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Bakersfield Burn Injury Attorneys

Burn injuries happen every day across Bakersfield. In fact, research from Johns Hopkins indicates that burns and fires are the fifth most common cause of accidental deaths in children and adults in the United States. Yet, what makes these accidents so devastating is that even minor scalds can still cause significant pain, disfiguring scars, and extensive medical expenses. If you suffered a burn injury because of the negligent or wrongful actions of another person or entity, you should not have to take on these horrifying consequences alone. Instead, you deserve skilled legal help on your side, fighting for justice and the money you need for the losses and harm you endured. Thankfully, with an experienced Bakersfield burn injury lawyer, such as those at The May Firm, you can get this legal help, plus so much more.

The May Firm—Who We Are and What We Do?

The May Firm is a personal injury and accident law firm known for fighting relentlessly on behalf of its clients. We earned this reputation because our award-winning lawyers only take on personal injury and accident cases, allowing us to keep our practice focused and provide our clients with the best outcome they need.

Knowing what is at stake following these horrifying accidents, our legal teams and attorneys make it a point to approach each legal case with experience and compassion. We also make it a goal to go after the results our clients want while also trying to alleviate the emotional and physical stress that these accidents can cause.

As a result of this dedication and drive, the May Firm has become one of California’s most trusted advocates for those seeking justice following a devastating accident, and in the process, we have secured millions of dollars on our clients’ behalf through settlement negotiations and jury verdicts.

Common Bakersfield Accidents That Can Lead to a Burn Injury

Burn injuries are one of the leading causes of unintentional death and injury in the United States. In fact, every year, 1.1 million burn injuries require medical attention, and almost 4,500 of these individuals die because of their injuries. In addition, up to 10,000 people pass away every year because of burn-related infections.

Yet, even though these injuries can result from numerous different causes and accidents, individuals still must understand how these injuries develop to better protect themselves.

For instance, the most common Bakersfield accidents that can lead to a burn injury include:

  • Residential fires
  • Hot coffee or tea spills
  • Motor vehicle accidents, especially in accident-prone areas such as Baker Street and E. California Ave or Union Avenue at California Avenue
  • Chemical spills, including substances such as chlorine or bleach
  • Industrial fires
  • Electrical cord fires
  • Trucking accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Hot plate accidents
  • Cooking fires
  • Oil rig accidents such as at Kern River oil field
  • Gas explosions which is a valid concern for Bakersfield residents since most homes in the area use propane or natural gas
  • Wildfires

However, this list is by no means an exhaustive list of all the accidents that can lead to a burn injury. That is why, if you suffered a burn injury in an accident that is not indicated here, and you believe that you have a legal claim, reach out to a Bakersfield burn injury lawyer, such as those at The May Firm, and let these lawyers review your case and help you figure out if you have a viable injury claim.

The Different Types of Burn Injuries That Can Occur in Bakersfield

A burn injury is defined as trauma to the skin or other organic tissue. Although these injuries often result in minor medical problems, they may escalate into lasting damage that can affect a person’s bones, skin, muscles, and life-threatening trauma.

Open flames cause most burn injuries, along with:

  • Radiation: These burns are often the result of radiation damage, which causes harm to the tissues, skin, and other organs. The most common example of a radiation burn is a sunburn, but X-rays and radiation therapy also result in these burns.
  • Cold: These burns are also referred to as “frostbite” and typically result when the cold causes harm to the skin by freezing it. These burns usually develop when a person is outside without proper clothing in freezing temperatures but can also develop when the skin comes into direct contact with a freezing surface for an extended time.
  • Heat: A thermal burn occurs when the skin is exposed to excessive heat, such as steam, a hot surface, flames, or a hot object. As the skin is subject to these elements, the skin’s temperature will rise until the skin cells start to die. Thankfully, most thermal burns are minor and do not need excessive medical treatments.
  • Electricity: These burns tend to develop when a person comes into contact with an electrical current. As this happens, the electricity travels through their body and leads to tissue and organ damage, resulting in injuries that range from mild to severe and even death.
  • Friction: A friction burn is both a heat burn and an abrasion. These burns generally result from motorcycle and bike collisions, but carpet burns can also cause them.
  • Chemicals: A chemical burn occurs when the skin or eyes come into contact with an irritant such as an acid or a base. These burns tend to cause a reaction on the skin or within the body and can affect internal organs if the chemicals are swallowed.

“My number one goal is to help others. When you step foot into our firm, you’ll be treated like family, period.”
Robert May, Attorney | Founder

The Severity of a Burn Injury—How Bad Can a Burn Injury Get?

