How do I sue for a burn injury? A guide to the law

Burn injuries can be caused by product defects, workplace injuries, or another person’s negligence. The person or company responsible for the burn injury is liable to the victim for damages. Even if the injury victim was partially to blame for the accident, he or she could be awarded partial damages based on the defendant’s level of fault.

The compensation for a burn injury can include damages for the loss of a job, medical bills, and continuing medical care. A personal injury lawsuit can help victims and their families recover damages, including:

• Medical expenses,
• Loss of income,
• Loss of earning capacity, and
• Pain and suffering.

Common causes of burn injuries include:

• Construction site accidents,
• Vehicle accidents,
• Fireworks accidents,
• Kitchen accidents,
• Scalding water,
• Electric shock accidents,
• Tanning bed burns, and
• Chemical burns.

Below, our California burn injury lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about burn injury lawsuits:

• 1. How do I sue for a burn injury in California?
  • 1.1. Based on Negligence
  • 1.2. Based on a Defective Product
  • 1.3. Based on Premises Liability
• 2. What damages are available?
  • 2.1. Economic Damages
  • 2.2. Non-economic Damages
  • 2.3. How are damages calculated?
• 3. What are the damages if a loved one was killed in a fire?
• 4. Burn Injury Treatment and Costs
• 5. Can I file a lawsuit if I suffered a burn injury at work?

If you have further questions about burn injury cases after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. How do I sue for a burn injury in California?

A personal injury lawsuit allows victims of wrongful actions to seek money damages for physical injuries and financial losses. Burn injury lawsuits are generally based on:

• Negligence,
• Product Defects, or
• Premises Liability.

Injury victims and their families can file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court. However, there is a time limit to how long the victim has to file a claim.

1.1. Based on Negligence

Negligence is the wrongful actions (or inaction) of an individual, group, or company that causes harm to another. The injury victim has to prove the following elements to win a personal injury case based on negligence:

someone doing something that causes an injury to another person. A plaintiff has to prove the following elements in a lawsuit based on negligence:

1. The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;
2. The defendant breached that duty; and
3. The defendant’s breach was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff’s harm.¹²

Example: Rick is at the beach with a group of friends on the 4th of July. Rick has some fireworks he bought outside of California. Rick thinks it would be funny to toss some of the fireworks into the bonfire and give his friends a scare.

Rick throws some firecrackers into the fire. The firecrackers explode, which sets Liz’s hair on fire, causing thermal burn injuries to her face and ears with severe blistering.

A burn injury victim, Liz may be able to file a personal injury claim against Rick. Rick was negligent in throwing illegal firecrackers into a bonfire with other people nearby. Rick’s actions caused Liz to suffer burn injuries and blisters. Rick may be liable to Liz for her damages caused by the firecracker accident.

Under California’s “comparative fault” laws, the plaintiff can still recover partial damages even if he or she was partly to blame for the accident. The plaintiff’s damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s own share of the fault and the defendants are liable for the remaining portion of damages.³

1.2. Based on a Defective Product

When a defective product causes a burn injury, the company that produced or sold the product may be liable for damages, even if no individual person was negligent. Under most state product liability laws, whoever designs, manufactures, or sells a defective product is strictly liable for any injuries caused by the product.⁴

Strict liability cases can include the following types of product defects:

• Manufacturing defects,
• Design defects, or
• Warning defects.

In a product liability lawsuit for burn injuries, the victim has to prove:

1. The defendant designed, manufactured, distributed, or sold the defective product;
2. The product contained a manufacturing, design, or warning defect when it left the defendant’s possession;
3. The victim used the product in a reasonably foreseeable way; and
4. The product defect was a substantial factor in causing the victim’s harm.⁵

Example: Thornton bought his son, Lucien, a hoverboard for his birthday. Thornton researched hoverboards and bought a model made by Dag’s Hoverboards and sold by DarkSpace Toys. Lucien was using the hoverboard when it suddenly burst into flames, burning Lucien on the legs. Thornton took Lucien to the ER for treatment.

Thornton talks to a lawyer about the product and finds out a defective battery caused the fire. Thornton files a product liability lawsuit against Dag’s Hoverboards and DarkSpace Toys. Dag’s Hoverboards says they were not negligent. DarkSpace Toys says it was not their fault either because they did not know the hoverboard was defective.

However, Thornton does not need to prove negligence in a product liability lawsuit. Thornton can recover damages if he can show: (1) the defendant’s manufactured or sold the defective hoverboard; (2) the hoverboard was defective when it left the defendants’ possession; (3) Lucien used the hoverboard in a foreseeable manner; and (4) the defective hoverboard caused Lucien’s injuries.

1.3. Based on Premises Liability

If a burn accident happens on another person’s property, the property owner may be liable for damages if the burn injury was caused by a hazard on the property. Under premises liability laws, property owners and occupiers have to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition.

Property owners have a duty of care to inspect and maintain their property, repair dangerous conditions, and/or give warnings about any dangerous conditions.⁶

Example: Madeleine had a hot tub in her backyard. Madeleine kept the hot tub really hot and had a friend alter the thermostat so it could go above the maximum temperature. Madeleine put the hot tub cover on when she was having a holiday party at her house.

