As a parent, your children’s safety is your number one concern at all times. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to shield them from every danger that living in California presents. A child can so easily suffer injury in the home, on a family road trip, or at a restaurant or store, even as you monitor them 24/7.
One of the most common and dangerous hazards children face is the threat of a burn injury. Through house fires, electrical shocks, or chemical exposure, a child’s delicate skin can suffer harm. Their airways and internal organs are also vulnerable.
When these serious burn injury accidents occur, children will need the best medical treatment available. And when an individual or company creates hazards that cause harm to a child, they should be fully liable for the costs of care.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a California Child Burn Injury Lawyer
If your child has suffered a serious burn injury due to someone else’s negligence, you’ll need to quickly take steps to hold an at-fault party fully responsible. Insurance companies will go to work trying to minimize your child’s injury and downplay the injury support your family will require in the years ahead. It’ll be a battle to make sure your child receives proper care, and to ensure your family isn’t unfairly left with enormous hospital bills.
Contact Maison Law of California for a free case evaluation and talk to an experienced child injury lawyer. It’s a no-risk way to find out about the benefits available to you and your child now and to map out the support your child may need in the future. If you feel we can help you maximize your child’s burn injury settlement, you won’t need any upfront money. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you and your child.
Child Burn Injury Dangers in California
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, burns and fires are the fifth most common cause of accidental death in children and adults and account for an estimated 3,500 tragic adult and child deaths per year.
Children are especially vulnerable to scalding burns. 65% of burn victims ages 4 and under who must be hospitalized are suffering from scald burns.
Most scalding burns are caused by hot water when a hot water heater has been set too high, or when children pull hot drinks over and onto themselves.
House fires can be caused by an electrical short in a power cord or a malfunctioning appliance. Young children will have an especially hard time exiting a house in time to escape fire dangers. 20% of burn victims ages 4 and under who are hospitalized are victims of contact burns.
Children also suffer burns in car accidents when a vehicle catches fire or when young victims are left pressed against hot metal. Fireworks are another burn hazard that commonly harms children.
Children are vulnerable when exposed to harsh household chemicals or cleaning agents at a store, a daycare, or another business. Chemical burns can seriously damage several layers of a child’s skin and when chemicals are inhaled they can harm passageways.
Child Burn Injury Vulnerabilities in California Personal Injury Claims
Children are constantly growing and maturing. Their bodies are always changing and in the early years, a burn injury can do incredible amounts of damage to that natural process. A traumatic injury can set young victims back significantly and their development in the years that follow can be affected in unexpected ways.
Children are at high risk of some very serious and long-lasting effects of a burn wound. These are just some of the factors that leave children more vulnerable to burn injuries:
- Fragile Skin – Children have thinner skin and burns do more damage and that damage often goes deeper.
- Fragile Airways – Children have narrow air passages and swelling after the inhalation of smoke or a chemical will make breathing difficult. The heart and lungs will more easily take damage.
- Vulnerability to Changes in Temperature — Children are much more vulnerable to changes in the temperature because their bodies gain and lose heat faster than adults. They won’t be as aware when heat rises and may suffer a severe burn before moving out of harm’s way.
- Metabolism Imbalance – As the body heals from a burn a young body can quickly lose mass. The body uses muscle and soft tissue as fuel for calories. Oxygen, protein, and fat can be used up at a dangerous rate.
- Still Developing Bodies – Children who suffer traumatic injuries may recover and yet still face health issues in the future. Their bodies may react in adverse ways as they grow and development may be stunted or altered. Any burn injury personal injury settlement would have to account for this possibility and afford the child support to seek additional medical treatment later on in life.
Child burn victims often need skin grafts and help fighting off infections during treatment. They could need restorative surgery to help minimize the visibility of a scar or disfigurement. A child who has suffered a serious burn will also need specialized physical therapy to learn to use the affected area again. This therapy may be ongoing in order to keep the young patient on track to meet mental and physical developmental achievements.