Burns are usually divided into three primary categories, including first-degree burns or superficial burns, second-degree burns or partial-thickness burns, and third-degree burns or full-thickness burns.

These categories are often used to describe the severity of the burn, and better help doctors understand how they will need to treat these injuries, for instance:

A First-Degree Burn

This superficial burn is a burn injury that only affects the skin’s first layer. These first-degree burns tend to be mild and usually do not require any medical treatment. However, in some cases, if they become painful, pain medication may be needed.

A first-degree burn will usually heal within a week and is often categorized by redness and minor inflammation. They can be treated at home with cool water or Aloe Vera gel, but it is important to note that ice should never be applied directly to the wound.

A Second-Degree Burn

A second-degree burn tends to affect the skin’s top and lower layers known as the epidermis and the dermis. Most people tend to experience redness, pain, blistering, and swelling due to these burns, and it can take weeks for these injuries to heal properly. However, scarring is common.

Generally, if a burn is smaller than seven centimeters, it may be treated as a minor burn. But, if the injury involves the face, eyes, ears, groin, feet, or major joints, you need to get to the nearest emergency room as soon as possible for further evaluation to avoid a loss of function or permanent disfigurement.

A Third-Degree Burn

A third-degree burn often destroys all the epidermis and dermis tissues and reaches the fat layer beneath the skin. Typically, the burned area will appear black, brown, or white and take on a leathery appearance. In some instances, victims of this burn injury may also lose all feeling in the injury site as these burns can destroy the pain-sensing nerves in the lower layer of the skin and result in the area becoming numb.

Medical intervention is required for those who suffer a third-degree burn injury, and a doctor needs to be seen immediately since this burn injury can result in significant health complications or death.

Burn Injuries and the Complications That Can Result From Them

Unfortunately, burn complications are often widespread and include everything from bacterial infections to skin discolorations.

However, in general, the most common complications that individuals need to be aware of after suffering a burn injury include:

  • Dehydration
  • Edema or excessive fluid and swelling in the tissues
  • Organ damage
  • Disfiguring scars
  • Arrhythmia (a heart rhythm disturbance often resulting from an electrical burn)
  • Pneumonia
  • Low blood pressure, which can lead to shock
  • Significant infections that can lead to sepsis and even require amputation

The Actions You Need to Take After a Bakersfield Burn Injury Accident

Although burn injuries range in type and severity, many of these incidents require prompt medical treatment to prevent catastrophic damages. That is why if you have been involved in a Bakersfield burn injury accident, you need to take action, not only to ensure you stay safe but protect your legal rights.

These steps include the following:

Contact 911 Right Away

If you suffer a severe burn injury in an accident, you need to call 911 immediately. This is the quickest way to alert emergency medical personnel that you require immediate medical attention and get your incident on record.

Plus, once the police arrive, they can start investigating your accident and jot down information regarding the incident in their police report. If you decide to pursue an injury claim following your burn injury accident, this report can provide you with valuable evidence.

Get Examined by a Doctor Promptly After Your Burn Injury Accident

Even if you believe your burn injury is not that serious, you still need to get to a doctor’s office following the accident. With burn injuries, it is always best to err on the side of caution and get your injury checked out to make sure it will not develop into a more severe problem or lead to a devastating infection.

Besides, seeking this prompt medical assistance can help your legal claim, especially when the other side or the insurance company tries to argue that your injuries are not that serious or a separate event caused them. Typically, when you see your doctor after an accident, they will create a medical report detailing all of your injuries. This report can ultimately provide you with evidence of a direct connection between the accident and the burn injuries you sustained.

Gather Evidence From the Scene and Document Your Injury

If possible, try to take pictures and videos of the accident scene and your visible injuries. In addition, make sure you document your burn injury over time, especially since it can take a while for this legal claim to resolve. Fortunately, pictures showing the progression of your injury can help the court get a better idea of the extent of your trauma, even if your wound is healed by the time your case is in its prime.

Keep Track of Your Bills and Medical Records

You will also want to keep track of all the bills related to your burn injury and your medical reports. These documents can help your lawyer argue the scope of your injuries and damages and aid them as they pursue the maximum damages you need.

Check for Witnesses

If there were people at the scene, make sure you get their names and numbers. These witness statements can often provide you with further details regarding the accident while also helping back up your claim. However, if your injuries are too severe for you to take any action following the accident, do not worry.

Contact an experienced Bakersfield burn injury lawyer, such as those from The May Firm, who can take on this investigation for you making sure to gather the relevant evidence needed to prove fault and damages and obtain this witness testimony.

