Pennsylvania Burn Victim Attorney

Victims of explosion and fire accidents can suffer severe physical and emotional trauma and require round-the-clock medical care. Once the burn injury is treated, there may also be an extensive recovery time, which could mean several weeks or even months being out of work. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a fire accident caused by negligence, it is important to have an experienced personal injury attorney on your side.

At Caroselli, Beachler & Coleman, L.L.C., we have been successfully representing personal injury victims throughout Pennsylvania since 1972. Our experienced attorneys are here to help you pursue compensation for the medical bills, lost wages and other hardships you have suffered due to a fire injury. Contact our office for a free consultation to review your case and go over your legal rights and options.

Fire Accidents and Burn Injuries

Explosion and fire accidents can result in varying degrees of burn injuries:

• First-Degree Burns: This is the mildest type of burn injury, only affecting the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). A first-degree burn can happen from something like overexposure to the sun or momentarily touching a flame. Although painful at first, these types of burns can usually be treated with home remedies and without the need for intensive medical care.
• Second-Degree Burns: These are more serious burns that affect both the epidermis and the second layer of skin, known as the dermis. A second-degree burn can result in blistering, blotchy skin, more significant pain, and sometimes infections as well. These types of burns often require medical treatment, which could include sterilization, cooling, and skin transplants that cover the burned areas. Recovery time from second-degree burns can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the severity.
• Third-Degree Burns: This is a very serious type of burn injury that penetrates three layers of skin and causes damage to the layer of fat that is underneath the skin, often resulting in the skin becoming blackened or charred. A third-degree burn might actually be less painful than a second-degree burn, but that is because of the nerve damage that occurs, which results in loss of sensation/numbness in the affected areas. Third-degree burns require immediate medical care and can sometimes result in permanent disfigurement and scarring.
• Fourth-Degree Burns: A rarer type of burn injury, fourth-degree burns are extremely serious injuries in which the burn penetrates all layers of skin and the fat beneath the skin, causing damage to the muscle and bone. A fourth-degree burn completely destroys the nerve endings, and the victim is not able to feel anything at all in the affected area. This type of injury can result in multi-system organ failure and in many cases it can be life-threatening.

In addition to burn injuries that penetrate the skin, fires and explosions can also cause injuries that result from inhalation of smoke and other toxins.

Fire and explosion injuries can happen for a variety of reasons, some of the most common causes include:

• Faulty electrical wiring
• Defective appliances
• Gas explosions
• Chemical leaks
• Improper installation of machinery
• Installation of flammable materials in construction
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Building fires

Other Types of Burn Injuries

Open flames from fires and explosions are just more of the ways that someone can end up with a burn injury. Some of the other ways include:

• Friction Burns: This type of burn happens when a harder object rubs off against the skin, causing an abrasion/scrape that generates heat and results in a burn. Common causes of this type of injury include carpet burns, rope burns, and motorcycle accidents in which part of the body is ground up against an abrasive surface.
• Chemical Burns: A chemical leak can result in an explosion and fire, but a strong chemical that touches the skin can also cause a severe burn.
• Electrical Burns/Electrocution: Serious burn injuries can happen from the skin coming in contact with an electrical current, commonly known as an electrocution.
• Thermal Burns: This type of burn injury happens when the skin touches a hot object, such as a stove burner. Thermal burns can be caused by steam as well.
• Radiation Burns: Sunburn is the most common type of radiation burn, but it can also be caused by x-rays or radiation therapy during cancer treatment.
• Cold Burns: Sometimes, the polar opposite of extreme heat causes a burn injury known as frostbite. Pennsylvanians are very familiar with the potential for this type of injury on extremely cold winter days when the skin is not covered properly by gloves, a scarf, or hat.

Pursuing a Burn Injury Claim in Pennsylvania

Burn injuries are especially painful and can leave victims with steep bills for medical treatment, physical therapy and rehabilitation. And as we talked about earlier, victims are often out of work for an extended period of time, resulting in very tight finances and a lot of anxiety and worry for the family.

Our attorneys will work with you personally to determine your short-term and long-term medical needs and calculate all of your other economic losses. We will also help you evaluate the intangible costs of the injury, such as the physical pain-and-suffering you are forced to endure, the psychological distress of not knowing when the pain will end and you will be able to go back to normal, and the inability to participate in activities you once enjoyed.

We will do everything in our power to help you obtain full and fair compensation for all of the losses you have sustained. We will handle all of the complicated legal tasks, and we will negotiate directly with the responsible party or their insurance company.

Most personal injury cases end up settling without litigation as this is usually in everyone’s best interest. That said, if the other side is not willing to be reasonable, we are ready and able to take your case to trial and pursue full damages.

Burn injury victims should be aware that Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for most personal injury cases. And if your claim is against a government entity, the deadline is much shorter, usually between 30 and 180 days.

If you fail to file a claim within the allotted timeframe, your case will most likely be thrown out of court. For this reason, it is in your best interests to get an attorney involved sooner rather than later, so your right to recover full and fair compensation is not jeopardized.

Contact an Experienced Pittsburgh Burn Injury Attorney

Have you or someone close to you been injured in a fire-related accident? Contact us today online or by telephone at 412-567-1232 or toll free at 866-466-5789 to speak with an experienced Pittsburgh fire lawyer. Initial consultations are free and confidential.