery. There is usually no pain in the area because the damage destroyed the nerve endings.
Third-degree burns are so severe that you will need to seek medical attention immediately. There are various treatments you may need to undergo for this burn:
- Skin grafts, where skin is removed from other parts of the body and placed over the burned area
- Antibiotic creams
- Cleaning and removal of dead skin
- Pain medications
- Tetanus shot
- Intravenous fluids to replace electrolytes and help prevent an infection
Even with these treatments, victims may never fully heal. Victims could also be left permanently scarred and disfigured with lifelong, chronic pain from the injury.
Treating these burns can be extremely expensive, particularly considering you may need treatment for an extended period of time. If you believe your injury was the result of someone else’s negligence, contact a burn injury lawyer in Savannah today for a free legal consultation.
Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form or call 1-844-RESULTS.
How to Obtain Compensation for a Burn Injury
There are a few ways our Savannah burn injury attorneys may be able to help you pursue compensation for a burn injury, including:
Filing an Insurance Claim
In some cases, a burn injury is covered by an insurance police. For instance, if you were burned in a traffic accident caused by another driver’s negligence, your injury might be covered by another driver’s car insurance policy.
If you were burned in a truck accident, we might be able to file an insurance claim with the insurer that represents the trucking company, or other entities that have insurance policies on the truck or its cargo.
Our Savannah burn injury lawyers will carefully review your situation to determine if we can file an insurance claim and if it is in your best interests to do so. One of the problems with insurance claims compared to personal injury lawsuits is there are only certain forms of compensation available, such as medical bills, lost wages and property damage.
Another problem with insurance claims is that you can only recover compensation up to the limits of the policy. Georgia does not have caps on damages in personal injury lawsuits, which means there is no cap on the amount of compensation you could potentially recover.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim
If you were injured at work, your claim may be covered by your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance. We can help you manage every aspect of your Savannah workers’ compensation case, pursuing all of the forms of compensation you deserve, including medical expenses and compensation for wages you lost as a result of your injury.
Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Our burn injury lawyers in Savannah may also recommend filing a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent party that caused your burn injury.
We can handle every aspect of the legal process, including investigating your accident, collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, filing the complaint, and representing you at negotiations or the trial if your case goes to trial.
A Savannah burn injury attorney may be able to help you pursue various forms of compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, from medical expenses and lost wages to non-economic forms of compensation such as:
- Pain and suffering – This provides compensation for physical and emotional pain and suffering you experience. For example, if your injury has left you disfigured you may experience depression and anxiety in social situations.
- Loss of companionship – Your injury could hurt your relationship with your spouse. For instance, you may not be able to help around the house like you used to. Your sexual relationship with your spouse could also be damaged.
Contact a burn injury lawyer in Savannah right now for a free case evaluation. We can help you determine your legal options.
Fill out a Free Case Evaluation form right now.
Deadline for a Burn Injury Claim
There are various deadlines for a burn injury claim, depending on how you are pursuing compensation. For example, if you are pursuing insurance compensation, the insurance company may have a deadline for submitting a claim. That is why it is best to file a claim as soon as possible so you do not miss the deadline and lose the opportunity to obtain insurance compensation.
If you are filing a workers’ compensation claim, there is a 30-day deadline for reporting the injury to your employer. If you miss this deadline, you may be denied benefits. However, even though you have up to 30 days to report your injury, it is best to do so right away. Waiting could make your employer or its workers’ compensation insurer suspicious of your claim, making the whole process more complicated and contentious that it needs to be.
Personal injury lawsuits are governed by a deadline known as a statute of limitations. This deadline is two years from the date of your injury. This covers most personal injury cases, including burn injury cases.
However, if your case involves a defective product, it will be governed by the product liability statute of limitations. This is also two years, but there is a statute of repose. Under this statute, you cannot file a lawsuit more than 10 years after buying the product. This statute applies in situations when you did not discover you may have had grounds for a lawsuit immediately after suffering your injury.
Our Savannah burn injury attorneys can help ensure your claim is filed by the applicable deadline.
Contact Roden Law today by calling 1-844-RESULTS.
Contact a Savannah Burn Injury Lawyer Today
Have you suffered a burn injury? You could face a long, expensive recovery that will affect many aspects of your life. Not only could you have physical pain, you may also lose wages because you are physically unable to go to work.
Our burn injury attorneys in Savannah understand the many ways a burn injury can affect your life. We are prepared to fight for your legal right to fair compensation if the injury was caused by someone else’s negligence.
Your consultation with our attorneys is completely free and you will not be charged legal fees unless you receive compensation.