Burns are among the most painful, devastating, and disfiguring injuries a human can suffer. When the careless, reckless, or wrongful actions of a driver, business owner, or other individual or entity causes a burn injury, the results are often life-altering.

Injury victims shouldn’t be left to suffer the consequences of burn injuries alone when the injury was preventable and caused by someone else’s negligence. A successful burn injury claim brings financial compensation to the victim and a sense of justice.

Call the Nashville burn injury lawyers at Selvidge Injury Law today so Attorney Adam Selvidge can begin navigating the legal aspects of your injury. Let us handle the legal side of things while you focus on maximizing your physical recovery.

Why Choose Selvidge Personal Injury Lawyers in Nashville for Your Burn Injury Claim?

The legal team at Selvidge Injury Law believes in compassionate client advocacy. Our Nashville burn injury lawyers treat every injury victim who comes to us for legal counsel the way we’d treat an injured family member. Our dedicated law office provides a small-town law firm environment while offering the following advantages for your burn injury case in Nashville:

Over a decade of experience with Tennessee personal injury law and a track record of success in securing compensation for our injured clients
A results-oriented approach to maximize your chances of a settlement
A warm, welcoming atmosphere so you feel at ease as well as confident in our approach to your burn injury case
A solicitous approach to each client’s case, especially to those who’ve suffered from the trauma associated with burn injuries

At Selvidge Injury Law, we understand the importance of placing your full focus on healing from your injuries. Our personal injury lawyers in Nashville are ready to fight for your financial compensation while you focus on recovering from the aftermath of your injury.

What Careless or Negligent Actions Cause Most Burn Injuries?

Many preventable fires, chemical burns, and other burn injuries result from an individual’s or business’s careless or reckless actions. Common causes of Nashville burn injury claims include the following:

Car accidents
Commercial truck accidents
Workplace injuries
Premises liability claims against negligent rental property owners
Defective product claims
Faulty wiring installation or repairs
Gas leaks
Scalding injuries

When a business or individual fails to take reasonable measures to prevent causing injury to others, Tennessee’s fault-based insurance laws hold them accountable for the economic and non-economic damages suffered by the victim. Compensation for damages typically comes from the appropriate insurance such as auto insurance after burns from a car accident or premises liability insurance after an apartment building fire.

Classification of Burns

Burns fall into three classifications depending on the severity of the damage caused to the skin. Those three areas include:

First-degree burns: Superficial burns, first-degree burns typically only affect the outer layer of the skin, called the epidermis. The site may be painful but does not have blisters. A mild sunburn is a common example. Long-term damage is not common in these burns.
Second-degree burns: These burns, also called partial thickness burns, penetrate the epidermis and part of the second layer, called the dermis. They can have blisters and tend to be red, painful, and swollen.
Third-degree burns: A third-degree burn, called a full thickness burn, penetrates into the dermis layer and may damage the underlying bones, muscles, and tendons. They are often white or charred in color. The damage to the nerves makes them less painful over time, but they are at a much higher risk for infection and long-term damage.

Extensive burns, including those that spread over various areas of the skin or encompass a larger amount of the surface area of the body, require specialized care.

It is also possible to classify burns by their causes. Common types of burns that can cause serious injury and damage include:

Electrical burns
Chemical burns
Inhalation injury burns
Radiation burns
Thermal burns

Potential Long-Term Effects of Severe Burn Injuries

Burns can carry significant long-term effects. Though many of them heal, they can leave damage to the skin, which creates both a physical and an emotional toll on the victim. Note that burns can also create physical disabilities, including complications such as:

Loss of limb
Loss of mobility
Scarring
Nerve damage
Disfigurement
Recurrent infections due to limited skin protection
Damage to muscles impacting function
Tissue damage that can lead to system-wide infections

Also note that many people suffer emotional trauma from burns, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. The loss of function can impact a person’s ability to work, enjoy the things they always have or maintain relationships.

