Most burn injuries are minor and clear up on their own over time, often without even leaving a scar. However, if you are involved in a fire or explosion, or if you work with dangerous chemicals, your injuries may be much more serious—and the treatment for those injuries may be much more serious and costly as well.
When an accident that causes you injury is the fault of someone else, you may be able to seek compensation for your damages with the help of a qualified personal injury attorney. If you suffer a severe burn, consider seeking legal assistance and advice from a Chicago burn injury lawyer with experience in local civil law.
Proving Negligence in Burn Injury Cases
When a burn injury victim wishes to file a lawsuit to seek compensation for their injuries, they must prove negligence on the part of the defendant in their case. In the context of civilly compensable injuries, negligence may appear in many forms.
For instance, a car accident caused by a drunk driver may result in an explosion or a fire inside the vehicle they hit. In this case, driving under the influence of alcohol would be considered negligent behavior, so that driver could be held liable for any resulting burn injuries.
If a fire in an apartment building causes injury due to faulty smoke detectors, the fault could lie with a property owner who did not check that the smoke detectors were working properly. Alternatively, it could lie with the manufacturer of the smoke detectors who was responsible for ensuring the alarms were free of defects prior to installation.
Given the range of potential factors that could contribute to causing an accident, determining negligence is not always easy. A burn injury lawyer in Chicago could help prove this negligence by working with the injured individual, gathering police reports and reports from the fire department, and even hiring experts to investigate the accident further and determine who was at fault.
Ensuring a Claim is Not Thrown Out of Court
Even when negligence can be proven, a burn injury case may still be thrown out of court if certain procedures—which Chicago courts are very strict about—are not followed. If a plaintiff fails to uphold these procedures, a judge could dismiss a case before the injured individual receives the compensation they need.
A plaintiff may help ensure their personal injury claim is valid by gathering receipts related to the cost of their injury in order to prove the fair amount of compensation they may be eligible for. They could also submit a lost wages form to their employer in order to validate the loss of income they suffered as a result of the injury.
Most importantly, plaintiffs must file their lawsuits on time. Like most personal injury cases, burn injury cases have a statute of limitations—or time limit—of two years. If an accident victim waits longer than this to file their claim, they may be barred from ever receiving compensation for that injury.
Speak to a Chicago Burn Injury Attorney Today
Determining negligence, gathering documented information, and filing a claim on time are just some of the tasks that must be completed when seeking financial recovery for a burn injury. In the same vein, they are just some of the ways in which these lawsuits can become complicated.
Fortunately, there is help available to you. An experienced Chicago burn injury lawyer should know exactly what steps need to be taken and could help ensure the entire process goes as smoothly as possible.
If you suffered a burn injury for which another party is to blame, speak to an attorney today. You may be eligible for compensation related to your injury, including pain and suffering, and a dedicated lawyer could help you get it.
