Dealing with the medical complications following a serious burn injury is often costly and understandably overwhelming. If you are facing a staggering road to recovery, consider letting a Charlottesville burn injury lawyer help you. With a compassionate catastrophic injury lawyer, you could focus on your health while an attorney focuses on holding irresponsible parties that caused your injuries accountable.
Medical professionals typically classify burn injuries by their severity. These classifications are known as degrees, with first-degree burns being the least severe and fourth-degree burns being the most intense. When a dedicated attorney prepares a burn injury lawsuit in Charlottesville, the severity of these injuries plays an important part in the amount of compensation sought on a victim’s behalf.
These burn injuries impact only the outermost layer of skin. While painful, a first-degree burn will generally heal on its own within a few days. Symptoms can include pain and redness but rarely result in scarring.
While still relatively minor, second-degree burns are quite painful. These injuries damage both the exterior layer of the skin and several layers below. In addition to pain and redness, these burns typically involve swelling, blisters, and could require serious treatment to prevent the onset of infection.
A third-degree burn is a serious injury that should be treated immediately. These burns can destroy every layer of skin below the burn site and damage the nerve endings underneath. This can result in a total loss of sensation for the victim. On the surface, these injuries can char the skin or turn it white. Third-degree burns also routinely lead to permanent scarring and disfigurement.
The most severe type of these injuries is known as fourth-degree burns. A fourth-degree burn is one so severe it damages not only the skin but the muscle and bone underneath. In many instances, a fourth-degree burn could be fatal.
While a person suffering from a serious burn has the right to file a lawsuit against the person that caused the injury, that right is not without limits. An injured party must file a burn injury lawsuit with the help of an attorney within a certain amount of time or risk losing out on the Charlottesville claim entirely.
This deadline to file a burn injury lawsuit is known as the statute of limitations. The statute applies to all suits, and the amount of time each plaintiff has varies depending on the type of lawsuit. According to Code of Virginia Section 8.01-243, a plaintiff must file suit within two years of the day the burn injury occurred.
Any individual suffering from a severe burn could face a lifetime of physical, financial, and emotional challenges. While facing these challenges is never easy, doing so with ample financial resources can simplify matters.
If you are living with burn injuries, let experienced legal counsel review your case and advise you of your chances of financial recovery. To get started, schedule a consultation with a Charlottesville burn injury lawyer right away.
