On top of being extremely painful, high-degree burns can also cause permanent harm in the form of scarring, nerve damage, and various other conditions with life-threatening effects. If someone else caused you to get severely burned through their misconduct, they should pay for all your losses, not you.
Unfortunately, holding someone legally accountable for causing this sort of injury can be difficult, making it important to work with a skilled catastrophic injury attorney like Jon Ostroff. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, our respected Pennsylvania burn injury lawyers know how to fight and win on behalf of our clients. In one recent case, we obtained $1.2 million for a burn victim who suffered severe injuries from an electrical shock on the job. Let us work to get the compensation you deserve, too.
What Damages Can a Burn Victim Recover For?
Depending on the circumstances, a burn can be a life-altering injury or one that’s not even serious enough to allow for a lawsuit at all. If you suffer only a minor first-degree burn, that might not be enough to justify a claim. Courts generally won’t hear personal injury cases unless the injury is serious enough to need professional medical care.
On the other hand, second-degree and third-degree burns that damage multiple layers of skin and tissue can warrant a lawsuit, especially if they affect large areas of the body or are likely to cause lifelong scarring. In these situations, your Pennsylvania lawyer can demand payments for past and future losses related to your burns.
For example, a high-degree burn that leaves you permanently scarred may require expensive rehabilitative treatments, reduce your ability to work, and cause significant physical and emotional distress. A skilled Pennsylvania burn injury attorney at our firm can factor these kinds of damages and more into your claim.
How Comparative Fault Could Affect a Claim
Our seasoned burn lawyers can also help ensure that you don’t miss out on compensation because of “comparative fault.” Courts in Pennsylvania could assign a share of total fault for an accident to an injured victim if they did something careless or reckless that contributed to their own damages—for example, failing to seek immediate medical care after a burn.
Depending on your percentage of fault relative to everyone else involved in their accident, the court might reduce the total money you are eligible to receive. If you are found primarily at fault, you could even be barred from recovering any compensation at all. Your local burn accident lawyer can explain how this “modified comparative fault” system works in more detail during a free consultation.
Let a Pennsylvania Burn Injury Attorney Fight for You
Severe burns can be debilitating and life-threatening injuries. Anyone who directly causes someone else to suffer severe burns should pay for the victim’s losses. However, proving that someone else is liable for your burns in court is easier said than done.
To improve your chances of obtaining compensation for your burn-related losses, there’s no substitute for help from a winning Pennsylvania burn injury lawyer. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers and let our dedicated attorneys get to work for you. You will not pay us anything unless and until we recover the payments you need, so schedule a free consultation today.
