Billings Burn Injury Lawyer

Burns are painful wounds that kill the body’s tissues, penetrating the skin and even the body’s underlying muscles, tendons, and bones. Victims of traumatic burn injuries can also suffer from mental and emotional distress long after the flesh has healed. Burns often leave behind significant scarring and disfigurement – constant reminders of the traumatic incident.

Anyone who sustained a burn injury because of someone else’s negligence deserves the chance to fight for compensation. Heenan & Cook, PLLC, want residents of Billings, Montana to have this chance. Our burn injury attorneys have more than 40 years of experience we can use for settlements and litigation after a catastrophic personal injury accident. Seek our help after any type of serious burn injury.

Burn Injuries and Product Liability

Burn injuries occur most commonly at home. Suffering a burn by yourself in your home may feel like your fault, but this may not be the case. Just because you sustained a major burn in the home does not always bar you from receiving compensation. Many at-home fires and burn injuries stem from someone else’s negligence besides your own. Common products that are defective or dangerous may cause burns at home, such as:

  • Chemical hair dyes
  • Cleaning chemicals
  • Cooking utensils
  • Defective batteries
  • Electric children’s toys
  • Electrical products
  • Grills
  • Holiday lights
  • Kitchen appliances
  • Space heaters
  • Water heaters

Product manufacturers have a duty to create and distribute products that do not threaten the safety of consumers. They must test their products thoroughly before releasing them to the public and should take great care during manufacturing. It is up to the manufacturer to ensure that the product’s design is not inherently dangerous, the product contains no harmful defects off the assembly line, and there is an appropriate warning label outlining any known potential hazards of the product. Failure to adhere to these standards, resulting in someone’s burn injury, is negligence.

If you were using a household product as the instructions direct and suffered a thermal, chemical, or electrical burn because of a product defect, you may be able to sue the product manufacturer. Product liability cases center on negligence like other personal injury cases, but the burden of proof on the plaintiff is lighter. Instead of needing to prove how a defendant was negligent, the plaintiff of a product liability case only needs to prove a product was defective and that this defect caused the burn injury.

Seek Legal Counsel for Your Burn Injury

Product defects are not the only potential causes of burn injuries. A victim can suffer a burn injury in an auto accident, workplace incident, or from a premises hazard. Workplace burn injuries can stem from an employer’s failure to properly train employees to work with dangerous materials, or neglect to give employees the protective gear they need to stay safe from harmful chemicals or electrical equipment. Burns from vehicle accidents, electrical fires, or hazardous premises may all result from someone else’s negligence.

No matter what the circumstances are that caused your burn injury, speak to an attorney to find out if you have the right to pursue compensation in a personal injury claim. Talking to the attorneys at Heenan & Cook, PC, can help you understand your rights as a victim of a bad burn. We keep our clients informed throughout the claims process, giving you peace of mind in a difficult time. Learn more about your case in a free one-on-one consultation at our Billings, MT location or over the phone. Contact us today.