Burn injuries are some of the most excruciatingly painful types of serious injuries you can experience after an accident. If your injuries have consumed your life, and you do not know where to turn for help, a reputable burn injury lawyer in Detroit, MI, at Davis Injury Lawyers, PLLC, could help.
With our firm fighting for your rights, you can begin to heal from the trauma you endured due to your accident. Contact our office for a free consultation today at (313) 462-7979 to learn more about what you can expect from the burn injury claims process.
How Do Burn Injuries Occur?
Burn injuries occur in many ways. For example, car accidents could result in uncontrollable fires, putting you and other bystanders in danger. In other cases, your job might have an increased risk for burns if you constantly handle chemicals.
Some ways these burn injuries occur include the following:
- Exploding pressure cookers
- Road rash, including friction burns
- Defective water heaters
- Radiation burns caused by a medical error
- Surgical fires
- Chemical burns
- Steam burns
How Does Michigan Categorize Burns?
Burns are categorized into degrees, from 1 to 3, with first-degree burns being the least severe and third-degree burns being the most powerful.
- First-degree burns — These burns do not cause blisters but are still painful. They may leave scars but often do not require substantial medical intervention.
- Second-degree burns — These burns are excruciating and require skin grafts due to severe nerve damage.
- Third-degree burns — These burns are often permanently scarring and may never fully heal.
Less common are fourth-degree burns. These can burn down to the muscle and bone of the affected area. Nerve endings here are destroyed, which means fourth-degree burns are not painful, but can be disfiguring.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
You have the right to pursue compensation for all your damages when you have suffered burn injuries. Since burn injuries could have a lasting impact on your life due to disfigurement, permanent scarring, and severe emotional trauma from the accident, you can expect to be compensated reasonably for your suffering.
Not only can you be awarded compensation for the emotional trauma you experienced, but you may also be compensated for your loss of income and all the medical expenses related to your burn injuries. This might include the costs of corrective surgery, future burn treatment, co-pays, prescription medications, and any future medical care.
In some instances, you may be awarded punitive damages as well. However, punitive damages are only awarded when the courts find the defendant’s conduct reprehensible, intolerable, or grossly negligent.
How Long Do You Have to File?
To move forward with a burn injury claim, you must do so before the statute of limitations runs out. Under Michigan Compiled Laws §600.5805, you have three years from the date of your burn injury to get your lawsuit filed before this deadline expires.
However, this deadline could be limited to two years in instances of medical malpractice or extended if a minor child has suffered burn injuries. If you are unsure when the statute of limitations will expire for your burn injury claim, do not hesitate to contact our office to get the legal answers and support you have been looking for.
Get Help from a Michigan Burn Injury Lawyer Today
Having an experienced Michigan burn injury lawyer advocating for your rights could make all the difference in the outcome of your case. Establishing negligence and proving the value of your damages will be essential if you hope to get the most out of your claim.
Schedule your free consultation with our Davis Injury Lawyers, PLLC team to get started on your case. You can fill out our convenient contact form or call our office at (313) 462-7979 to take advantage of this opportunity today.