Burns are one of the most painful types of injury anyone can sustain. They also take a long time to heal, especially if the victim suffered third-degree burns. If you were injured by a defective product, a careless driver, or another unintentional yet preventable way, you have the opportunity to file a Columbia personal injury claim with the other party’s insurance company. If you were injured at work, you can file a Columbia workers’ compensation claim, regardless of fault, and you may also be able to file a personal injury claim on top of that, depending on the circumstances of the accident. Marc Brown is here to help you every step of the way.
Why Choose Us as Your Burn Injury Lawyers In Columbia?
Marc Brown Law Firm has a history of achieving results for clients through dedicated advocacy for injury victims, including in burn injury claims. We offer a free consultation to evaluate your case. If you are too badly injured to come to us, an attorney will come to you. Then our contingency-based payment system allows your attorney to work for you, and you pay no fees until after we’ve recovered compensation for you through a settlement or court award.
How Did the Burn Injury Occur?
Depending on how you were burned, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party who caused the incident. Common scenarios in which burn injuries occur include traffic collisions, defective products, premises liability incidents, and work accidents. A personal injury claim in Columbia enables you to collect compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost earnings, and more.
Five Types of Burns
- First Degree Burn: Only the first layer of skin (the epidermis) is affected. First-degree burns may turn red, but otherwise, there is little injury and no lasting scar, caused by a first-degree burn. However, they can be painful.
- Second Degree Burn: A second-degree burn causes damage to the epidermis, as well as the dermis (the layer of skin below the epidermis). Second-degree burns are painful and can result in swelling, blistering, scarring, and infection. If a large percentage of the body has second-degree burns, there will be a need for hospitalization.
- Third Degree Burn: A third-degree burn damages all of the layers of the skin, causing a white, red, or blackish discoloration. Third-degree burns are incredibly painful and dangerous. Treatment may require extensive hospitalization, plastic surgery, skin grafts, and multiple follow-up surgeries months later. Third-degree burns are always life-threatening due to the chance of infection.
- Fourth Degree Burn: Fourth-degree burns cause damage to body parts below the level of skin, burning fat, muscle, bone, tendon, ligament, and even internal organs.
- Chemical Burn: A chemical burn is not a true burn, in the sense that it is not caused by heat. However, chemical burns often result in the same type of injury: damage to the outer and lower layers of the skin. If a chemical burn is located on the face, loss of eyesight, permanent scarring, and disfigurement are major concerns.
Common Causes of Burn Injuries In Columbia
Burns are more than painful; they are also expensive to treat and have long-term consequences on all aspects of an injury victim’s life. Third-degree burns leave extensive scarring, often with the loss of range of motion in affected body parts. Severe, third-degree burns with impacts to muscle and bone sometimes require amputations.
The most common causes of serious burn injuries in Columbia personal injury claims include the following:
- Structure fires, such as apartment and hotel fires
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Uber accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Explosions
- Electrical accidents, such as from faulty wiring, inadequate maintenance, faulty appliances, and downed power lines
- Chemical exposures
- Defective products, such as space heaters, fireworks, and gas stoves
- Scalds from overly heated beverages, soups, and foods in restaurants or cafes
- Radiation burns
- And more
The above causes of burns are often the result of someone else’s negligence, such as a negligent apartment building owner, driver, or electrical contractor, leaving the at-fault party liable for damages.
Compensation in Columbia burn injury claims typically comes from the appropriate insurance company; for instance, auto insurance after a car accident burn, or property liability insurance after a structural fire in an apartment building.
What to Do After a Burn Injury
While most minor burns are treatable at home with first aid, including running the burned area under cool water and covering it with a clean, dry bandage, more serious or severe burns require immediate medical attention. According to the American Burn Association (ABA), the following steps are crucial for all burns on the face, hands, feet, or genitals, and for burns that are deep or cover a large area of the body:
- After removal from the source of the burn, such as flames, hot surface, or scalding water, call 911 and request emergency services, or arrange transportation to a hospital
- Apply cool, wet cloths gently to the burned area while awaiting help
- Gently remove personal items such as rings, jewelry, and burned clothing from the injured area before swelling begins
- Prevent shock through a prone position with feet slightly elevated, and cover the non-burned area with a blanket if possible
- While awaiting the ambulance, have an uninjured person use a cell phone camera to take photos of the cause of the burn, such as a burning vehicle after a car accident, or a defective appliance or product
- Photograph the injuries
- Add the contact information of any eyewitnesses
- If the burn occurred on commercial property or in an apartment complex, ask the manager to write out an accident report
Go directly to the hospital for treatment and request a detailed medical report listing the percentage of the body involved and the degree of the burns. Then, carefully follow your doctor’s treatment advice to maximize your physical recovery while a burn injury lawyer focuses on your economic recovery.
The physical recovery process for severe burns may include many medical procedures, such as grafting and reconstructive surgery to repair appearance and function.
What Damages Are Available In a Columbia, SC, Burn Injury Claim?
Burns are among the most painful and traumatic injuries, leaving long-term physical and emotional scars. Knowing that the burns were preventable if only someone else hadn’t been careless adds to the devastation of serious burn injuries. Although nothing can erase the pain and trauma of burns, a successful burn injury claim against the negligent party brings compensation for common damages, such as the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Out-of-pocket, injury-related costs
- Lost earnings
- Future income loss or reduced earning capacity
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Compensation for catastrophic injury, such as disfigurement, permanent scarring, amputations, and loss of enjoyment of life
A skilled attorney carefully calculates past and future damages and then assertively negotiates for the maximum compensation available to you.
How Can an Attorney Help My Columbia Burn Injury Case?
Burn injuries are excruciating and leave permanent scars. Severe burns can interfere with earning ability, reduce the capacity to carry out daily routines, and diminish quality of life. An experienced burn injury lawyer demands financial accountability on your behalf by doing the following:
- Conducting an independent investigation into the cause of the burns, often to counter an insurance adjuster’s findings
- Compiling evidence of liability
- Carefully calculating past, current, and future damages by consulting with medical experts and occupational therapists
- Sending their findings to the appropriate insurance company
- Tirelessly negotiating on your behalf to seek the maximum compensation available to you
Finally, should your case require court, a trial-ready attorney from Marc Brown Law Firm will plan and execute a powerful legal strategy, seeking a jury verdict in your favor and a large court award for your damages.
What Is the Statute of Limitations on Filing a Burn Injury Claim?
Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5) (2024), South Carolina has a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including burn injuries. If a case requires a lawsuit due to an unwarranted claim denial or undervaluation, it must be brought to court before the three-year time limit expires. Only about 4% of cases require a court, since most are resolved through a settlement.
The state may extend this time limit for minors who suffer burn injuries. A minor has up to one year after their 18th birthday to file a claim.
Call a Columbia Burn Injury Lawyer Today
As a burn victim, you must take into account the extensive hospital bills and future medical costs that your injuries will undoubtedly incur. Other expenses include lost wages and reduced working capacity. An attorney can help you recover these expenses, and more, by filing a personal injury claim against the party you caused your injuries. Call Columbia burn injury attorney Marc Brown at (803) 871-9775 today to schedule a free consultation.