There are many reasons we teach children not to play with fire. Even first-degree burns can be painful and lead to further injury and infection. For the most part, people don’t burn themselves on purpose. Typically burns severe enough to be considered catastrophic were caused by a serious accident that was either a sheer anomaly or a result of someone’s negligence or intentional attack.
If you or a loved one were involved in a catastrophic accident that lead to severely debilitating burns, please call 707-525-1212 to schedule a free initial consultation at your convenience with a professional, compassionate lawyer from the law firm of Teal and Montgomery.
Degrees of Burns
Determining burn depth is valuable to determining if the burn is severe enough to be considered catastrophic and therefore warranting investigation into liability for the injury. Physicians consider temperature, mechanism, and duration of contact, blood flow to skin, and anatomic location. Epidermal (skin) depth varies in correlation to the body surface, which can present differing ranges of thermal protection. Different degrees of burns are defined as:
- First degree – This involves only the first layer of skin and is typically very red and painful and dry in appearance. Skin typically heals within a few days.
- Second degree – Blisters may appear on the skin. The burn may be partial or full in thickness and can damage the entire epidermis of the skin. Needs several weeks to heal.
- Third degree – All layers of skin are destroyed and the burn actually goes further into other bodily tissues. Skin can look leathery, black, white and can look dry.
- Fourth degree – Full thickness burn that extends completely into muscle and bone.
The Impact of a Catastrophic Burn Injury
A burn injury can easily lead to a serious infection. It can cause severe pain, scarring and disfigurement. As the victim of a burn injury, you may encounter many months of hospitalization and you might require plastic surgery such as skin grafts and facial reconstruction.
Financial Costs of Catastrophic Burns
Aside from the medical outcome following a burn injury, you are bound to face extraordinary expenses and losses that are devastating to bear. You will need compensation for the following:
- Emergency medical treatment and follow-up care
- Hospital bills
- Pain management care
- Skin grafts
- Lost wage replacement
- Perhaps psychological counseling, especially if your face or other body parts were seriously disfigured
Pursuing Compensation
Whatever kind of accident caused your burn injury, you and and your family deserve the opportunity to aggressively pursue justice in order to any and all available compensation. You need to speak with an experienced and accomplished personal injury attorney. Teal & Montgomery represents people who have suffered serious and catastrophic injuries in accidents in California, as well as representing Californians who have been injured elsewhere.
Contact us to schedule a no-obligation consultation regarding your accidental burn injury, which may be a result of:
- A car accident with accompanying fire
- A construction accident, perhaps involving welding or an electrical fire
- Burns caused by radiation treatment for breast cancer — possibly indicating medical malpractice
- Burns caused by a fire in a home or building — possibly indicating premises liability
- Burns caused by a gas explosion or fire — possibly indicating defective gas equipment or appliances.
- Burns caused by a defective smoke detector, home or workplace product, or flammable clothing — possibly indicating a defective product.
Since 1975, our law firm has represented accidental injury victims in Santa Rosa and beyond. Our team of personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys includes a doctor who is also a lawyer. The law firm of Teal & Montgomery is prepared to give your burn injury case our full attention and efforts.
Contact A California Burn Victim Lawyer
We welcome you to contact us or call 707-525-1212 to schedule your first meeting at your convenience. We can visit you in your home or hospital if necessary.