Steps to Take After a Burn Injury in Nashville

If you have any type of burn, take action right away to protect yourself from ongoing risk. In the case of first-degree burns, there is usually no additional treatment necessary. Cleaning the area, running cool water on the surface, and allowing it to heal is typically all that is necessary.

With second and third-degree burns, the need to seek treatment is higher and often is necessary to prevent further injury and loss. In the case of these burns, follow these steps:

Remove the heat source. That could mean leaving the area or removing whatever is causing the heat to the body.
Call 911 for emergency care if there is significant skin damage.
If a person is conscious and still able to do so due to a contained or site-specific burn, run the area under cool water for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not apply ice to the surface.
Cover the area lightly with a bandage until you can receive care.
Do not break open any blisters. This can worsen the burn and increase the risk of infection.
Seek out medical treatment from urgent care for most second-degree burns with serious pain. For third-degree burns, going to the emergency room is critical.

From the standpoint of injuries due to negligence, it is also helpful to document your losses and identify the details of what occurred. If you are safe to do so, take photos of the area, get the name and contact information of any witnesses, and record a video of the area and your wounds. Always document what occurred and what others said before, during, or after the accident. This is information your Nashville burn injury lawyer will benefit from having later when seeking compensation from those who hurt you.

Do not wait to contact an attorney for help. If you believe negligence played a role in your accident, and you now have medical bills and other losses, seek the help of a burn injury attorney right away.

Who Is Liable in a Nashville Burn Injury Claim?

A burn injury could be the fault of any other party that caused your accident. Consider the following examples that may apply in your case:

A person acted in a reckless manner, and that led to a fire and burn
Someone failed to maintain their property, and you were exposed to a chemical burn
Your employer did not provide proper safety equipment, and you suffered a burn while working
A truck driver caused a truck accident in Nashville, TN that led to a burn you sustained
A local company did not maintain their property, and you suffered an electrical burn as a result

In these situations, you must demonstrate that the other party acted negligently. That means showing they owed you a duty of care, they failed that duty of care, and that failure caused the accident, which created your injuries and losses. Contact a premises liability attorney in Nashville if you believe a property owner was negligent, resulting in a serious injury.

How Can a Nashville Burn Injury Lawyer Help?

By working with a Nashville burn injury lawyer, you gain the legal insights and support you need in these often challenging cases. Your empathetic Nashville accident attorney can help you with:

Determining liability: Documenting who caused the accident that led to your burn, including gathering evidence to support those factors, is at the core of what your burn injury will do.
Identifying all parties: In many situations, more than one person is responsible for the injuries you have. Your attorney will gather that information based on the circumstances to build a strong case.
Speak to experts: It becomes necessary for burn injury attorneys to turn to burn experts and witnesses to gather all of the necessary information about your injuries, including the extent of it, the likely long-term impact, and the complications resulting from your injuries.

With this information, your burn injury lawyer in Nashville creates a strong claim. They then work to negotiate that claim with the insurance company responsible or, if necessary, fight in a court of law for you to recover your losses.

What Compensation Can I Recover After Burn Injuries in Nashville?

Burns are not only painful, they are expensive to treat. Burn injury victims deserve the best possible care. When someone else was at fault for the injury, a claim for compensation helps the injury victim by recovering compensation for damages such as the following:

Medical expenses
Future medical costs
Lost income
Future income loss
Past and future pain and suffering
Disfigurement/scarring
Past and future loss of enjoyment of life
Permanent scaring and/or disfigurement
PTSD/emotional trauma

Call Our Nashville Burn Injury Lawyers Today So We Can Begin Fast Action on Your Case

It takes tremendous energy and determination to maximize physical healing after suffering burns. The Nashville burn injury attorneys at Selvidge Injury Law want to focus our firm’s attention on recovering your financial losses so you can concentrate on healing and spending time with loved ones. Call our Nashville law office today for a confidential consultation so we can get started.

Nashville Burn Injury Lawyer