New Hampshire Burn Injury Attorneys

Have You Suffered a Severe Burn Injury? Call (888) 801-9916.

With more than 450,000 United States residents requiring medical care for serious burn injuries every year, the lack of burn prevention and safety has become a major public health issue from coast to coast. Many of these burn injuries result from negligence committed by another person, company or corporation, despite the countless burn safety efforts of advocates and government entities.

If your serious burn injury was caused by another party, there is a strong chance that the option to file a legal claim is open to you. A successful legal claim can result in compensation for the damages related to your burn injury, such as hospital bills, lost earnings, disability accommodations for the long or short term, physical and psychological therapies, and pain and suffering, among others.

Contact Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. online to schedule an appointment with a New Hampshire burn injury lawyer. Initial consultations are completely free and confidential.

Why File a Burn Injury Case?

At Shaheen & Gordon, P.A., our lawyers genuinely understand that money cannot make up for the trauma of a burn injury, but that does not mean that you should let the negligent party get away with their actions and leave you to foot the bill. Holding them liable through the civil justice system could, at best, make them legally responsible for all related costs and result in you finding closure over what happened. At worst, you will know that they were required to at least answer for what happened, which could go a long way toward protecting other people from being similarly injured.

How Much Is a Burn Injury Case Worth?

Each burn injury case is unique, so it is nearly impossible to say how much a case is worth without knowing all the details. The severity of the burn, who caused it, how gross the negligence was and even the location of the burn site on the burn victim’s body will be considered when computing the value of the claim. Thus, it is important to consider the type of burn you sustained and how and by whom negligence was committed to determine whether a legal claim will be of value to you and your physical recovery.

Degrees of Burn Injuries

To determine their severity, medical professionals categorize burns in the following degrees:

• First degree: Minor burns that only injure the epidermis (top layer of skin). Sunburns are common types of first-degree burns.
• Second degree: Moderate burns that affect the epidermis and the dermis (the second layer of skin), characterized by swollen, bright red, shiny and wet-looking skin. Often, blisters will manifest at the burn site.
• Third degree: Severe burns that injure two full layers of skin, also known as “full thickness burns,” and some nerve endings. They are characterized by blackened, yellowed or whitened skin.
• Fourth degree: The most severe burn, these life-threatening burns destroy every layer of the skin and may damage some muscles, tendons and even bones.

There are other degrees of burn injuries beyond the fourth degree, but these burns are so severe that they are not considered survivable.

Common Examples of Negligence in Burn Injury Cases

Burn injuries can result from innumerable situations and circumstances, from a defective product or hazardous property that poses the risk of electrical burns, to dangerous chemical exposure on the job or at home. There are radiation burns, such as those from X-rays, and the commonplace thermal burn from hot objects, scalding liquids, steam and open flames. Severe burn injuries can even result from exposure to freezing temperatures, such as in the case of cold burns, or “frostbite.”

Therefore, the party responsible for the burn injury may be another person, employer, medical professional, landlord, electrician or product manufacturer, distributor or designer. As such, burn injury cases can fall under a catalog of other practice areas. When hiring legal representation, it is advisable to choose a burn injury team with additional experience in the other legal practice area involved so it can effectively and efficiently assist you in establishing negligence and asserting your claim. For example, if you were burned because of faulty electrical wiring in your apartment, an attorney team well-versed in premises liability law and burn injury law would be the best option.

Experienced Burn Injury Lawyers in New Hampshire

Shaheen & Gordon, P.A. is skilled in a wide variety of practice areas in addition to burn injury law, which is why we have been able to help so many burn victims injured by negligence. In a free consultation, we will discuss the value and strength of your claim to help you determine what the best course of action is for you.

Learn more about how we can help you! Call a New Hampshire and Maine burn injury attorney at (888) 801-9916 today.