Burn Injuries

Accident Attorneys Helping Victims in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Beyond

Burn injuries may be devastating for accident victims. They range from first-degree burns, which are superficial, to fourth-degree burns, which are so deep that they damage the muscles, bones, and tendons beneath the skin. Often, they are quite painful, and they may leave accident victims feeling isolated. If you suffered burns due to someone else’s negligence or misconduct, you should consult an injury attorney to seek compensatory damages for the losses that you have suffered. At Kramer & Pollack, our Bronx burn injury lawyers provide aggressive and knowledgeable assistance to accident victims in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and elsewhere in New York City.

Bringing a Burn Injury Claim

What you will need to prove to recover compensation for burn injuries caused by someone else depends on the circumstances involved. If burns result from a motor vehicle collision, the accident victim must usually prove the defendant’s negligence. This requires the victim to establish that a defendant failed to use reasonable care, and because of that failure, the victim suffered injuries. For example, a truck driver who drives while abusing controlled substances may not react quickly enough to an emergency, resulting in a fiery crash. The driver’s drug use would be considered a failure to use reasonable care.

Burn injuries also may result from dangerous property conditions. In most cases, if you are hurt due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, you will need to prove that you were a lawful visitor on the premises, the property owner negligently addressed or failed to address the dangerous condition, and the failure to address the danger caused your injury. Generally, establishing a property owner’s liability depends on your proving actual or constructive notice, which means that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. Addressing the danger would mean repairing it or providing warnings to visitors.

For example, if there have been multiple complaints to a building manager about the smell of gas, the property owner needs to investigate them. The complaints serve as actual or constructive notice of a hazardous condition. In a case that our burn injury lawyers handled, four sisters and their mother suffered burns and required life support after a superintendent was advised of the smell of gas multiple times. He went to investigate but did not smell gas, and he advised the tenants to call the local utility. After the explosion, the fire marshal indicated that a faulty flexible gas line may have been the cause of the leak. The longer that a hazardous condition exists on a property, the more likely it is that the owner should have known about the condition and repaired it or issued warnings.

The damages in burn injury cases may be substantial. They may include pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical bills, lost wages, emotional distress, scars, disfigurement, and household services. Often, the scarring and disfigurement experienced by burn injury victims are significant. Each case is different, and your choice of attorney may make a significant difference with respect to the amount of damages that you receive.

Consult a Burn Injury Attorney in the Bronx or Brooklyn

Our attorneys are dedicated to preparing your case thoroughly for trial. Prior to becoming plaintiff’s lawyers, we worked for major insurance companies and the City of New York, and we can put our insights from that past experience to work for you. Our Bronx burn injury lawyers can investigate to determine how your burns happened and develop a strategy to seek compensation for them. It is crucial to start investigating right away so that the evidence to support your claim does not disappear. We represent people who need a premises liability lawyer or representation in other personal injury claims in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Long Island, as well as other areas of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Contact us at 212-ANSWERS or via our online form to set up a free appointment.