Burns are one of the most common types of serious injuries in the United States. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that several million Americans suffer serious burn injuries annually. Burns are notoriously painful and any degree of burn injury can cause extreme suffering. Often, recovering from a burn necessitates a significant amount of time for rehabilitation. Additionally, healing from a burn can become expensive. Surgeries and other medical treatment may be needed. In California, burn injuries caused by the legal negligence of another party are owed full and fair compensation. If you have sustained a serious burn injury, contact an experienced Sacramento burn injury lawyer today to discuss your legal options.

Common Types of Burns

Burns can be caused in several different ways. The most common type of burn injury is a burn caused by a fire or an open flame. Flames cause almost 50 percent of serious US burn injuries. The next most frequent cause of burns is scalding. Scalding burns occur when hot liquid or steam contacts the skin. About 33 percent of burns are caused by scalding. Other less common, but still not unusual, causes of burns include: thermal burns (meaning contact with a very hot object) chemical burns, burns related to inhaling smoke, and burns caused by electricity. Any type of burn can be caused by the negligence of another person, if you have been injured by another party’s negligence then you should seek the professional assistance of personal injury lawyer.

Liability for Burn Injuries in California

Successfully recovering fair compensation for an injury is generally done by proving the negligence of another party. Burn injury negligence has four basic elements:

•   Duty- You must prove that another party had a legal obligation to provide you with a reasonably prudent standard of care.
•   Breach- You must prove that the other party breached their obligation to provide the prudent standard of care.
•   Causation- You must establish a link between the breach and your injury.
•   Damages– You must show the full extent of the damage you sustained.

The legal terminology can sound confusing, so consider an example of a hot cup of coffee. Consumers expect their coffee to be hot when they purchase it, if you spill your coffee and slightly burn yourself, it does not mean that anyone has done anything wrong. But, imagine that you purchase a cup of coffee that is so hot that spilling it causes you serious third-degree burns. These burns put you in the hospital for a week and cause permanent disfigurement. That is exactly what happened in a famous 1994 case involving Mcdonald’s. McDonald’s was warned several times that they were serving coffee that was much too hot, and their coffee presented an unreasonable risk to consumers. No one expects spilled coffee to cause permanent disfigurement or to require skin grafting. That was an unreasonably dangerous action by Mcdonald’s, and that is negligence on their part.

Contact An Experienced Sacramento Burn Injury Lawyer

Burn injuries can have devastating consequences and they deserve fair compensation. Negligent parties must be held responsible for their actions. The experienced California personal injury lawyers at the Teal Law Group fight hard for burn injury victims. Contact our office today to schedule a free case review.

Santa Rosa Office: 707-525-1212 Sacramento Office: 916-448-1010