New York Personal Injury Lawyers / Newark Burn Injury Attorneys

Newark Burn Injury Attorney

Severe burn injuries may make you feel as though you’re living in the middle of a nightmare. Not only do burns cause substantial physical pain throughout your recovery, but also they can restrict your mobility and leave you struggling with serious scars long after you recover from your injuries. If you suffered burns due to another party’s negligence, you may need legal assistance as you seek compensation for your injuries. If you suffered from a burn injury contact a Newark Burn Injury attorney at Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, today.

Why Jacoby & Meyers, LLP,?

When you contact Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, you will find an experienced team of personal injury attorneys who have worked with burn victims and their families in the past to maximize the compensation that they ultimately received through their personal injury claims.

Take a look at our past clients and the rewards that some of them have received:

• $4.2 million to the family of an infant burned due to unsafe conditions
• $3.25 million to the family of a fire death victim
• $950,000 to the family of a baby burned due to landlord negligence
• $550,000 settlement due to burns from a gas leak

While these results cannot guarantee a favorable result in your personal injury claim following a burn, when you work with Jacoby & Meyers, LLP, you get an experienced team of attorneys dedicated to ensuring that your legal rights are enforced and protected.

“I had an amazing experience with Jacoby & Meyers, LLP. I would highly recommend them for anyone needing a law firm.” -Paul T.
★★★★★

Understanding Burn Injuries

Burn injuries can vary widely in severity based on the type of burn and how deep the burn progresses through the surrounding tissues. Doctors usually divide burns into four categories, worsening in severity as they progress.

First-degree burns involve only the outer layer of skin, the dermis. First-degree burns usually involve significant redness but no blistering. While victims may have ongoing sensitivity in the skin and may need to avoid heat, sun, and chemical exposure during recovery, they can often make a full recovery.

Second-degree burns involve both the dermis and the layer of skin beneath it, the epidermis. Second-degree burns usually leave victims with redness and some blistering. While second-degree burns do not progress beyond the epidermis, they can still pose a substantial danger to victims. If second-degree burns cover a large percentage of the body, they can lead to a victim’s death. Second-degree burns also have a greater risk of complication if:

• They involve the face
• They occur near joints, which can inhibit mobility both during and after recovery
• They occur in the genital area

Third-degree burns involve both the dermis and the epidermis and may enter the underlying tissue. Third-degree burns cause the greatest physical pain for the victim. Skin may appear charred and black around the burn. Third-degree burns almost always leave substantial scarring behind, even after recovery.

Fourth-degree burns go beyond skin and tissue and may involve muscle and/or bone, depending on the severity and location of the burn. Often, victims of fourth-degree burns feel little to no pain due to the nerve damage that occurs following the burn.

Types of Burns

Burns can occur due to a variety of causes. The type of burn and how it occurs can help you determine who bears legal liability for your accident and injuries.

• Heat burns occur due to exposure to heat or flame. Fires, including fires from improperly maintained buildings, can lead to substantial heat burns. Heat burns may also occur due to exposure to hot or boiling liquids.
• Electrical burns occur when electricity comes into contact with the human body. In some cases, electrical burns can cover a large percentage of the body in a matter of seconds. Electrical burns often include internal injuries as well as the visible external burns.
• Chemical burns occur due to exposure to hazardous chemicals. Many chemicals can cause immediate corrosive damage on contact. Other chemicals can cause burn symptoms simply by being present in the air, especially after continued exposure.
• Friction burns typically occur due to repeated friction in a specific area of the body. Victims of auto accidents with road rash, for example, may experience friction burns as they are dragged across the pavement. Victims may also experience friction burns from harnesses or poorly-maintained equipment on construction sites.
• Radiation burns occur due to exposure to radiation. Often, radiation burns continue to show increased symptoms well after initial exposure.
• Cold burns occur when your skin suffers exposure to extremely high levels of cold. Often, cold burns show much the same symptoms as heat burns. If cold exposure continues long enough, the results can cause symptoms just as severe as heat burns.

