Burn injuries are among the most devastating and painful injuries a person can suffer. They leave physical scars and can alter every aspect of your life, from your ability to work to your emotional well-being. Whether caused by a fire, an electrical accident, chemical exposure, or a utility company’s negligence, a serious burn can require years of ongoing treatment.

At Danko Meredith, our personal injury attorneys in Redwood City represent burn survivors throughout California. With decades of combined trial experience, we are tireless advocates for justice and accountability. We take on large corporations and powerful interests, and we do not back down.

Consultations are free and confidential. Clients pay nothing unless and unless we win. To set up a case review with our burn injury lawyers in Redwood City, contact our law firm today.

Types of Burn Injuries

Burns can occur in a wide range of circumstances, from daily household activities to massive public disasters. Our Redwood City burn injury attorneys handle cases involving:

Thermal Burns

Caused by exposure to heat sources such as open flames, steam, hot liquids, or explosions. These kinds of burns are common in house fires, car crashes, large truck collisions, restaurant and kitchen injuries, and workplace accidents involving furnaces or fuel sources.

Electrical Burns and Electrocution

These injuries can be particularly dangerous because the damage may extend beneath the skin. Electrical burns can result from contact with downed power lines, faulty wiring or industrial machinery, and defective consumer electronics. In many cases, victims suffer internal organ damage, neurological issues, and cardiac complications in addition to visible burns.

Chemical Burns

Chemical burns are caused by exposure to caustic or toxic substances such as acids, alkalis, cleaning agents, or industrial chemicals. These burns may result from improper product labeling or storage, unsafe work environments, and spills or splashes during manufacturing or transport. Chemical burn victims may suffer permanent tissue damage, vision loss, or respiratory injuries depending on the substance involved.

Radiation Burns

Radiation burns can be caused by overexposure to medical or industrial radiation, including during cancer treatment. In rare cases, defective equipment or lack of oversight in medical settings may be to blame.

Smoke Inhalation and Airway Injuries

Some of the most life-threatening complications from fires involve inhalation injuries. Super-heated air, toxic gases, and smoke can damage a victim’s lungs and airways, leading to long-term respiratory issues or death. These injuries often accompany thermal burns in structural fires or wildfires in California.

Burn Severity: Degrees and Medical Classifications

Burns are medically classified based on how deeply they penetrate the skin and underlying tissue. Understanding the severity of the burn helps doctors treat the injury and helps our Bay Area lawyers calculate the long-term impact and costs of recovery.

• First-degree burns affect the outermost layer of skin (epidermis), causing redness and minor pain. These burns heal on their own with minimal treatment and rarely lead to lawsuits.
• Second-degree burns affect both the outer and underlying layers of skin (dermis), causing painful blisters, swelling, the risk of infection, and potentially scarring. These burns often require medical treatment and can result in lost time from work.
• Third-degree burns penetrate the full thickness of the skin, with the affected area appearing white, charred, or leathery. These burns destroy nerve endings and require skin grafts, extensive surgeries, and long-term care.
• Fourth-degree burns extend into muscle, tendons, and bone. These burns are typically life-threatening and often lead to amputations or permanent disability. Survivors of these burns require ongoing rehabilitation and major lifestyle adjustments.

Even “moderate” burns can result in emotional trauma, disfigurement, and financial strain. Severe burns often require lifelong care and can leave lasting effects on a person’s ability to work, socialize, or live independently.

Proving Negligence in Burn Injury Cases

When establishing who was at fault and what happened, our Redwood City burn injury lawyers keep these elements of negligence in mind:

• Duty of Care: This means that a party had a legal obligation to act responsibly to prevent harm.
• Breach of Duty: This means that a party failed to act with reasonable care.
• Causation: This means that the breach of duty caused the burn injuries you suffered.
• Damages: This means that the burn injury resulted in actual losses, such as medical bills, disability, or major financial setbacks.

Compensation for Burn Injury Survivors

Compensation can ease the financial burden that burn injury survivors face. It can also provide long-term stability for extensive or full-thickness burns that impact daily life. Our burn injury attorneys in Redwood City can help you seek full and fair compensation.

Economic Damages for Burn Injuries

Economic damages are the financial losses associated with life after a major burn. These include:

• Emergency room and hospitalization costs
• Surgical procedures and reconstructive surgery
• Rehabilitation, physical therapy, and mobility devices
• Lost wages and reduced future earning capacity
• In-home nursing care and transportation needs

Non-Economic Damages for Burn Injuries

Non-economic damages are the subjective changes in quality of life for people living with severe burns. This includes: 

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional trauma and psychological distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disfigurement or disability

How Partial Fault Can Affect Your Compensation

California is a pure comparative negligence state, which means you can still seek compensation if you were partly or mostly at fault for a burn injury. However, your compensation will be reduced in proportion to your share of liability.

Insurance companies may claim you were partly or mostly to blame for an incident in order to reduce their settlement payout. Our burn injury lawyers can push back against those claims based on the evidence.

How Long Do I Have to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit in California?

In California, you typically have two years from the date of the burn injury to file a lawsuit (CCP § 335.1). You will not be able to seek compensation if you miss that two-year statute of limitations.

There are some exceptions to the two-year deadline depending on the circumstances of your injuries. You may also need to file a written administrative notice of claim if a government entity was involved in the incident.

Do not wait. It’s best to contact our Bay Area burn injury attorneys as soon as possible. We will let you know if you have a claim and make sure you act within those crucial deadlines.

Why Choose Danko Meredith for Your Burn Injury Lawsuit

There are many law firms serving the Bay Area, but few can match the trial experience, the talent, and the resources we have at Danko Meredith. Though our office is located in San Mateo County, we’ve proudly served people in California and nationwide in complex personal injury cases.

We Have the Resources and Experts to Take Your Case to Trial

Even if we’re outnumbered by a corporate defense team, we won’t be out-lawyered. At Danko Meredith, we are ready to take your case to trial. Our team of personal injury lawyers has decades of combined trial experience. We have the resources to hire some of the finest expert witnesses in the country.

We Have a Strong Record of Verdicts and Settlements

Danko Meredith has a history of successful cases involving fires and explosions. This includes a $20 million settlement for a sidewalk explosion and an $11 million settlement for a fuel-fed fire. We encourage you to look through our past verdicts and settlements. While past results are no guarantee of success, our cases will give you a sense of the complex litigation we are prepared to handle.

You Pay Nothing Unless We Win

At Danko Meredith, we work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we only get paid if we secure compensation for you. If we don’t win, you pay us nothing. We are fully invested in your claim and in your family’s future following a severe burn injury.

Contact Our Redwood City Burn Injury Attorneys Near You

At Danko Meredith, we’ve spent decades helping burn victims and wildfire survivors rebuild. We take on the toughest defendants and deliver results when they matter most. For a free consultation with proven Redwood City burn injury lawyers near you, contact our law firm today.