Burns are among the most painful injuries and are also capable of leaving victims permanently disabled and disfigured. Burn injuries require extensive medical treatment, incurring tremendous costs and suffering. A Charlottesville personal injury lawyer from Martin Wren, PC, can help victims mitigate their financial losses and get justice for their physical and emotional pain.
If you are a burn-injury victim, you may not realize the extent of your needs going forward. Put yourself in the best position to collect compensation to stabilize your financial future by partnering with a Charlottesville burn injury lawyer from our team. Our firm stands out among other Virginia firms and has an established record of securing large verdicts and settlements statewide. Trust us to listen to you with compassion while fighting aggressively to bring your case to a successful resolution.
Pursuing a Burn Injury Claim
The Commonwealth of Virginia allows victims of burns or other injuries to file a personal injury claim against the party who caused the injury under particular circumstances. Specifically, and according to Virginia’s adherence to the contributory negligence doctrine, injury victims have to be absent of any blame for the accident. If victims contributed to the incident leading to the burn injury, they may not be able to pursue a claim.
This contributory negligence rule does not make it easy for victims to recover losses. Of course, the party victims accused of causing the accident will fight back. If that party can put the blame on the victim, the claim may fail.
The contributory negligence system makes it critical for victims to connect with a skilled burn injury lawyer in Charlottesville. With a prompt partnership, an experienced attorney can quickly get work collecting evidence to prove the victim’s claim and challenge accusations of culpability. The attorney can also file a personal injury claim with the courts within Virginia’s statute of limitations.
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
Possible Negligent Parties
Once Martin Wren, PC, takes your case, your Charlottesville burn injury attorney will conduct an accident investigation to determine the cause of your injury and identify the accountable party. Making an accurate identification is crucial to your claim’s success. While the culpable party may seem obvious to you, examining the circumstances of the incident may reveal a less apparent culprit.
Among other occurrences, burn injuries can result from:
- Motor-vehicle crashes: Sparks from an accident can ignite spilled gasoline, and if a semi-truck carrying flammable chemicals is involved, explosions or flames generated by chemical spills may erupt.
- Defective products: Improperly packaged chemical products can cause chemical burns, often affecting the eyes and respiratory system. Lithium batteries used to power devices or small motorized vehicles have led to explosions and fires.
- Building fires: Victims can be burned when fires break out in apartments, homes, offices, schools, or any other building. The building must be outfitted with adequate fire safety equipment.
- Work incidents: Some jobs put workers near chemicals or require use of electrical equipment. Burns can result from chemical mishaps or electrical shorts or malfunctions.
A variety of potential at-fault parties emerge in these scenarios. Vehicle operators or manufacturers, product manufacturers or designers, building engineers, or homeowners are all potentially at fault. Though employers are typically protected from injury lawsuits from workers’ compensation insurance, if a third party’s negligence prompted the accident leading to your burn injury, you may also have grounds to file a personal injury claim.
Why You Need Compensation for a Burn Injury
All burns are painful, but those at the third-degree level or higher come with the most serious consequences. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center:
- Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis, the first layer of skin, enter the dermis (the second layer), and may damage deeper layers. Surrounding areas may look white or blackened.
- Fourth-degree burns go through both layers of skin, into underlying tissue, and even into muscles and bones, destroying nerve endings. Often, victims do not survive burns of this (or higher) degree.
Third-degree burns can be deadly. Those who survive often need skin grafts to replace damaged tissue. Infection, shock, and dehydration are all potential and potentially fatal complications.
Serious burns typically leave victims scarred, with limited mobility in affected areas, and in significant pain. Sometimes, the damage is so severe as to make victims dependent on medical apparatus for respiration and nutrition and on round-the-clock caregivers. The financial and emotional losses stemming from these consequences are devastating.
Charlottesville Burn Injury Lawyer Near Me 434-817-3100
Potential Damages Available
Your burn injury attorney in Charlottesville will fight for maximum damages, seeking to recover your financial losses, support your future needs, and acknowledge your emotional suffering.
Every settlement or verdict amount is affected by the individual circumstances of the case. Though it is not possible to predict a compensation amount, there are typical damages you can seek for personal injury, and you can expect your attorney to consider the following factors when calculating a fair amount:
- Costs for medical care and continuing costs. Your Charlottesville burn injury attorney will consult with your medical team and other experts when making this calculation.
- Lost earnings during your recovery period and lost future earnings and work benefits should your burn injury keep you from working permanently.
- Other financial expenses incurred from the injury. You may need to hire others to take care of duties you previously managed independently, for example.
- Your physical pain, disfigurement, disability, and psychological trauma.
- Your decreased enjoyment of life.
You may be eligible to collect punitive damages as well, as per § 9.000 of the Virginia Model Jury Instructions. Punitive damages apply when the at-fault party acts with “actual malice” or “under circumstances amounting to a willful and wanton disregard” of your rights. If your case warrants punitive damages, you can trust MartinWren, PC, to fight for them.
Take Care of Yourself and We Will Take Care of Your Case
Taking care of your health after a burn injury should be your top priority. Let Martin Wren, PC, take care of your case and work for a high verdict or settlement, as we have throughout our successful history. Recuperating from burn damage demands time and focus and takes a major toll on your financial and emotional states. A Charlottesville burn injury lawyer from our firm will support your recovery by leading your fight for justice and a secure financial future.
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
