Cleveland Burn Injury Lawyers

Common Causes of Burn Injuries in Cleveland

Serious burns can happen anytime someone is exposed to fire, heat, electricity, or chemicals. The cases we see most often in Cleveland involve:

• Vehicle fires after crashes: car accidents and commercial truck accidents that rupture fuel lines, as well as motorcycle accidents, where riders can suffer road rash and burn injuries from pavement and hot engine parts.
• Apartment and house fires: fires caused or made worse by code violations, such as missing smoke detectors, faulty wiring, blocked or locked exits, and broken space heaters in rental units and hotels.
• Workplace burns: chemical spills, molten metal, and steam in manufacturing, and fryers, ovens, and grease fires in food service. Burns at work usually start with a workers’ compensation claim.
• Electrical burns: exposed wiring, downed lines, and poorly maintained equipment.
• Scalding: water heaters set too hot and broken plumbing in apartments and care facilities. Our Cleveland premises liability lawyers handle burns caused by unsafe property conditions.
• Defective products: appliances, heaters, and lithium batteries that overheat or ignite, including e-cigarette explosions. Our product liability lawyers pursue the manufacturers.
• Tanker and chemical incidents: explosions and exposure to hazardous materials on the highway or at industrial sites.

Degrees of Burn Injuries

There are different levels or degrees of burn injuries. Burns are usually classified from first degree through fourth degree, and some systems add fifth and sixth degree for the deepest injuries. The way that a degree is graded is dependent on the depth and harshness of the burn.

• First degree burns are identified by discomfort and red discoloration of the epidermis or top layer of the skin. In most cases, first degree burns do not result in long term skin damage.
• Second degree burns are partial thickness burns, which involve the epidermis and the dermis or lower level of the skin and intense pain. Symptoms include puffiness, reddening, and the appearance of bumps and blisters.
• Third-degree burns, or full thickness burns, are marked by further destruction of the skin as the injury extends past the dermis and mutilates deeper tissues. A victim of third-degree burns would have singed skin that would be darkened or white in appearance and the skin may also appear leathery and dry with swelling.
• Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-degree burns can be fatal, as the wound goes through the entire skin into underlying fat, muscle, and bone. This can result in loss of function and charring of the distressed area of the body as the muscle and bone is unable to regrow like before. Because of the extent of the injury, amputation is sometimes necessary.

Chemical Burn Injuries

Although chemical burns can happen in many places, numerous studies indicate a significant number happen at work. Substantial numbers of occupational chemical burn injuries happen in manufacturing facilities where usage of chemicals is a daily requirement of the job.

Many causes of chemical burns include accidental discharges of chemicals through mishandling of dangerous substances. What makes chemical burns especially problematic is that the scope of the impairment is not immediately perceptible to the naked eye. Due to this fact, chemical burns can go untreated and result in serious injuries.

Chemical burn injuries affect the face, eyes, arms, and legs. The extent of the burn can depend on a plethora of considerations. Some include but are not limited to:

• Duration of exposure
• The amount of the chemical you encountered
• Location on the body the injury took place (skin, eye, etc.)
• The strength of the chemical
• If the substance was ingested or inhaled

Chemical burns can be very volatile, so immediate treatment is critical as death can be the consequence.

Burn Scars and Disfigurement

One of the lasting reminders of a burn injury is the scarring that a burn victim may have to live with. In many instances, the scars add to a person’s overall suffering in the aftermath of a burn injury. Many scars are painful because the skin is often blistered and adopts a red tone.

First degree burns usually heal within one week and typically do not leave burn scars on the skin. Second degree burns most often leave burn scars that heal in about two to three weeks. If a person has a more severe burn, there is often no pain. The skin, however, may be torched black or white. This is indicative of a third-degree burn or higher.

There are three primary types of burn scars that affect burn injury sufferers. These types of burn scars are:

• Hypertrophic scars look red or purple, and the skin is raised and can become hot and irritated.
• Contracture scars tighten the skin, muscles, and tendons and impede regular skin development.
• Keloid scars grow beyond the original wound into a raised, glossy lump.

Burn Injury Treatment in Cleveland

Treatment depends on the type and depth of the burn, and anything beyond a small, minor burn should be seen by a doctor.

