The National Fire Protection Association has reported that in 2014—currently the most recent year for which complete statistics are available—there were 193,500 vehicle fires in the United States. These incidents caused the deaths of 345 civilians and injuries to 1,450 more. Many of those who survived suffered burn injuries, which can require long, painful, and expensive recoveries.
Recovering From a Burn Injury After an Illinois Car Crash
Burns are classified by degrees, with first-degree burns being the least serious and fourth-degree burns being the most serious. The pain that burn victims suffer and the medical care that burn victims need generally go up as the degree of the burn rises.
Third- and fourth-degree burns, for example, typically require hospitalization. Surgeries such as skin grafts may be necessary, and multiple surgeries are not uncommon. Infection is a high risk. Many patients will need an extended period in the hospital, sometimes several months. Burn injury patients may also require psychological counseling and other therapies to adjust to lasting deformity and disability.
How to Make Your Recovery a Little Easier
If you’ve suffered a serious burn, then you are likely out of work and you may be facing a permanent disability due to someone else’s negligence. You didn’t cause your burn, but you are the one who has to suffer all of the consequences of that burn unless you take action.
In order to take action, you need to know who was responsible for your crash. In the case of an Illinois car fire, the responsible party could be:
- Another driver.
- The manufacturer of the car or defective car part.
- A mechanic who made a dangerous error.
An experienced Illinois car accident lawyer can review the evidence and help you find the responsible party. Then, your attorney can get to work holding that party, or the insurer of that party, responsible for your car accident injury. Once you prove who caused the car fire and your resulting burns, you may be able to recover for your past, current and future medical expenses, lost income, out-of-pocket costs, physical pain, and emotional suffering. To learn more about your rights and your potential recovery, please start an online chat with us today.
