What Type of Compensation can I Recover for My Burn Injuries in North Carolina?

Suffering a serious burn injury can make your life extremely challenging. Recovering from burn injuries is often excruciatingly painful and difficult. Have you suffered a burn injury caused by another person’s negligence? If so, you may be entitled to compensation for all of the expenses associated with your burn injury. Contact the experienced burn injury lawyers at Arnold & Smith, PLLC with three convenient offices today to schedule your free, initial consultation.

How Common are Burn Injuries in North Carolina?

Nearly 500,000 Americans receive medical treatment for burn injuries every year. Over 40,000 Americans require hospitalization for their burns. 3,400 people die from burn injuries. Inhalation of smoke is an extremely dangerous aspect of suffering burn injuries. Burns from inhaling smoke leads to a 20% increase in death compared to people who only suffer burns on the skin.

Additionally, when burn victims develop pneumonia from the smoke inhalation, they face an increased 60% chance of mortality. For every 1% of a person’s body that suffers burns, that person will face one day of hospitalization.

The High Cost of Medical Treatment for Burn Injuries

Burn injuries can be one of the most expensive types of injuries. Every year, burn-related injuries cost over 1.5 billion in medical costs. The indirect costs associated with burn injuries are over $5 billion per year. The average cost of a hospital stay for a burn injury is $24,000. This expense is over double the cost of non-burn related hospital stays.

The cost of visits to the emergency department visits for children age 4 and younger is over $300 million per year. The cost for emergency room visits is highest for children who suffer injuries.

What Compensation can I Collect for a North Carolina Burn Injury?

Successful burn injury plaintiffs are entitled to compensation for your injuries. Burn injuries present a unique type of harm and they often require extensive treatment. When filing a personal injury lawsuit for burn injuries, you can seek to recover the following types of damages:

• Medical bills: As discussed above, burn injuries can be incredibly expensive. The average hospital stay for burn injuries is $24,000. Many Americans are uninsured or underinsured and an average stay can put them into a stressful financial situation. Additionally, burn injury victims may need to seek additional medical treatment after the average hospital stay, including physical therapy and occupational therapy.
• Loss of Income: If someone’s burn injury creates a loss of income, he or she will be entitled to compensation. If you are unable to work because of your burn injuries, the at fault party should be held responsible. The plaintiff can seek compensation for past loss of work and future loss of work.
• Property damage: If the fire that caused your burn injuries also damaged your property, you are entitled to compensation for your property damage. For example, if someone negligently set fire to your house, he or she will be entitled to compensation for their damaged home, car, or any other personal property that could have become damaged.
• Pain and suffering: burn treatment often requires painful cleaning of the burns, skin tightness, and difficulty walking or moving the affected body part. A successful plaintiff will receive compensation for the pain and suffering caused by their burn injuries.
• Disfigurement and disability from the burns: Severe burn injuries can damage all three layers of skin. These types of severe burn injuries can cause severe scarring that is disfiguring. Severe burn injuries can even make a victim unrecognizable. Scarring and disfigurement can leave the victim with serious self-esteem issues. Victims who suffer disfigurement and disability from burn injuries should receive compensation for their injuries.

Succeeding in a Personal Injury Lawsuit

In order to obtain compensation for your personal injury, you must first prove the elements of the crime. First, you must prove the defendant’s misconduct. You must also prove the extent of your injuries and your right to seek relief through a personal injury lawsuit. An important part of seeking compensation is to carefully calculate all of your expenses.

It’s easy to forget some of your expenses, so keeping a log of expenses can be incredibly helpful. The more time you have to prepare, the better. Hiring a skilled lawyer is essential. Contact the personal injury lawyers at Arnold & Smith, PLLC immediately to schedule your free initial consultation. Now taking cases throughout North Carolina with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and Monroe.

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