Burn Complications

Not only do burns cause a high degree of pain and suffering on their own, but they also carry a substantial risk of complication. In many cases, complications from burns can prolong the recovery period and increase the victim’s suffering.

• Hypothermia. Often, burn victims struggle to properly maintain body temperature following an accident, which can lead to hypothermia. Prolonged hypothermia can cause organ damage or even complete organ failure.
• Infection. Burns often expose a great deal of tissue, which makes it easy to introduce infection into a victim’s body. Infection can prevent a wound from healing, raise the victim’s temperature, and even lead to death in extreme cases.
• Skin breakdown. Many burn victims suffer from skin fragility or skin breakdown around the location of the burn.
• Contracture. Sometimes, during healing, a burned individual’s skin contracts, rather than stretching at its normal elasticity. This can decrease the victim’s mobility and lead to considerable complications.
• Scarring. Severe burns often result in substantial scars. Plastic surgery can help treat those scars, but it does lengthen the duration of the recovery process.
• Psychological complications. Many victims suffer serious psychological complications from their burns: both trauma from the accident itself and complications associated with scarring after the recovery. Many victims have a permanently changed physical appearance due to burn scars.

Seeking Compensation After a Burn Injury

When you suffer a burn injury, your medical costs may mount quickly; in extreme circumstances, including severe burns with infections and other complications during recovery, it may cost more than $10 million to treat your burns. Seeking compensation from the person legally liable for your accident can help provide vitally-needed funds during your recovery.

How Much Compensation Should You Expect to Receive?

Following serious burns, you may need substantial compensation to help you cover your medical expenses. However, two factors may limit the compensation that you can receive for your burns.

1) How much does the insurance policy that covers the liable party offer? Many entities have coverage through an insurance policy that will help provide payment for your injuries. Unfortunately, that policy may also significantly limit the compensation you can receive—particularly since burns often have such high medical costs. If you suffer burns in an auto accident, for example, New Jersey minimum car insurance may provide only $15,000 of coverage for your injuries. Other policies, including premises liability policies and medical malpractice policies, may have higher limits.

2) How much did your burn injuries cost? Even minor burns can have a steep cost of recovery, and the more complications you face, the more the cost of your treatment may rise. You should also consider all of the costs associated with your burns. When filing a personal injury claim following a burn, you will want to consider these expenses:

Medical expenses, including:

• Emergency care and transport
• Hospitalization, which may drag on for a long time for victims of severe burns. Some may require a stay in a special burn unit, where doctors can monitor the risk of contamination and infection.
• Surgeries and treatments. Severe burns may require skin grafts, which may fail in as many as one-third of cases, requiring repeat treatments.
• Occupational therapy, when burn injuries occur around joints or prevent burn victims from moving as freely as they did before the accident
• Physical therapy to help restore mobility and strength, especially after a long hospitalization
• Psychological therapy to cope with trauma from the accident or to help victims learn to cope with the impacts of scarring following their burns.
• In-home assistance to help burn victims care for themselves and their injuries, even after they return home

Lost wages: When you suffer serious burns, it can prevent you from returning to work for a long time. Even relatively minor burns may take up to four weeks to heal. Victims who suffer complications may find themselves out of work even longer. Victims with fresh burns may need to avoid exposure to heat and chemicals as well as engaging in any type of heavy labor. In addition, while you remain hospitalized, you may not complete any of your work responsibilities at all. Even after you return home, you may need time to continue healing before you can return to your full work schedule.

Lost earning potential: Some burns may prevent you from returning to your former profession. For example, if you model or act, scarring from burns could prevent you from fulfilling those roles. Likewise, burns that restrict mobility around joints could prevent you from participating in highly physical jobs to the fullest extent. Claiming lost earning potential can enable you to return to school or gain new certifications, so you can choose a new profession.

