Burns may represent some of the most devastating injuries a patient can suffer. Not only do they bring with them substantial pain and suffering in the immediate aftermath of an accident, but they also have a high rate of complication.
Beyond suffering, victims may face growing medical bills from specialists, all while work is impossible and finances become alarmingly tight.
If you suffered serious injuries in a burn incident due to someone else’s negligence, you need a Clearwater burn injury lawyer on your side.
Perenich Law Injury Attorneys can help give you a better idea of what your claim and your right to compensation might look like following an accident. Contact our knowledgeable personal injury attorneys today.
Perenich Law Injury Attorneys: Helping Clearwater Burn Injury Victims Pursue Compensation
Finding an experienced burn injury lawyer in Clearwater to represent you is paramount in the aftermath of a serious burn accident. You want to know that you have a dedicated attorney on your side who can provide comprehensive legal assistance, support you as you manage your claim, and help you feel confident about the damages you ultimately recover, including any settlement offer you might accept.
Perenich Law Injury Attorneys can help. Our team of attorneys, including Gregory J. Perenich, Timothy Perenich, and Terence Perenich, has extensive experience dealing with various personal injury cases throughout the Clearwater area.
From the time they founded Perenich Law Injury Attorneys in 2004, the brothers have brought their considerable legal knowledge and determination to each claim as they continue the legacy begun by their father, a man who taught his children about speaking out as a voice for injured individuals. Those lessons form the foundation of Perenich Law Injury Attorneys.
We make sure our clients know their rights following serious burns in Clearwater.
Following an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you may have the right to compensation. Unfortunately, all too many burn injury victims have no idea how much compensation they deserve or how to go about pursuing it. At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we ensure that our clients understand their rights, from how much compensation to expect from a Clearwater burn injury claim to who may bear liability for those injuries.
We help collect the vital evidence our clients need to pursue their claims.
Pursuing any burn injury claim may mean gathering extensive evidence to help establish who actually caused the accident. Did a negligent landlord know that the water heater in the building got too hot? Did a negligent business owner fail to install adequate fire safety exits or smoke detectors that would help protect visitors to the property?
At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, our diligent Clearwater burn injury lawyers help collect that vital evidence and put together a compelling claim that can make it much easier for you to pursue the compensation you deserve.
We provide our clients with our extensive negotiating experience both in and out of the courtroom.
Much of the personal injury claim process focuses on extensive negotiation. While the insurance company may attempt to deny the full compensation our clients deserve, we help with the negotiation process to increase the compensation offered by the insurance company. If needed, we help our clients take their claims to court and fight aggressively to help them recover damages for their burns.
Types of Clearwater Burn Injuries
While the hot Clearwater sun may lead to a high risk of sunburn, most of the time, that does not occur due to the negligence of an outside party—and usually, it resolves relatively quickly. However, other types of burns can cause a much higher level of damage.
Heat Burns
Most people, when they think of burns, call heat burns to mind. While heat burns can occur due to direct exposure to flames, they may also occur because of exposure to heated items, including metal or hot water.
Cold Burns
Extreme cold can cause the same symptoms as a heat burn, including blistered skin and extreme pain. Most of the time, cold burns occur because of longer-term exposure to cold, but they can occur quickly when the victim faces exposure to immense cold directly on the skin.
Chemical Burns
Chemical burns occur when the victim faces exposure to caustic chemicals. While some chemicals may cause burns immediately on contact, others may continue to burn the victim over time. Failure to remove the caustic chemical can cause that burning to continue long after the initial incident. Caustic chemicals can include those commonly used in construction or around the house. Sometimes, even cleaning chemicals can cause burns when patients get exposed to them in high quantities.
Radiation Burns
Radiation burns may occur in medical settings or due to exposure to radiation, often in a scientific environment. Sunburns technically count as a type of radiation burn.
Electrical Burns
Electrical burns commonly happen around construction sites, job sites, or while at work. Electrical burns can prove particularly difficult to manage since they may cause more than just surface damage. Victims with electrical burns may have organ damage or severe internal injuries, even with only relatively minor burns visible on the skin. Victims who have suffered electrical burns should seek medical attention immediately, even if they think they have sustained only minor burns.
Friction Burns
Friction burns occur when the skin’s surface scrapes across another object, including the ground or a machine, very rapidly or roughly. Friction burns can strip away skin’s protective layer just as quickly as an actual burn. In some cases, including road rash, friction burns may leave more foreign matter in the burn, raising the risk of infection.
The Challenges Represented by Burns in Clearwater
When you suffer burns, your injuries can lead to substantial complications in many areas of your life.
