What Types of Burn Injuries Warrant a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Even though burns are minor, they can be very debilitating, and it’s surprising how quickly a routine life can turn into pain and suffering, medical expenses, and financial burdens.

Personal injury lawsuits are typically filed when the individual suffers a burn due to another person’s reckless behavior or unsafe practices. 

Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, is a bustling metropolis with row houses, restaurants, construction zones, and constant traffic. 

With so much activity in close quarters, accidents involving scalding liquids, faulty wiring, or building fires happen more often than people expect.

When someone is injured because another party failed to act safely, getting the right guidance matters.

Thus, many people look for legal support after a burn injury in Philly to understand their rights and next steps.

Before taking action, it helps to know which types of burns most often lead to successful claims.

The Center for Disaster Control has reported 698,555 burn-related injuries in the United States alone in the year 2020. 

Thus, this shows that burn injuries are a common problem. However, burn injuries do not always happen due to the victim’s fault. Moreover, the victim often faces problems caused by the negligence of some other party.

Malfunctioning equipments, reckless actions, and several others often cause burn injuries. Thus, in such times, the victim remains entitled to file burn injury lawsuits.

This article seeks to inform readers about the situations in which they can file a burn injury lawsuit. 

Does My Burn Injury Qualify?

An injury may warrant a lawsuit if it resulted from negligence, unsafe conditions, or a product defect. Many times, these injuries can be costly to treat. 

Approximately 40,000 burn injuries in the U.S. annually require hospitalization, according to the American Burn Association, demonstrating the severity of some of these claims.

1. Thermal Burns

Thermal burns occur when exposed to fire, steam, or extremely hot liquid. These are some of the most common injuries in home and workplace accidents. 

If a fryer burns a restaurant worker because broken equipment was never repaired, that can form the basis of a claim.

On the other hand, if a waiter drops a sizzling hot plate of food on you while trying to serve you food, you can also file burn injury lawsuits.

The workers in foundries, factories that use furnaces, and other manufacturing plants remain common victims of thermal burns. Thus, the workers should definitely know about their rights.

People often suffer thermal burns in the most unexpected situations. People in saunas or Hamams often face thermal burns. Thus, in these situations, the victims of thermal burns can always file burn injury lawsuits. 

Moreover, the victims can always file a thermal burn lawsuit as they have not been given clear instructions. 

​2. Electrical Burns

Electrical burns occur when the body comes into contact with a live current. These injuries often damage tissue beneath the skin. 

Exposed wiring, unsafe construction sites, and poorly manufactured electronics can create dangerous conditions that leave victims with long recovery periods. Thus, an electrical burn can happen due to the negligence of several people.

The electricity supplier of your city often does not maintain the wires and the equipments of the electrical supply properly. Thus, electrical burns are among the most common injuries during natural disasters and other calamities.

The workers at the construction sites also face electrical burns at times. Moreover, poorly maintained equipments and others often increase the risks of electrocutions and electrical burns.

Thus, the victims can file burn injury lawsuits if they face such an injury due to the negligence of others. Moreover, entities like the electricity suppliers, employers others often fall into this group.

​3. Chemical Burns

Chemical burns result from acids, solvents, or cleaning agents. 

They are common in industrial settings but also happen in homes when labels are unclear or products malfunction. 

When a company fails to warn consumers about proper handling, it may be held responsible.

People also suffer from chemical burns as they come in contact with chemicals like battery acids, bleach, disinfectants ,and others.

Thus, the workers in the industry remain at high risk of a chemical burn injury. Not just that, even children in households remain at high risk of chemical burns. 

Moreover, the children do not understand which products can be harmful to them.

Chemical burn injuries can also happen in setups like a parlour or a hospital. Often, detanning treatment and other procedures in a parlour involve the unnecessary use of bleach. 

Thus, these kinds of chemicals can cause damage to the skin of the clients.

The use of spirits and other disinfectants on injuries can also cause chemical burns in clinics and hospitals.

Thus, the victim or the sufferers of chemical burns can always file a burn injury lawsuit.

​4. Radiation And Friction Burns

Radiation burns can happen during medical procedures like radiation therapy, which uses high-energy equipment. 

Friction burns often occur in car or motorcycle accidents. If another person’s reckless behavior caused the crash, a claim may be appropriate.

Often, the workers working in highly labor-intensive manual work have to do the same thing over and over. 

Thus, these things often cause burns and blisters. Even though these things might look small initially. People often face major long-term consequences in their later years.

Thus, the workers who face major damage due to friction burns can always file a burn-injury lawsuit. 

When Should I Consider Taking Legal Action For My Burn?

• Your burn was severe enough that you had to be hospitalized or have surgery.
• Your injury caused you to miss work while you recovered.
• A dangerous product burned you, or an unsafe area where you live/work.
• You have long-term scarring, disability, or loss of use in part of your body.

Things To Remember About The Burn Injury Lawsuits 

• Burns are usually considered a result of a negligent act on someone’s behalf (i.e., unsafe conditions) that could entitle you to file a legal claim against that person or organization.
• Most types of burns can be used to make a claim (thermal, electrical, chemical, radiation, and friction).
• Serious medical treatment and/or lasting injury and loss of income/wages also support making a claim.