Pain and suffering: Burn victims often face significant pain during their recoveries. Burns, especially extensive burns, can cause ongoing pain that victims may struggle to escape. Not only that, victims may suffer significant trauma due to the accident itself or struggle with scarring, which can impact self-esteem and victims’ opinion of themselves or their futures. Burn victims may feel isolated or miss out on activities that they previously enjoyed. Talking with an attorney can help you better understand how your pain and suffering influences your personal injury claim and what you should claim in compensation for your injuries.

Who bears legal liability for my injuries?

Burn injuries may stem from a variety of sources. Who bears legal liability for your injuries following a burn accident will depend on where and how you suffered your burns, as well as what factors contributed to your accident. Burns can come from:

• Medical malpractice
• Premises liability
• Product liability
• Auto accidents
• Construction accidents

To determine who bears legal liability for your injuries, your attorney will ask several key questions, including the following:

Who owed you a duty of care at the time of the accident? If, for example, you suffered burns on a construction site, the construction company responsible for that site, the owner and manufacturer of any equipment on that site, and the owner of the site all owe a duty of care to anyone who uses or moves through that site.

Who violated that duty of care? Suppose you suffered burns due to an injury on a construction site; you, through no fault of your own, came into contact with exposed electrical wiring. No one turned off the electricity. Who violated a duty of care? In some cases, the premises owner might not leave electricity turned off or might provide inaccurate information concerning the location of those open electrical connections. In others, the construction workers might fail to turn off the electricity before working on a specific area.

How did that violation lead to your injuries? To file a personal injury claim, you must prove that the defendant’s breach of his or her duty of care caused or contributed to your accident, leading to your injuries. Sometimes, multiple parties might contribute to your accident.

Working with an attorney can help you identify all parties liable for your injuries. You can then put together a personal injury claim against each one, increasing the compensation you may receive for your injuries and helping you pay your bills following the accident.

Do You Need a Newark Burn Injury Lawyer?

If you suffered serious burn injuries in Newark, having our experienced personal injury attorneys on your side can provide you with advantages: increased peace of mind, an advocate to fight for you, and the knowledge you can move forward efficiently with your claim. Chat with one of Jacoby & Meyers, LLP’s live representatives right now, call us at (973) 643-2707, or send us a message by clicking here for your free case evaluation.

Your Burn Injury Questions Answered

Burn injuries happen frequently. Many burns do not require immediate medical attention, like when you briefly touch a hot stove, though you should still run cool water over this type of burn and apply ointment.

More serious burns can occur in car accidents, building fires, workplace accidents, and countless other places. Burns can occur anywhere on your body, causing serious pain and potentially lifelong damage.

If you or a loved one has suffered a burn injury in Newark, you need to speak with an experienced burn injury lawyer. You may qualify to recover compensation for your injuries. Jacoby & Meyers LLP can guide you on your path to recovery.

At this point, you may not even have considered filing a lawsuit. However, if you don’t act fast, you may miss out on your chance to collect compensation from the negligent party. To help you, we have answered some of the most common questions that we hear from burn injury victims. If you want to speak with a skilled Newark burn injury lawyer to ask more specific questions about your case, contact us today.

Why are burns so painful?

Burns can cause excruciating pain. Burns can damage or destroy the top layer of skin, exposing sensitive nerve endings to the open air. Usually, these nerve endings are protected, but burns remove this protective layer and may result in agonizing pain.

Treating burns is also extremely painful. Because burns expose areas of the body that are normally protected, these areas may require a thorough cleaning. Healthcare professionals may need to scrub and remove harmful fragments. Burn injury victims may receive pain medication to help, but many victims describe this as the most excruciatingly painful experience of their lives.

The irony of painful burns is that if you experience no pain after a burn, you have probably suffered the worst type of burn. That’s because the burn has damaged or destroyed the nerve endings, so you cannot feel the pain. Your body is suffering badly, but you cannot feel the pain, for better or worse. These are third-degree burns, which we will discuss in more detail below.

