Burn is an injury caused by heat, cold, electricity, light, radiation or friction.

Burn injury is one of the prevalent causes of unintentional death in some countries.

What are the classifications of burn injuries?

Burn injuries are categorized to certain degrees. It can be:

• First degree burns – superficial burns that only affect the outer layer of the skin
• Second degree burns – involve the first layer of the skin and underneath
• Third degree burns – cover the whole layer of the skin
• Fourth degree burns – involve damage to the bones and tissues. It may result to a condition refer to as compartment syndrome
• Fifth degree burns – This result when most of the hypodermis is lost
• Sixth degree burn – the most fatal of all, this occurs when almost all the skin including the tissues are burned, leaving only the bones

What are the causes of burn injury?

Burns may result from various substances such as exposure to chemicals, electricity, friction, radiation and extreme temperature.

• Chemical burns – These may result from exposure to certain chemicals such as, sodium hydroxide, silver nitrate and to other hazardous substances like hydrofluoric acid
• Electric burns – usually caused by exposure to high voltage of current like being struck by a lightning. This may result to cardiac arrest
• Radiation burns – These are caused by overexposure to UV light like tanning booths, radiation therapy especially for persons undergoing cancer therapy and x-rays
• Scalding – This is caused by hot gasses and liquids
• Cold burns – This is a type of burn caused when the skin is in contact with a very low temperature body

When can you be held liable for burn injury?

Although burn injury is referred to as a cause of unintentional death, it does not mean that an individual cannot be held liable for burn injury. A person can be held liable for burn injury if such is caused through his fault and negligence.

When do you need to engage the service of a burn injury lawyer?

When one of your family members suffers burn injury from other party’s fault, you can consult the services of a lawyer. They are those who can help you facilitate your claim against the wrongdoer. They can also assist you in determining whether you can file a legal action for the injury you suffered or not.

There are times when the party is hesitant to seek the advice of a burn injury lawyer because they believe that such case is unintentional and they even contributed to the happening of the accident.

Well, this may not be the case because even if you think you have contributed in one way or another to the accident there might be other people who have also at fault. And with regards to the latter, you can hold them liable for medical and other monetary liability.

What comprises monetary benefits for burn injury cases?

A victim of a burn injury is entitled to the following monetary benefits.

• Payment of medical bills – This may include past and present medical expense provided it is connected to the injury suffered
• Compensation for lost income
• Vocational Rehabilitation – You are entitled to be re-trained into a new job
• Compensation for pain and suffering – You are entitled to compensation for the pain you endured by reason of the injury
• Loss of consortium – This refers to the compensation when such injury interferes with the injured party’s spousal relation

This loss consortium benefits is different from any other benefits given under this law because this is recoverable by the injured party’s spouse

For more information and immediate legal representation for your burn injury claim, log on to our website and seek the aid of our expert Los Angeles lawyers.