On top of being painful and traumatic, severe burn injuries can also cause life-altering and potentially life-threatening damage, which may leave you permanently scarred or disabled even if you receive the best possible medical care. Needless to say, money alone cannot completely erase the harm that an injury like this can cause. However, that does not mean pursuing civil compensation for the effects of a burn injury is pointless.
Working with a seasoned catastrophic injury attorney could be crucial to protecting your rights after being burned because of another person’s negligence. If you would like to explore your legal options and potentially file a claim for compensation, consult a Charleston County burn injury lawyer.
Medical professionals classify burns into four “degrees” based on how deep the burn penetrates below the skin’s outermost surface.
A first-degree burn affects only the epidermis, or the top layer of skin, and typically heals on its own with basic first aid or no treatment at all.
A second-degree burn penetrates the dermis underneath the epidermis, causing skin discoloration, blistering, swelling, and significant pain.
A third-degree burn fully penetrates through the epidermis and dermis, damaging the underlying fat layers, typically resulting in permanent scarring or loss of sensation.
This term is sometimes used to refer to severe third-degree burns, which penetrate deep enough to cause life-threatening damage to muscles, tendons, and bones.
The degree of burn someone sustains in an accident can have a significant impact on the value of a compensation claim. Fortunately, a knowledgeable Charleston County attorney could help build a strong civil claim around any burn injury severe enough to require professional medical care if it resulted from someone else’s misconduct.
On that note, what actually qualifies as legally actionable “misconduct” can also differ depending on the circumstances, as it is determined by whether someone’s actions qualified as a violation of a “duty of care” they owed to the injured person. For instance, someone who owns an apartment building with faulty wiring might be liable for a tenant getting burned in a fire started by that wiring since they had a duty to provide reasonably safe accommodations.
However, that same landowner might not be liable for a burn injury caused by a brushfire that ended up spreading into their apartment building. This is because even though the fire technically started on their land, it was not something they had direct control over or were necessarily expected to prevent as part of their duty of care towards tenants. A seasoned burn injury lawyer in Charleston County could provide vital assistance by determining who is to blame for a specific burn injury and who should be liable for damages.
Civil litigation is always complex and stressful, especially when it is centered around an injury that has left you permanently disfigured or disabled. For these types of cases, it is essential to seek support from capable legal representatives who know how to handle cases like yours and will work tirelessly to secure the best possible outcome.
A Charleston County burn injury lawyer could provide the tailored representation you need to obtain the financial restitution you deserve. Get in touch with our team today.