Protecting Your Rights After a Burn Injury

Have you recently suffered a serious burn injury that’s left you in pain and unable to function as you did before? Burns can cause extensive nerve damage and require hospitalization and surgery. Even minor burns can be debilitating. Most of the time these injuries come out of nowhere and can affect anyone from kitchen staff to children playing at home. In fact, each year around 1.1 million burn injuries require medical attention.

If you’re one of these people and feel your injuries were caused by negligence, you need someone to protect your legal rights. By working with a personal injury attorney, you can seek compensation from the party who’s at fault, and ensure you are not overwhelmed by financial hardships. Your attorney can evaluate the events of the accident and navigate the legal process on your behalf.

Types of Compensation You Can Seek

Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may require ongoing medical treatment. However, this may not be the only financial loss you incur. The party who’s liable for the accident may also be obligated to compensate you for other things. This is something your attorney will determine when building your case. You may have a legal right to pursue compensation for the following:

• Lost wages – If your injuries cause you to miss work, you can seek compensation for the resulting loss in wages. This applies to missing work due to a disability, medical appointments, or recovery time. If you’re an hourly employee, calculating the amount of money you’ve lost is simple. If you’re a salaried employee, you’ll need to prorate your income to calculate the hourly rate. You may also seek compensation for bonuses you miss or other incentives you would have received while on the job.
• Pain and suffering – Burns are extremely painful injuries. They often require ongoing pain management treatment so you can remain comfortable throughout the healing process. In addition, you may endure emotional trauma after the accident that leads to things like anxiety or insomnia. These conditions are referred to as pain and suffering. To calculate a monetary amount, your attorney will consider how permanent your injuries are. They may also rate your pain and suffering and multiply your medical bills by this number.
• Medical costs – Yes, your initial medical bills will be taken into account when determining the compensation you should fight for. However, your future medical expenses play into this value as well. This includes consultations, physical therapy, plastic surgeries, and other rehabilitation. This is often the largest component of an accident victim’s compensation.

Who’s Responsible for Your Burn Injuries?

When seeking damages for your burn injuries, negligence is the primary basis for your case. Your attorney must prove the accident was caused by the negligent act of a person or business. For example, if your injuries occurred at work and poor or unsafe conditions were a contributing factor, your employer may have a legal responsibility to compensate you for your injuries. If your burns were caused by a defective product, your attorney can pursue compensation from the manufacturer. This often happens when a person receives chemical burns from household products or electrical burns from a faulty appliance.

Contact Our West Palm Beach or Port Saint Lucie Burn Injury Law Team Office Today

If you’ve sustained a severe burn injury, you may be living with the scars for the rest of your life. You may also be inundated with medical bills and have to deal with a loss of income. When this happens, you need someone in your corner to protect your rights and fight for the compensation you deserve.

At Fetterman & Associates, our burn injury attorneys have years of experience helping victims get the compensation they deserve. Contact us today at (561) 983-4584 to set up a consultation.