Your medical bills may add up fast.
Burn injuries have a high rate of complication and frequently require extensive treatment. For example, many burn victims spend a long time in a burn unit at the hospital, where they have a decreased risk of infections. Others may need to undergo multiple skin grafts, in which skin gets transplanted to cover the burned area. Skin grafts have a high rate of failure, and some burn victims may need to go through several skin grafts before the procedure takes.
You may have to miss a great deal of time at work.
Burns can prove tricky. Sometimes, they cause immense pain, which may require you to remain out of work until you have a chance to recover. You may take considerable pain medications, which may also interfere with your ability to work. Burns can also prevent you from using the injured area of the body effectively. Sometimes, burn injuries can go deep enough to impact muscle or even bone, which may further decrease your usual capability while recovering.
You may need help taking care of even basic self-care tasks.
While recovering from your buns, you may have a hard time getting around on your own. You may need help bathing or rely on sponge baths to help get clean, especially if you have injuries that you cannot get wet due to the healing process. You may need help keeping up with the house. Burns prove particularly sensitive to heat during the early stages of recovery, so you may lose the ability to cook, bathe, or clean using warm water. You may need considerable help getting around.
For many burn victims, that loss of independence poses a significant emotional burden. It may also lead to substantial financial costs, particularly in cases where you might have to hire someone else to help you take care of those tasks.
You may miss out on your usual leisure activities.
Serious burns not only make it hard for you to take care of yourself or work, they may interfere with the leisure activities you prefer. You may need to keep the burned skin out of the sun while recovering, which may significantly limit your outdoor time in Clearwater’s sunny, hot climate. Getting those injuries hot may also cause increased pain. Furthermore, your burns may prevent you from engaging in many of the activities you typically prefer.
Recovering Compensation for Clearwater Burns: What To Expect
You suffered burns in an accident due to another party’s negligence. Now what? Working with a capable Clearwater burn injury attorney at Perenich Law Injury Attorneys can help you feel much more confident as you move forward with your burn injury claim.
Who bears liability for your burn accident?
The liable party for your burn injury will depend on whose negligent actions led to your injuries.
Burns can occur due to many scenarios, including:
- Car accidents
- Unmarked electrical cables
- Construction site accidents
- Fires in rental properties or businesses
- Kitchen accidents
- Defective products
- In the home (in fact, 80 to 90 percent of burns occur in the home)
Determining who bears liability for your burn injury will depend on several factors. Your dedicated burn injury accident lawyer in Clearwater will ask several questions to help get a better look at who may have caused or contributed to your burn accident and injuries.
Who bore a duty of care to you at the time of the accident?
To establish liability for a burn injury, your diligent lawyer will take a look at who bore a duty of care to you at the time of the incident. For example, landlords bear a duty of care to their tenants: they must provide a safe living environment, including taking care of any potential challenges or repairs quickly and ensuring that they do not face undue burn hazards.
How did the liable party violate that duty of care?
Your burn injury claim hinges on an act of negligence or carelessness that led to your injuries. For example, a landlord who failed to repair a water heater that tends to run way too hot or a business that fails to install adequate fire safety equipment has committed an act of negligence against anyone that enters those buildings. Likewise, if you have a kitchen stove that malfunctions, or a pot that explodes, leading to serious burns, you may have grounds to show a clear violation of that duty of care.
How did that violation cause your injuries?
Finally, your proactive attorney will work to establish that the liable party’s negligent actions led to your injuries. To file a burn injury claim, you will need to show that you suffered burns in the accident due to the other party’s direct negligence: for example, that too-hot water heater or the exploding pot that led to your injuries.
How much compensation can you recover for burn injuries?
At Perenich Law Injury Attorneys, we cannot guarantee the compensation you will recover from your burn accident. Your compensation may depend on the specific insurance policy that covers the party that caused your injuries as well as the extent of the damages you faced from the accident.
However, in general, your burn injury claim will include compensation for the same general elements.
- Your medical costs. You may have everything from emergency medical costs to a long-term stay in a burn unit, which you can include as part of your burn injury claim.
- Your lost income during your recovery. If you permanently lose the ability to work in your position due to your burns, you may have the right to claim lost earning potential.
- Your pain and suffering.
Do You Need a Clearwater Burn Injury Attorney?
If you suffered serious burns in an accident due to another party’s negligence, you may deserve compensation. Do not try to handle your claim on your own, which could leave you scrambling to deal with insurance companies and handle the other challenges that come along with your road to recovery. Instead, reach out to a Clearwater personal injury lawyer at Perenich Law Injury Attorneys for your free consultation.
(727) 669-2828
