Even a minor burn can be surprisingly painful and interfere with your life for days or weeks as it slowly heals. Unfortunately, serious accidents like car wrecks, production malfunctions, and dangerous property conditions can cause burns severe enough to leave behind physical and emotional scars, not to mention extensive financial and personal losses.
Lawsuits revolving around serious burns can be uniquely challenging, so seeking a seasoned catastrophic injury attorney’s help should be a priority for anyone who suffers burns because of another person’s negligence. A Long Island burn injury lawyer could ensure you understand the legal options available to you, work with you to collect evidence for your settlement demand or lawsuit, and diligently pursue the best possible resolution on your behalf.
Establishing Fault for a Burn Injury
While serious burns are uniquely painful and potentially debilitating injuries, the procedural rules for filing suit over one are the same as for any other type of physical harm. To hold someone else financially accountable for the short-term and long-term consequences of a burn, the injured party must prove through a preponderance of evidence that the defendant was legally negligent in some way.
This specifically entails showing that a duty of care existed between the defendant and the injured plaintiff, that the defendant violated their duty by acting carelessly or recklessly, and that this breach of duty was the direct cause of the accident that led to the plaintiff getting burned. Provided that their burn required professional medical treatment of some kind, the injured plaintiff may then demand financial restitution for all economic and non-economic repercussions their burn had.
As a Smithtown burn accident attorney could explain, New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 1411 allows civil courts to assign percentages of fault to a plaintiff if they contributed to causing their own losses. That plaintiff would then be subject to a reduction in whatever damage award they ultimately receive in proportion to their degree of blame, preventing them from recovering for the full value of their case.
How a Burn’s Severity Impacts a Claim’s Value
There is no broadly applicable standard for how valuable different types of injuries are in terms of financial recovery following an accident of negligence. Instead, the value of a particular burn-related claim will depend on the specific losses that it directly caused someone to sustain, as well as how substantially their injury will continue to impact them in the years following the conclusion of their case.
For example, a second-degree burn that requires outpatient care and only leads to the injured party missing a few days off work may only warrant recovery for basic medical expenses and short-term loss of income. Conversely, a widespread third-degree burn resulting in permanent scarring, loss of nerve function, and lost ability to hold gainful employment might justify a significantly larger amount of compensation. A knowledgeable burn injury lawyer could discuss recovery possibilities in Smithtown during a private consultation.
Ask How a Smithtown Burn Injury Attorney Could Help
Even in the best-case scenario, getting burned in an accident that was not your fault can be an agonizing and immensely frustrating experience. If your burn injury ends up costing you in financial, physical, and personal ways, demanding fair compensation from the person responsible for your accident may be essential to preserving your future prospects.
Once retained, a Smithtown burn injury lawyer could stand by your side and tenaciously fight for your rights at every stage of settlement negotiations or court proceedings. We also have other types of attorneys to provide legal assistance such as a boat, bicycle, car, and a boat accident lawyer in Smithtown. Additionally, we have a Smithtown bus accident lawyer for those who get involved in bus accidents. Call today to schedule a meeting.