What are the different degrees of burns?

Burns have different classifications based on the amount of damage that they cause. Damage can range from superficial to complete destruction of body parts.

The higher degree of your burn, the more likely you are to suffer lifelong consequences.

• First-degree burns. First-degree burns are commonly called superficial burns. These are the burns that you sustain when you touch a hot stove or get a mild sunburn. The site of the burn may turn red, it may blister, and it may cause pain. You can treat first-degree burns at home using ointment and pain medication. However, if the burn does not heal or look better within a few days, seek medical attention.
• Second-degree burns. Second-degree burns cause damage a little further down in your body. These burns can destroy the top layer of skin, causing severe pain, and leaving a swollen, red blister. Second-degree burns should receive treatment from a medical professional.
• Third-degree burns. Third-degree burns are the most serious burns. These burns may cause very little pain at the site of the burn because the burns completely destroy the nerves that register pain. Third-degree burns often result from serious accidents, like a motorcycle accident. The site of the burn may appear charred or be completely white. Muscle and bone may face exposure. These burns require immediate medical attention.

How do burn injuries happen?

According to the American Burn Association, over 450,000 serious burn injuries happen in the United States every year. The causes of these burns vary greatly.

The most common causes of burn injuries include:

• Vehicle accidents, especially motorcycle and pedestrian accidents
• Direct exposure to fire or steam
• Touching a hot object
• Airbag deployment
• Chemical burns
• Electrical burns
• Sunburn
• Friction burns

Someone else’s negligence causes many burns. This can make your recovery process even more frustrating because your pain and suffering was entirely avoidable.

That’s why you need to speak with a skilled Newark burn injury attorney as soon as possible after your injury. You may have legal options to hold the negligent party responsible for your burns and can attempt to collect maximum compensation to cover your damages.

How much money should I expect to receive?

The amount of money you can get from the negligent party in a burn injury claim depends on many factors. The more serious your injuries and the more debilitating your injuries, the more money you likely qualify to recover.

Some of the biggest factors relating to the compensation you may receive include:

• Number of medical procedures required
• Length of time you spend in the hospital
• Amount of time you spend out of work
• Amount and type of pain medication required
• Your ability to fully recover
• Your ability to manage your daily activities

The more your burn injuries affect your life, the more compensation you may qualify to receive. If your burns are severe and have caused permanent damage to your body, you can’t return to work, reducing your ability to earn a living. Because this is no fault of yours, your Newark burn injury lawyer may try to get you compensation to cover your expected earning losses over your lifetime.

Your lawyer may also try to get you compensation for:

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of life enjoyment
• Present and future medical bills
• Rehabilitation costs

The amount of money you can get depends on your ability to prove that someone else caused your burns. This burden to prove someone else’s negligence should rest not on your shoulders, but your legal team. It is vital to your ability to collect maximum compensation that you partner with a knowledgeable Newark burn injury lawyer as soon as possible after your burn injury. At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, we have experience negotiating and litigating burn injury cases; reach out to us today to discuss the details of your burn injury.

Do I need to file a claim soon?

Yes, you do not have much time to think about whether to file a lawsuit. Under New Jersey law, you only have two years from the date of your burn injury to sue. That might seem like a long time, but burn injuries are serious and will require your focus, taking your attention away from your legal claim.

That’s why you need to work with an experienced burn injury attorney in Newark. Your lawyer can investigate your accident while you focus your effort and energy on your health and well-being. When you have the peace of mind that your legal advocate is working in your best interest, you can focus your efforts on getting better.

You shouldn’t wait to contact a lawyer. Your attorney needs time to investigate your accident and determine who caused your injuries. In some cases, it might be more than one person or company. This complicates matters and makes it even more vital that your lawyer has adequate time to build a winning case.

What if I was injured at work?

