Understanding Your Legal Rights After Suffering a 4th-Degree Burn

A 4th-degree burn is the most severe burn injury possible, destroying the skin and damaging the underlying tissues. After someone suffers these life-threatening burns, they will require intensive, specialized medical treatment. They will also likely have permanent disfigurement and disabilities.

These medical problems take a toll on your finances and quality of life. If your injuries resulted from someone else’s negligent acts, you have the legal right to seek compensation.

Causes and Consequences of 4th-Degree Burns

Burns occur when a chemical or physical reaction damages or destroys tissues. Common types of burns include the following:

• Thermal Burn: Results from contact with hot liquids, solids, or gases
• Combustion Burn: Occurs when flames ignite your body
• Chemical Burn: Caused by caustic materials like acids, solvents, and oxidizers
• Radiation Burn: Caused by energetic particles and radioactive materials
• Electrical Burn: Results from electrical current and localized heating

1st- and 2nd-degree burns damage the upper two layers of skin, called the epidermis and dermis. A 3rd-degree burn destroys the dermis and epidermis. It’s also known as a “full-thickness burn.”

4th-degree burns go even deeper. With the dermis and epidermis destroyed, the underlying connective tissues holding the skin to the musculoskeletal system have no protection from damage or destruction.

Muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other structures below the connective tissues can also suffer damage from a 4th-degree burn. If the cause of the burns is not stopped, even the bone could burn.

Severe Burn Symptoms

When a burn destroys your skin, bacteria can enter the body, causing infections. Equally importantly, water can escape, leading to dehydration.

The dermis carries the nerve endings that detect touch sensations and transmit them to the brain. When a burn destroys this layer, you experience no sensations through your skin, including pain.

The dermis also carries blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the skin cells. To help the skin regrow, doctors may perform skin graft surgery. While skin grafts can encourage healing, they can also produce disfiguring scars.

Finally, when soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments get burned, they develop scar tissue. The scarred areas become less elastic and pliable. They can shrink, forming contractures. For example, contractures in a severely burned hand might permanently clench it into a fist.

Proving Negligence in 4th-Degree Burn Cases

Negligence is a legal concept designed to hold people responsible for unintentional acts resulting from that person’s failure to exercise the appropriate care. For example, suppose that someone runs a red light and hits a semitruck that’s hauling gasoline. The fuel could ignite, severely burning the truck driver.

In this case, the driver did not intend to hurt the truck driver. However, the financial burden should fall on the person who caused the car accident rather than the innocent truck driver.

Negligence was designed for just such a situation. Negligence means someone failed to exercise reasonable care and injured someone else in the process. The law measures reasonableness by comparing the person’s actions to those of a reasonably careful person in the same situation.

The following examples of negligence could lead to severe burns:

• Landlord forgetting to test the smoke detectors before a new tenant moves in
• Contractor installing a light fixture incorrectly, creating an electrical short
• Cleaning company storing lye in water bottles under a customer’s sink

Proving negligence requires evidence, including the following:

• Physical Evidence: Like a scorched light switch
• Documentary Evidence: Such as security videos or maintenance records
• Testimonial Evidence: Given by an eyewitness

Your burn injury attorney will gather the evidence to explain how the at-fault party caused your severe burns.

Compensation Available for Burn Victims

You can seek compensation for economic and non-economic costs resulting from your burns. Economic losses include medical expenses and income losses from your injuries. These costs may be significant since severe burns often require multiple surgeries.

Non-economic losses encompass the impacts on your quality of life. Severe burns may cause mental anguish and disfigurement. They may disable you, and the treatments may cause you pain.

The Role of a Skilled Burn Injury Attorney

A personal injury lawyer listens to your story and develops a legal strategy to hold the liable party accountable for causing your injuries. This process begins by gathering evidence to support your claim against the at-fault party. The lawyer may engage an expert witness to analyze evidence and testify for you.

Your case will probably start with an insurance claim. The insurer assigns the claim to an adjuster for investigation. Your lawyer will negotiate for a fair settlement if the adjuster accepts the claim.

However, if the adjuster denies the claim, your lawyer will file a lawsuit against the responsible party. Most cases settle, but the attorneys on both sides must be prepared to present evidence and legal arguments at trial if needed.

FAQ

Is a Fourth-Degree Burn the Worst?

Yes. A fourth-degree burn is the most severe you can suffer. It destroys every layer of the skin and damages or destroys the soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It may even damage or destroy bone tissue.

Do I Need a Burn Injury Lawyer?

You can always represent yourself. But insurance companies may fight burn cases to avoid paying your enormous losses. Consider hiring experienced and knowledgeable burn injury lawyers to stand up to insurers and guide your case through the injury claim process.

How Much Is a Burn Injury Settlement?

Burn injury settlements can be significant because of the many long-term effects of severe burns. Your settlement should cover both the financial costs of the burn, such as surgeries and therapies, and its impact on your quality of life. This includes the resulting pain, disfigurement, and disabilities.

Contact Our Experienced Attorneys Today

A fourth-degree burn is one of the most catastrophic injuries you can suffer. A lawyer from Commonwealth Law Group can help you assert your legal right to financial compensation by proving another party’s liability for your burn injuries. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you.