Who Can Be Held Responsible After a California Child Burn Injury?
When the unthinkable happens and a child is exposed to a burn hazard, there’s often an individual, a property owner, or a business that’s to blame. These parties are supposed to be protecting your child, and when they are negligent in these duties, they can be called upon to help in every aspect of a child’s recovery.
A careless driver who sent your family vehicle into an accident would need to provide car insurance benefits to all victims, including your child. A burn suffered at a daycare or school would leave a business owner or a school system liable.
An electrical fire caused by a faulty power cord or a malfunctioning toy or appliance would leave the manufacturer or the store that sold the product liable. A store like Walmart or Target would be fully accountable if your child suffered a burn or shock while crawling down an aisle.
The insurance providers for these parties would need to provide you with a burn injury settlement check that allowed your child to heal and face the future without worry.
For more information on how to handle a personal injury claim for a child visit our page here.
What Kind of Compensation Can Be Won in a Child Burn Injury Settlement?
Children may need extensive treatment in an emergency room, and later in a hospital or burn center. Burn injury care may continue over many years when additional skin grafts and plastic surgeries are necessary. The cost of this care will be enormous and should never fall on the families of young patients.
Your California child burn injury attorney will fight to make sure every hardship a child and parents face is considered when negotiating a fair settlement total. Insurance companies will gladly ignore
These are just a few of the factors that determine the amount on a burn injury settlement check:
- Totals on all burn injury recovery costs and estimates for the follow-up care and physical therapy expected to be required in the future.
- Future costs associated with a permanent physical disability and/or disfigurement suffered by the child burn victim.
- Compensation for the physical pain endured by a child with a burn.
- Compensation for the emotional anguish suffered. This can include the anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms commonly experienced by young burn victims in recovery.
- Damage or destruction of personal property in an accident.
California’s Personal Injury Statute of Limitations for Minors
When filing a personal injury claim on behalf of your child, there’s a long window of opportunity. You may file at any point in your child’s life. There’s no deadline until the child reaches the age of 18. Any injury claim filed over a previous burn injury must be submitted within two years, or before the child turns 20.
Be aware that when a lawsuit will involve a government department or school system, the deadlines may be different and usually much more restrictive. Speak with an experienced California Child Injury Lawyer about taking action as soon as possible.
It’s best to involve a skilled California burn injury lawyer as soon as possible after an accident though. As your attorney builds a strong case for your child, they’ll have an easier time securing fresh evidence and gathering documents in the early going. It’s also easier to keep track of witnesses when you allow your legal representative to act quickly. Your lawyer will start investigating your child’s accident and will help you determine when your case is ready to file.
Wrongful Death Claims After the Tragic Loss of a Child
In the most heartbreaking cases, someone’s carelessness could cause a burn injury that claims a child’s life. Nothing would ever be able to replace the life of a young victim, but parents should seek justice for their child and be able to protect themselves from future financial harm.
California allows grieving parents to file a wrongful death lawsuit over the death of a child. This civil lawsuit would seek assistance with the costs of a funeral and burial of a child. The claim would also ask for help paying for any remaining medical bills. The parents or guardians of a deceased child should also receive support that considers the love and support the child will no longer be able to offer in the future.
Contact a California Child Burn Injury Lawyer
After an accident that causes a burn injury to a child, it’s critical that young victims are supported through full recovery, no matter how long that takes. At-fault parties must be held accountable for every medical cost and any costs associated with the child’s future wellbeing.
There’s an easy, no-risk way to determine just what your child will require in a burn injury settlement to maintain a healthy, worry-free childhood. Contact Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, to schedule a free no-obligation consultation.
Mr. Gasparian understands the physical and emotional trauma a serious burn injury can inflict on a young life. His goal is to see that children and their families receive the time they need to heal and rebuild their lives without the worry of how they’ll pay medical bills.