Bakersfield Burn injury FAQs

Those injured in a Bakersfield burn injury accident do not only have to deal with excruciating pain and extensive debilitating trauma, but they also have to worry about the astronomical medical expenses that tend to result from this injury. What is even worse is these individuals often have no idea what their legal options are in this situation or whether they can pursue compensation for the harm they sustained. That is why to help clear up some of this confusion surrounding burn injury accidents, we have prepared answers to the following FAQs that our clients often have. With these responses, we hope you have a better understanding of the legal remedies you can pursue, the compensation you are entitled to, and how our legal team can help you fight for your rights and the money you need.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers provided by Bakersfield Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer courtesy of The May Firm
to some frequently asked questions we receive from clients.
Before you can obtain compensation following your Bakersfield burn injury accident, you need to verify that you have a valid injury legal claim. Generally, numerous factors and questions go into determining this viability, including:
  • What is the extent of the burn injury?
  • Did the burn injury result from the accident?
  • Is there insurance available following the accident?
  • Is there time to bring a legal claim for your injuries, or has the statute of limitations passed?
Due to these various elements, if you believe you have a legal claim following a burn injury accident, you should reach out to a Bakersfield burn injury attorney, such as those at The May Firm, as soon as possible. These lawyers can go over your accident, figure out if you have a viable claim, and determine what legal options you should pursue.
The answer to this question will depend on several factors, including how the accident happened, where did it occur, and who was ultimately responsible for the incident. Yet, even though this means many different individuals can cause a burn injury, the most common defendants in a burn injury case usually include:
  • Negligent landlords or property owners
  • Negligent product manufacturers
  • Gas companies
  • Negligent employers
  • Other negligent third-parties
Working with a skilled Bakersfield burn injury lawyer can help you figure out exactly who was at fault for your Bakersfield burn injury accident. These attorneys can review your case, investigate what happened, determine who was at fault for your harm and hold all those responsible for the injuries and losses you sustained accountable.
If your burn injury accident was due to another person’s negligent actions, to collect compensation for the losses and injuries you sustained, you need to show that the wrongful party is more likely than not legally responsible for your harm. This typically requires you to establish the following elements:
  • The at-fault party owed you a duty of care
  • The at-fault party breached this duty of care
  • This breach was the proximate and actual cause of the accident and your burn injuries
  • You suffered significant harm and monetary damages as a result of this breach.
However, proving each of these elements is not easy and requires detailed, relevant evidence and sound legal arguments. For these reasons, following a burn injury accident, it is in your best interest to work with a skilled Bakersfield burn injury lawyer like those at The May Firm. These attorneys can promptly get to work, investigate your accident, gather the necessary evidence to prove each of these elements, and show that the other party was at fault for your injuries.

If you suffered a burn injury due to another person’s negligent, intentional, or wrongful actions, you may be entitled to compensation. Typically, in California, this compensation includes economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages: These damages are the measurable losses that result from an accident.

They include:

  • Past, current, and future medical bills related to your doctor visits, emergency medical services, rehabilitative therapy, hospital stay, prescription medications, and surgeries
  • Lost wages
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Property damage
  • At-home nursing care
  • Replacement services such as child care or cleaning services
  • Other out-of-pocket expenses

Non-economic Damages: These damages refer to the subjective losses that result from an accident.

These losses are not easy to quantify and often include:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional anguish
  • Loss of a limb
  • Loss of reputation
  • Loss of companionship
  • Loss of consortium
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Disfigurement and scarring

In some cases, courts may award punitive damages or exemplary damages. However, while the other compensatory damages compensate the victim for their harm, punitive damages punish the defendant for their egregious actions and to deter other similar harmful acts.

Yet, to obtain these punitive damages in a Bakersfield burn injury accident, the victim’s lawyer needs to prove that the wrongful party was guilty of fraud, oppression, or malice by clear and convincing evidence.

Even though a lawyer can tell you what types of damages you can pursue following a Bakersfield burn injury accident, no attorney can tell you exactly how much your burn injury case is worth.

This is because there are just too many elements that can affect your claim and the amount of money you can receive, including:

  • What were the extent and the severity of your burn injury?
  • What type of medical treatments did your burn injury require?
  • Does your burn injury need any future, ongoing care?
  • Did your burn injury result in disfigurement or significant scarring?
  • Can you work following your burn injury accident?
  • Did the burn injury cause you to suffer disruptions in your daily activities?
  • Are replacement services needed following the burn injury accident?
  • Is the defendant’s liability certain?
  • How credible is the evidence provided?

Yet, although a lawyer cannot tell you the exact amount of money you can get following your Bakersfield burn injury accident, when you work with a skilled burn injury accident attorney, like those at The May Firm, these lawyers can go over each of these factors, figure out how they influence your case, and prepare the strongest arguments in response to them making sure to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.