Todd was a guest at Madeleine’s party and brought his two small children. The children asked Madeleine if they could swim in the pool and Madeleine said they could. A few minutes later, the children came into the house covered in burns. They had taken the cover off the hot tub and jumped in to warm up after swimming.

Todd may have a premises liability claim against Madeleine. Madeleine’s scalding hot tub may have been considered a hazard to small children who were visiting her house. Madeleine covered the hot tub but did not warn Todd about the hazard and did not secure the cover to prevent the children from accessing the hot water. Madeleine may be liable for damages.

Note that first-degree burns are the most minor burns, followed by second-degree burns and third-degree burns – which involves several layers of skin.

2. What damages are available?

In a personal injury lawsuit, the injury victim is looking for money to pay for their damages caused by the accident. These are known as “compensatory damages.” Compensatory damages are supposed to compensate the plaintiff for economic and non-economic damages.

In some cases, a plaintiff can also sue for punitive damages. Punitive damages, or “exemplary damages,” are intended to punish the wrongdoer. However, punitive damages are generally limited to cases where the defendant’s actions were:

• Extremely reckless,
• Malicious,
• Oppressive,
• Fraudulent, or
• Intended to cause harm.⁷

2.1. Economic Damages

Economic damages include out-of-pocket costs, money the plaintiff has spent, or money the plaintiff will have to pay out in the future. In a burn injury accident, economic damages may include:

• Medical bills,
• Surgery,
• Burn unit treatment,
• Skin grafting procedures,
• Lost wages,
• Lost earning capacity, and
• Property damage.

2.2. Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages may be more difficult to quantify but are still part of the plaintiff’s damages after an accident. This can include money damages to cover the plaintiff’s losses for:

• Emotional distress,
• Disfigurement,
• Physical impairment,
• Scarring,
• Pain and suffering,
• Loss of enjoyment in life, and
• Loss of consortium.

2.3. How are damages calculated?

Damages in a lawsuit may be decided by the judge or jury. The factfinder looks at the claimed damages and makes a determination for how much the plaintiff should receive. Past economic damages can be calculated by looking at medical bills, financial records, and repair costs.

Economic damages also include future expenses. In these situations, a burn injury attorney may hire an expert may submit a report and testify about the likely future costs to the plaintiff for things like:

• Future medical treatment,
• In-home care estimates,
• Insurance payments and coverage, and
• How much the plaintiff would have earned if he or she was not injured in the accident.

3. What are the damages if a loved one was killed in a fire?

If someone is killed in a fire or burn injury accident, the victim is no longer alive to file a personal injury lawsuit on their own behalf. Instead, certain family members can file a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death lawsuit will allow the surviving family to recover damages and hold the wrongdoer responsible for their actions.⁸

In most cases, eligible family members who can file a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Spouses;
• Domestic partners;
• Children;
• Grandchildren (if the children are deceased); or
• Anyone else entitled to the property of the decedent by California intestate succession laws.

The money damages available in a wrongful death lawsuit include:

• Funeral expenses,
• Burial expenses,
• Loss of services the deceased would have provided,
• Loss of companionship, and
• Loss of financial support the deceased would have provided.⁹

4. Burn Injury Treatment and Costs

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2011, there were nearly 486,000 burn injuries that received medical treatment. Over 3,000 people died in the U.S. in 2011 because of residential and vehicle fires, including deaths from smoke inhalation.¹⁰

The causes of most of these burn injuries were an open flame, scalding liquid, contact burns, electrical burns, or chemical burns. Almost three-fourths of the burn injuries occurred in the home.¹¹

Moderate burn injuries can cost more than $200,000. Severe burn injuries can cost more than $1.5 million. If there are complications, a severe burn injury can cost more than $10 million.

Burn injuries can cause serious damage and require extensive medical treatment. Many patients require special treatment in a specialized burn unit. With serious burn injuries, there is an increased risk of complications, including:

• Psychological complications,
• Disfigurement,
• Skin breakdown,
• Infections, and
• Skin graft failure.

5. Can I file a lawsuit if I suffered a burn injury at work?

If someone is injured on the job, recovery is generally handled through filing a workers’ compensation claim. With workers’ comp, the employee does not have to file a lawsuit or prove negligence.

Workers’ comp is a type of no-fault insurance that pays for the employee’s medical costs and provides partial wage replacement. However, other non-economic damages are generally not available.

In some cases, an employee injured at work may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit if the accident is:

• Caused by a third-party;
• Caused by intentional action to harm the employee;
• Aggravated by something the employer fraudulently conceals; or
• The employer does not have workers’ compensation insurance at the time of the accident.

For questions about burn injuries and burn accident lawsuits or to discuss your case confidentially with one of our skilled California personal injury attorneys, do not hesitate to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We create attorney-client relationships with injury victims every day.

Our law firm has local law offices in and around Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Jose, Oakland, the San Francisco Bay area, and several nearby cities in northern and southern California. Our California burn injury lawyers offer free consultations on your legal options. You can contact us by phone or through our contact form.

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