Legal Rights of Families After a Child Suffers Burn Injuries

Burn injuries come in a variety of forms and severities. Some burns are fairly minor, healing on their own or with minimal medical attention. Others can cause scarring, disfigurement, long-term pain, and other such major consequences.

No parent wants to imagine their child sustaining any burn injury. However, this can happen for many potential reasons. When it does, it’s important for parents and guardians to understand their legal rights.

The Signs of Burn Injuries in Children

It’s not always immediately apparent when a child has sustained a burn injury. For example, maybe the child is very young and can’t express how they injured themselves. Or the cause of the burn injury might be unknown, even to the child, masking the overall nature of the injury in general.

If your child appears to be in pain or distress, signs of a potential burn injury include:

• Redness and/or blistering in the affected area
• Peeling skin
• Heat radiating from the affected area
• Itchiness
• Fluid leaking from the affected area
• Discoloration
• Swelling

If you have any reason to suspect your child has a burn injury (or any other type of injury requiring proper medical attention), seek medical care for your child right away. When doing so, make a point of saving copies of their medical records, medical bills, diagnostic test results, and all other relevant medical documentation. Said documentation can play a critical role in helping you secure the financial compensation that may be available.

How Children Sustain Burn Injuries

There are many ways a child can sustain a burn injury. The following are among the more common:

• Fires
• Exposure to scalding liquids
• Contact with electrical currents
• Exposure to dangerous chemicals
• Coming into contact with vehicle exhaust pipes

Those are just examples. Determining how your child sustained a burn injury is very important. Along with helping doctors determine the best treatment method, knowing how your child injured themselves is often key to identifying the liable party if you decide to file a claim or lawsuit seeking compensation.

Seeking Compensation When a Child Sustains a Burn Injury: What You Need to Know

Your child might have been injured due to the negligence of another party. Consider the following examples:

• They were injured at daycare, school, or a similar setting because those tasked with monitoring them failed to do so adequately.
• A child was injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by a negligent motorist.
• A child was exposed to a hazard at a store, restaurant, or other such establishment. This could have happened because ownership negligently failed to address a hazardous condition or properly warn guests of its existence.

You may file an insurance claim or lawsuit seeking financial compensation on your child’s behalf if they were injured because of someone else’s negligence.

In some instances, proving negligence isn’t required to justify filing a claim or lawsuit.

For example, in Massachusetts, the legal principle of breach of warranty applies to product liability cases. That means, if your child was burned while using a defective or dangerous product, you may not need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent or careless –  proof that the product was defective when made or sold may provide the basis to pursue compensation for injuries caused by the defect.

The compensation potentially available in a child burn injury case can help cover the cost of medical bills for your child’s treatment. Financial compensation may also address other economic damages and losses, like the cost of medical equipment your child may need during their recovery. Additionally, a settlement or damages can account for future economic losses, like the cost of long-term, ongoing medical care.

The compensation available may even cover losses that aren’t purely economic in nature. For instance, if your child experiences significant pain during their recovery, compensation may be available for their pain and suffering.

The Value of Coordinating with Legal Professionals

The process of seeking compensation for your child’s burn injury can involve many steps. You first need to identify the cause of the injury to determine who may be liable. Then, you must submit a claim or lawsuit with supporting documentation indicating why your child is eligible to receive compensation. Because an insurance company may fight back, you’ll also likely have to negotiate for a fair settlement. If the insurance company won’t offer a fair deal, you may have to pursue damages in court.

You don’t have to handle these tasks yourself. At Swartz & Swartz, P.C., a child burn injury attorney is available to offer the representation you and your child deserve right now. Learn more about how we can help you pursue justice by calling our offices at (617) 742-1900 or contacting us online for a free consultation.

Need Help?

If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.