Burn Injuries
It is estimated that each year, 486,000 burn injuries requiring medical treatment are reported nationwide and 40,000 people are hospitalized due to a burn
Commonly associated with fires, a burn can actually result from a number of circumstances – defective products, car crashes, natural gas explosions, occupational accidents, hot liquid scalds, laser treatments, electrical hazards, and more. Burn injuries are often extremely painful, causing mental and emotional anguish in addition to physical suffering.
KY burn injury lawyer Billy Johnson believes that those who cause harm to others should be held accountable for their actions. The damages available in a burn claim may include compensation for plastic surgery, physical therapy, medical expenses, lost wages due to time away from work, impaired capacity to work in the future, disfigurement, and emotional distress.
If you lost a loved one due to burn injuries, you could be entitled to compensation in a wrongful death claim.
Based in Pikeville, Billy has made it his life’s work to help people throughout Kentucky. He is a proven advocate with over 15 years of experience who has handled litigation in the United States Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, and the United States Bankruptcy Court. Get started today with a free, no-obligation case review by calling 606-437-4488. You can also fill out this online form to discuss the details of your accident and find out your rights.
Most of us are familiar with burn severity being discussed in terms of degrees. That terminology has changed, and we now describe burns this way:
- Superficial (formerly first-degree) burns are the least severe with damage limited to the outer layer of skin (the epidermis). The burn site is red, painful, dry, and without blisters.
- Partial thickness (second-degree) burns cause damage to the skin’s outer layer and part of the layer underneath (the dermis). The burn site is usually red, swollen, painful, and blistered.
- Full thickness (third-degree) burns damage or destroy the deepest layer of skin and may penetrate the tissue underneath. The burn site may be white, black, brown, or leathery.
Severe burns can lead to infections, intense pain, shock, and even death. Some burns are so grave that the skin gets eaten away and the bone can be seen through the wound. Some partial thickness burns are as dangerous as full thickness burns, because they are spread over a large area of the body. Burns can damage nerves, tissue, muscles, or blood vessels, and leave permanent reminders such as scars, disfigurement, blindness, and mental anguish. Recovering from a burn injury can be very costly, requiring ongoing rehabilitation, reconstructive surgeries, medications, and counseling.
Under Kentucky personal injury law, victims of burn-related suffering can seek financial recovery for burns caused by someone else’s negligence.
Apartment complexes, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial properties have all been found responsible for allowing extremely hot water into the taps. Factories have been held liable for exposing their employees to burn-inducing chemicals without giving them proper protective equipment. Healthcare providers may cause burns while using surgical cauterizing tools too close to oxygen, lasers or radiation. Motor vehicle wrecks can leave drivers and passengers alike with severe injuries from contact burns as well as those caused by inhaling hot air or smoke.
Gas companies that fail to maintain pipelines or contractors that inadvertently strike one can be held responsible for explosions. Individuals injured or killed in fires may be victims of being trapped by someone else’s failure to care for a property or maintain adequate fire exits. Faulty consumer products have also been responsible for causing burns. In addition to manufacturing defects and design defects, serious injuries have resulted from a manufacturer’s failure to warn about a product’s risk of burns during use. Space heaters, e-cigarettes, Hoverboards, and certain year GM model cars are all products currently in the news for possibly exploding or catching fire.
If you have suffered burns leading to serious injuries, you need an experienced attorney to effectively represent your interests. At the Johnson Law Firm, our Pikeville burn injury lawyers handle personal injury cases across Kentucky. Our founder, Billy Johnson, has been named a Super Lawyer by U.S. News & World Report as well as an American Trial Lawyers Association Top 100 trial lawyer and he is a proud member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums. It’s important to contact us as soon as possible after you are injured in an accident because any delay can cause critical evidence to be lost and make it harder to prove fault. You need your own investigative team working to secure the evidence needed to prove your claim. To get our team started immediately on your behalf, contact us today by filling out this evaluation form or calling us at 606-437-4488.
Attorney Billy Johnson
William “Billy” Johnson grew up in the Dorton area of Pike County, Kentucky, and early on decided to stay in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Like many others in Eastern Kentucky, Billy’s dad worked as a coal miner, a hard job but one that taught his son how to meet challenges head on and persevere. Attorney Billy Johnson has years of experience helping injured clients with claims such as car, truck, and motorcycle accidents, wrongful deaths, work injuries, and more. [ Attorney Bio ]