If a defective product is responsible for your burn injury, the manufacturer or retailer that produced or sold the product can be held liable for your damages, even if there was no negligence involved. This is because most product liability laws indicate that whoever manufactures, designs, or sells a defective product is strictly liable for any injuries caused by the product. These strict liability cases include manufacturing defects, warning defects, and design defects. As a result, if you suffered a burn injury because of the defective product, you can collect compensation for your injuries if:
  • The wrongful party manufactured, designed, sold, or distributed the defective product
  • The product contained a design, manufacturing, or warning defect when it left the wrongful party’s possession
  • You used the product in a reasonably foreseeable way, and
  • The defect was a substantial factor in causing your harm
Thankfully, when you work with a knowledgeable burn injury attorney, you will not have to prove these legal elements yourself. Instead, these lawyers can handle this investigation process for you, gather the evidence required to prove each of these elements, and hold those companies responsible for your burn injuries answerable.

If your burn injury resulted because of a defective condition on another person’s property, you may be able to hold the property owner liable for the harm you sustained and collect compensation for your injuries.

Generally, under premises liability laws, the landowner or the property owner must keep their property reasonably safe. This means these owners are responsible for maintaining and inspecting their property, repairing any dangerous conditions, and giving warnings about any hazardous conditions on their land. If they breach this duty, they can be held responsible for the damages that occur.

That is why, if you suffered a burn injury because of a hazardous condition on someone else’s land, you should reach out to an experienced Bakersfield burn injury lawyer at The May Firm as soon as possible. Our attorneys can review the accident, determine if you have a viable case, and go after the financial compensation you need.

Every state has a statute of limitations law that dictates the maximum time for a person to file a claim following an alleged offense. If they do not bring this suit within this time, they can’t pursue compensation for their injuries.

In California, the statute of limitations to bring an injury case is two years from the date of the injury. However, there are often exceptions to this rule that can extend or shorten this filing period.

As a result, if you want to protect your rights and make sure you can fight for the money you deserve, you should contact a skilled Bakersfield burn injury lawyer, such as those at The May Firm, as soon as possible. These lawyers can promptly review your case, determine the maximum amount of time you have to file your claim, and ensure that your legal documents and motions are correctly prepared and filed before time runs out.

At The May Firm, we understand how devastating a burn injury can be on you and your whole family and that no amount of compensation will entirely erase the hurt, losses, and pain you had to endure because of this injury.

Yet, we also know that obtaining financial recovery after your accident can not only help you start rebuilding your life after this traumatizing event, but it can also provide you and your family the peace of mind that your medical bills and other financial losses will be taken care of.

That is why our law firm is ready to provide you the legal help you require to go after the compensation and justice you deserve.

We do this by:

  • Going over your case in detail, evaluating your legal claim, and determining the legal options you should pursue.
  • Answering all the questions and concerns you have regarding your burn injury accident and the legal process involved in the case.
  • Investigating your Bakersfield burn injury accident and securing the evidence required to show fault and damages.
  • Bringing in experts such as doctors and accident reconstructionists to help prove liability and substantiate your claim.
  • Taking care of all the negotiations and discussions with the other side, including the insurance company, and going after a fair settlement offer.
  • Proceeding to trial if the other side is unwilling to negotiate fairly and working relentlessly to obtain a successful resolution to your case.

For these reasons, if you or a loved one suffered a burn injury in a Bakersfield burn accident, do not wait any longer to get the legal help you need. Instead, contact The May Firm today at (844) 629-3476 for a free case evaluation, and let our skilled burn injury attorneys help fight for the financial recovery you deserve.

Call Us for a Free Consultation

Contact us to get started. It is important to have the proper legal representation on your side if you’re involved in a motorcycle crash. Often wrongful blame is placed on the rider in a multi-vehicle collision due to the increased risk that comes with riding a motorcycle. Insurance companies are reluctant to side with the motorcyclist and oftentimes will attempt to place the full or partial blame on them. Don’t accept that blame and the legal repercussions that come with it.

Call (866) 619-6679 to schedule a free consultation with our award-winning motorcycle accident lawyers. We’ll help determine the viability of your case based on your testimony and help you determine the best way to proceed. Working on a contingency fee means our lawyers are only compensated when your case or settlement is won, and our extensive experience and case history allow us to settle most claims out of court, giving you a faster resolution to your case and allowing you to focus on your recovery process. We factor in every possible expense when building your settlement: Medical bills, wage loss, property damage, and emotional suffering are all considered. Our goal is to help you put your life back in order to the best of our ability.

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