Workplace injuries happen all too frequently. Burn injuries are among the results of workplace accidents. Many of these injuries involve chemical, electrical, and thermal burns.

What makes matters frustrating for workplace accident burn victims is that the burns are usually preventable. Your employer must protect you at work and provide you with a reasonably safe workplace.

Your employer must also carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage. This insurance provides benefits to employees injured on the job, covering medical bills and lost wages while out of work.

Workers’ compensation does not cover all of your suffering. It will not cover your future earnings, it will not cover your rehabilitation, and it will not cover your scarring or disfigurement costs. If you are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits from your employer, however, you cannot also file a lawsuit against your employer for additional damages, which may put you in a tough spot.

When this happens, you have options. Many workplace injuries are caused by more than just your direct employer. Often, workplace burn injuries can be traced back to another company or individual. This is referred to as third-party liability.

Examples of this could include the manufacturer of a defective product that you used on the job, the owner of the property where you suffered injuries, or a vendor or subcontractor who acted negligently. The damages that you receive from these third parties can be in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits.

Working with a skilled burn injury lawyer in Newark can help you sort through these legal options and find the right path to collect maximum compensation. Speaking with a legal representative as soon as possible after your injury gives your legal team time to investigate your accident and determine all of the possible parties who contributed to your burn injuries.

How do I prove someone else caused my burn injuries?

Proving that someone else caused your burn injuries is more complex than simply pointing the finger.

You must prove:

• Someone else owed you a duty of care to keep you safe.
• That party breached that duty of care by acting negligently.
• That negligence resulted in an accident.
• You suffered a burn injury in the accident.

Proving these elements will require an intense investigation of your accident. It may also require the use of burn experts. Your lawyer may have resources to help investigate your accident. These experts do nothing but review accidents where victims suffer burn injuries, determining who is to blame.

Your lawyer may also work with medical experts to determine your prognosis. This information can prove vital to your legal team’s ability to get you maximum compensation. Your lawyer needs to know whether you can return to work, how long your burn injury will take to heal, and whether you will suffer permanent damage. Taking all of this information together, your legal team can advocate for your best interests.

Will my case settle?

Most Newark burn injury cases do settle outside of court, but that does not mean that you should avoid working with a lawyer. A burn injury attorney with proven success helping other burn victims recover compensation for their injuries can help you increase your settlement.

Burn injury victims want to put the legal process and headache behind them as quickly as possible. We get it. You just want to get better and get back to your regular life.

Part of getting back to your normal life, however, includes making sure that you do not end up in financial trouble because of your injuries. That requires ensuring that you pursue compensation to cover the full cost of your injuries.

Soon after your burn accident, you may get a call from the insurance company representing the at-fault party. You may get excited by the opportunity for a quick settlement.

However, you should tread carefully here. Insurance companies often have ulterior motives that aren’t focused on helping you get compensation to cover the costs of your injuries. They want to make you go away for as little money as possible. They may tell you that the settlement offer is only good today. They may say that you don’t need a lawyer. They may even tell you that it’s the best they can do, and that if you wait, the offer will only go down.

These are all lies.

A seasoned Newark burn injury attorney knows the games that insurance companies play and knows how to combat them for your benefit. At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, we stand up to the big insurance companies and work tirelessly to increase your settlement so that you do not have to pay a penny out of your own pocket.

Why do I need a lawyer?

You have enough to deal with right now. You need to focus on recovering from your burn injury. Your Newark personal injury legal team can focus on getting you maximum compensation, so you do not pay any money out of your own pocket to get better.

Choosing a legal advocate to protect your rights and represent your best interests is vital to your ability to recover. The legal team at Jacoby & Meyers LLP has legal experience and a network of resources to help you get back on your feet.

CONTACT us today to learn more about how we can help you hold the negligent party responsible for your burn injuries and work to recover maximum compensation.

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Newark Office

550 Broad Street suite 608
Newark NJ 07102
973-643-2707

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