Attorney David E. Gordon is a highly skilled and experienced catastrophic injury attorney. He has represented numerous clients in Memphis, throughout Tennessee, and northern Mississippi who have suffered serious burn injuries due to the negligence of others. He understands the unique medical and legal issues that arise in these cases.
To learn more, contact a Memphis burn injury lawyer today. We can provide a free consultation for your case.
How Did the Burn Injury Happen?
The American Burn Association reports that 486,000 burn injuries occur in the U.S. each year that require medical treatment. Out of those burn injuries, 30,000 require hospitalization at burn centers such as Regional One Health in Memphis.
As we have seen, many of these burn injuries result from preventable accidents. We will conduct a thorough investigation in your case to determine whether the injury you suffered was the product of another’s careless or reckless conduct.
Burn injury cases that our Memphis attorneys handle often involve:
- Motor vehicle accidents – Burns can be caused by negligent drivers in car, truck and motorcycle accidents. Victims may suffer thermal burns from fires, explosions, or exposure to hot fluids, or they may suffer friction burns from contact with airbags, seat belts or hard surfaces.
- Workplace accidents – Construction industry workers may suffer thermal burns as well as electrical burns. For instance, many workers suffer arc burns or flash burns through contact with dangerous tools, machinery, wiring or outlets. Workers in manufacturing, food service, and the health care industries face burn risks as well in workplace accidents or exposure to dangerous equipment.
- Property hazards – Property owners have a duty to address fire hazards on their property or to repair conditions that could expose tenants and visitors to electrical burn hazards such as faulty wiring. Additionally, if smoke detectors are provided by a property owner, they must be kept in good, working condition.
- Defective products – Tools, machines, appliances, propane grills, vehicles, exercise equipment, and toys can contain design or manufacturing defects that expose users to burn risks. Additionally, a manufacturer has a duty to warn of all hazards associated with a product when it is used as intended.
How Severe Is Your Burn Injury?
In addition to determining the cause of your burn injury, our Memphis attorneys’ investigation will focus on the severity of the harm you have suffered. Burn injuries generally fall within four categories:
- First-degree – This is the least severe type of burn. Only the skin’s outer layer is affected. Victims rarely suffer permanent damage or scarring.
- Second-degree – The burn penetrates the skin’s second layer. A victim will likely suffer pain, blisters, and swelling. This is also called a “partial thickness” burn.
- Third-degree – The burn goes beyond the skin’s second layer and damages nerves and muscle tissue. The damage is likely permanent. This is called a “full thickness” burn.
- Fourth degree – The burn reaches a victim’s bones and may ultimately be fatal.
The higher the degree of burn, the more likely a victim will suffer injuries such as:
- Scarring and disfigurement, including skin loss
- Nerve damage
- Soft tissue damage (including contracture, or a tightening of soft tissue)
- Bone damage
- Chronic pain
A burn injury victim can also suffer complications such as heart problems, kidney failure, respiratory problems, and potentially fatal skin, blood and lung infections.
What Losses Can You Recover After A Burn Injury?
Our goal will be to pursue a full financial recovery for all harm you have suffered due to your burn injury, including compensation for all past and future medical costs related to the injury.
We can review your medical records and consult with medical and life care planning experts to determine the full extent of your medical expenses, including:
- Emergency treatment – Transportation by an ambulance and any necessary treatment required to address pain and tissue damage, including surgery.
- Medication – Any topical creams that are needed for your burns or medication that is needed to alleviate the pain you are experiencing.
- Compression – Pressure garment therapy is commonly used to treat burn injury patients to prevent scarring and further damage to the skin.
- Debridement – If your skin has been damaged or infected due to a burn, a procedure may be conducted to remove the affected skin tissue.
- Skin grafting – In this procedure, dead or damaged skin tissue is removed and replaced with healthy skin tissue from another part of the body.
- Complications – A wide range of procedures may be necessary due to complications involving the heart, lungs, nerves, muscles and other impacted parts of your body.
- Therapy/counseling – You may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or ongoing anxiety and depression due to scarring and disfigurement.
Additionally, our Memphis attorneys will seek a recovery of any income you have lost while recovering from your burn injury. You should be compensated for any lost salary, benefits, or self-employment income.
If your burn injury causes a partial or total disability, we can work with experts to determine the impact this may have on your future earning capacity. We also would seek full recovery of all other damages related to your injury, including pain and suffering. Tennessee law also recognizes that family members can be impacted by a personal injury as well. For instance, we may seek loss of consortium damages on behalf of your spouse.
How Can an Attorney Help You?
It is important to have your burn injury case handled by an experienced attorney in Memphis who can:
- Conduct a full investigation of your case
- Consult with qualified experts
- Explore all of your legal options
- File all necessary documents
- Seek a timely settlement of your claim
- Represent you in a trial and any hearings
- Take steps to resolve your case as promptly as possible
In some cases, your options could include filing a claim for workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits in addition to pursuing a personal injury claim against a party or parties who caused your burn injury.
Contact a Memphis Burn Injury Attorney
When you are ready to take legal action after you have suffered a catastrophic injury, contact The Law Office of David E. Gordon & Elissa M. Coombs. Please see our Testimonials and Victories to learn more about the service we provide to our clients and decide whether we are the right choice for you.
We serve clients throughout Tennessee as well as northern Mississippi. Let a Memphis burn injury lawyer work to recover compensation for your devastating losses. We can provide an immediate, free consultation if you want to learn more.
Sources / More Information
- Fact Sheet, American Burn Association
- Burns, Mayo Clinic
- Burns – Treatment and Drugs, Mayo Clinic
- Burns: Types, Treatments and More, Healthline
