On top of being exceptionally painful, severe burns can also be physically debilitating and sometimes permanently disfiguring. If you only got hurt in the first place because of someone else’s reckless or careless misconduct, you deserve fair compensation. Whether you have suffered life-altering harm from a serious burn or just need help covering short-term medical bills and income loss, it is crucial that you seek legal help.
In situations like this, support from an experienced catastrophic injury attorney can make a world of difference in how effectively and efficiently you can pursue your unique claim. Personal injury litigation can be complex and time-consuming even under the most favorable circumstances, but a dedicated Harrisburg burn injury lawyer’s help can tip the odds of a positive case result in your favor.
Differentiating Between Degrees of Burn Injuries
Medical professionals generally categorize burn injuries into one of three degrees, based on the extent of damage done and the symptoms that the injury may result in. First-degree burns damage only the outermost skin layer called the “epidermis.” Symptoms associated with these kinds of burns—redness, minor swelling, and sensitivity or minor pain in the affected areas—often go away after a few days on their own or with nothing more than basic first aid.
Second-degree burns, on the other hand, damage both the outer epidermis and the “dermis” layer of skin below that. These burns tend to be much more painful since they penetrate deep enough to reach nerve endings within the skin. Characterized by pronounced, splotchy skin discoloration, and blistering, second-degree burns very often require professional medical care, and they can sometimes still cause long-term scarring even with prompt treatment.
Third-degree burns are the most severe of all, as they penetrate all the way through both skin layers to fat, muscle tissue, tendons, and sometimes even bones underneath. As experienced Harrisburg attorneys know, this type of burn is an extremely serious injury that can permanently destroy nerve endings and cause lifelong scarring, loss of sensation, and sometimes loss of motor function in the impacted areas. Seeking fair compensation for these losses is possible with experienced legal help.
Proving Someone Else at Fault for Specific Damages
When attempting to hold someone else legally and financially responsible for a burn injury, the injured party will need to prove that the other person was “negligent” in some way—in other words, that they directly caused the burn by doing something careless or reckless in violation of a “duty of care.” They will also need to show that their injury was severe enough that it required professional medical care, which means first-degree burns cannot always serve as grounds for civil litigation, even if they stem entirely from someone else’s misconduct.
If all the criteria necessary to prove negligence are met, a burn victim can demand restitution for both economic and non-economic damages, such as:
- All past and future medical expenses
- Physical pain and suffering
- Personal property damage/loss
- Emotional and psychological trauma
- Lost work income and/or working capacity
- Lost enjoyment of life, including lost consortium
A burn accident lawyer in Harrisburg can provide more specific information about what types of losses a particular person could factor into their settlement demand or lawsuit.
Contact a Harrisburg Burn Injury Attorney for Help
High-degree burns can be excruciating and life-changing injuries. Regardless of how your specific burn happened, anyone who is at fault for hurting you based on their own negligent conduct can and should be held financially accountable for the consequences of their actions.
Guidance from a compassionate Harrisburg burn injury lawyer can be crucial to getting the payments you need to move forward. Call Lowenthal & Abrams, Injury Attorneys today to get started.