Severe Burn Injuries: Who Can Be Held Liable?

Burn injuries are very common. Many of these are minor, perhaps requiring ice or ointment, but not resulting in any real or lasting harm. Tragically, many others are serious, resulting in hundreds of thousands of hospital visits every year.

Some burn injury hospital visits are brief and require little to no follow-up. But according to the American Burn Association (ABA), more than 30,000 people are admitted to burn centers for the treatment of severe burns every year. More than 1,000 Americans are killed by severe burn injuries yearly as well.

Burns can be both physically painful and financially devastating. Depending on the extent of damage, it may take months (or even years) of surgeries, rehabilitation, and psychological recovery. Victims of severe burn injuries shouldn’t have to cover these expenses.

The Providence burn injury lawyers at Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell can assess your damages, calculate the value of your claim, and help you determine how to seek the compensation you deserve.

Contact a Providence Burn Injury Lawyer for FREE

To schedule a FREE and confidential consultation with one of the burn injury lawyers at Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, call 401-273-8330 today. Located in Providence, we fight for victims of serious injury throughout Rhode Island.

Levels of Burn Injury

Burns are generally classified into one of three categories, depending on their depth, size, and severity. These are:

• First-Degree Burns. These superficial burns may be red and painful, but they will not blister. Like a mild sunburn, these will typically heal without intervention and do not result in scarring.
• Second-Degree Burns. Also known as “partial-thickness” burns, these extend into the dermis (middle layer of skin) and may result in blisters, swelling, shiny skin, skin discoloration, and significant pain. Scarring is likely inevitable with a second-degree burn.
• Third-Degree Burns. Also known as “full thickness” burns, these extend through all layers of the skin and may even impact hair follicles, sweat glands, and nerve endings. Third-degree burns are often painless because they destroy nerves, but can result in severe and lasting disfigurement, limited mobility, and similar struggles.

A fourth classification, fourth-degree burns, is sometimes provided by medical centers to describe burns that penetrate muscle and bone. However, others include muscle and bone damage in third-degree classifications.

Regardless of their classification, the damages from severe burn injuries may not be fully covered by insurance. Having an experienced lawyer on your side helps to ensure you are treated fairly and not cheated out of the compensation you will need to make the fullest recovery possible.

Common Causes of Severe Burn Injuries

Serious burn injuries can be caused by:

• House and apartment fires
• Scalds from hot liquids or steam
• Defective or overheated products
• Workplace accidents
• Electrical faults
• Motor vehicle crashes
• Outdoor and recreational hazards

According to the ABA, over 60% of burn injuries occur in private residences.

When you are injured or a loved one is killed by a serious burn injury, identifying the cause is an important part of the claims process. Knowing the cause of your burn helps in determining where fault should lie, which is a key component in seeking fair and full compensation.

At Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, our experienced attorneys take time to thoroughly investigate burn injury accidents. Through identifying the cause, we can begin to build a case that seeks the total compensation you are due.

The Long-Term Complications of Severe Burn Injuries

Severe burn injuries can have a number of long-term complications, including:

• Infections and sepsis
• Chronic metabolic stress
• Organ dysfunction and failure
• Hypertrophic scars and keloids
• Muscle, tendon, ligament, and skin contractures
• PTSD, depression, anxiety, and sleep disruptions

In addition to these complications, severe burn injuries can result in excessive medical expenses and make working impossible. They can also require home modifications and assistive technologies, and forever change your ability to engage in the things that bring you joy. Combined, these and other burn injury consequences will account for the damages your burn injury lawyer seeks. Without an attorney on your side, it is less likely that the full extent of your damages will be covered.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Severe Burn Injury in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, victims of severe burn injuries can hold any party whose carelessness, failure to act, or other form of negligence contributed to their injuries. This may include:

• Property owners and landlords for issues like faulty wiring, broken smoke alarms, and blocked exits.
• Product manufacturers and retailers for issues such as exploding batteries, flammable fabrics, and malfunctioning appliances.
• Employers and contractors for uncorrected OSHA violations, failing to offer protective gear, unsafe work protocols, and similar workplace dangers.
• Utility and fuel companies for issues including gas leaks, propane explosions, faulty electrical services, and improper maintenance.
• Negligent drivers for fuel-leak fires and other burns caused by crashes.
• Healthcare providers for radiation burns or negligent post-burn care.

Determining who can be held liable for your burn injury is essential for pursuing compensation. There may even be more than one party that played a role. Identifying each helps to ensure justice is truly served.

At Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell, our Providence burn injury lawyers have nearly fifty years of experience investigating accidents that result in serious harm. Working with various specialists, including accident reconstruction experts when needed, we take great care to find everyone whose actions or inaction contributed to your injury, holding each to full account for the damages they have caused.

Trust Our Providence Severe Burn Injury Lawyers to Help

When you sustain a severe burn injury, you need a legal team that knows how to help victims of serious injury get justice. The team at Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell has spent decades standing up for people who have suffered serious harm and helping them secure significant compensation for their injuries.

Our firm:

• Limits our case load so we can give each claim the attention it deserves.
• Investigates severe burn injuries thoroughly, working with in-house and external experts and specialists as needed to build iron-clad cases.
• Has a long history of securing large verdicts and settlements for our clients.
• Is made up of seasoned and award-winning trial attorneys who are not afraid to take cases as far as needed in our pursuit of justice.

Our services are provided on a contingency basis, which means we don’t get paid until after your case has been won. Justice shouldn’t be dependent on your ability to afford quality legal representation. We’ll handle the fight. You focus on recovering.

Reach Out for a FREE Case Review With an Experienced Burn Injury Lawyer

To schedule your complimentary case review at our Providence office, contact Mandell, Boisclair & Mandell today. Understanding that severe burn injuries can make travel very difficult, one of our dedicated lawyers can come to your home or hospital if you are unable to come to us.

We serve victims of severe burn injuries living throughout Rhode Island and nearby areas of Massachusetts.