For a chemical burn, call 911 and Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, and be ready to tell them which chemical was involved. Remove contaminated clothing and rinse the skin with running water while you wait for help.

For a small first-degree burn, cool the area under cool (not ice-cold) running water for several minutes, remove rings or tight items before the skin swells, and cover it loosely with a clean bandage. Ask a doctor whether you need a tetanus booster.

For second- and third-degree burns, move the person away from the source of the burn, call 911, and keep them warm and still until paramedics arrive. Do not put ice on a serious burn or soak a large burned area in cold water, which can lower body temperature dangerously. Hospital care may include IV fluids, pain medication, wound care, and treatment to prevent infection, and the most serious burns are treated at a specialized burn center. Cleveland has a dedicated hospital burn center that treats both adults and children, so people seriously burned here can get that level of care close to home.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Burn Injury

Depending on the severity and other factors involved, you may be able to recover compensation for the economic and non-economic damages associated with your burn injury. This requires identifying the negligent party and establishing legal liability for the harm you endured. This is usually accomplished through an insurance claim or lawsuit. Depending on how the burn happened, the responsible party may be:

• A landlord or property owner who ignored fire codes, failed to repair wiring or heaters, or did not provide working smoke detectors.
• An employer or a third-party contractor. Most work burns are covered by workers’ compensation, but a contractor, equipment supplier, or property owner who is not your employer can also be sued.
• A product maker whose appliance, battery, or vehicle part was defectively designed or built.
• An at-fault driver whose crash caused a vehicle fire.

To prove negligence, establish liability, and ultimately have a successful claim, you must show:

• The other party had a duty of care toward you
• This duty was breached by a failure to act reasonably
• The breach of this duty caused your burns
• You suffered harm that you can be compensated for

For instance, if you suffered burns in a truck accident, you and your lawyer will usually file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurer and prove that the driver had a duty to follow the traffic laws.

They subsequently breached this duty by speeding, and your burn was caused by a fire resulting from the collision. Finally, you’ll have to demonstrate that you suffered financial and other losses. This could be your medical bills, inability to work, or pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one was burned in Cleveland because someone was negligent, you deserve to hold the liable party accountable. KNR can guide you, help you get treatment, negotiate with the insurance company, and fight for everything you deserve.

The Long-Term Cost of Burn Injuries

The cost of a serious burn rarely ends when you leave the hospital. Severe burns can require weeks in a burn unit, followed by skin grafts, repeated surgeries, and scar revision procedures over months or years. Burned skin is vulnerable to infection, and contracture scars can limit movement in the hands, arms, and neck, which means physical and occupational therapy and, for some people, a change of career.

The emotional toll is just as real. Many burn survivors live with post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, and visible scarring can affect how they feel in public and at work. A fair claim accounts for all of it: future surgeries, therapy, counseling, lost earning power, and the pain and suffering that comes with a long recovery. In Ohio, an injury that causes permanent and substantial physical deformity can also remove the usual cap on non-economic damages (ORC 2315.18), which can make a significant difference in a severe burn case.

How We Prove a Burn Injury Claim

Burn cases are won with evidence collected early, before a fire scene is cleaned up or a product is thrown away. Our Cleveland lawyers build these claims with:

• Fire department and fire marshal reports that identify where a fire started and why.
• Building code and inspection records showing smoke detector, wiring, or exit violations a landlord or owner knew about.
• Expert testimony from fire investigators, engineers, and burn specialists who can explain the cause and the long-term medical needs.
• Photos of healing over time that show the pain, treatment, and scarring a jury needs to understand.
• The product itself, preserved and tested, when a device or appliance caused the fire.

If you were burned, keep the clothing, product, or anything else involved, and do not let the property owner or an insurer take it. Call (216) 658-1330 for a free consultation.

At KNR, Our Cleveland Burn Injury Attorneys Will

• Answer your questions and concerns
• Keep you updated during all stages of the process
• Obtain medical records about the extent of your burns
• Identify the responsible party
• Determine the fair and full value of your damages
• Negotiate for maximum compensation
• Fight for everything you deserve in court if necessary

Cleveland Burn Injury FAQs