Severe burns are among the most painful injuries a human body endures, and the medical care extends over decades. The legal recovery has to match.
Electrical (industrial contact, exposed wiring, faulty equipment), scald (commercial kitchen, residential plumbing failure, restaurant scalding incidents), chemical (industrial spill, defective consumer product, dry cleaner accidents), flame (apartment fire, building fire, vehicle fire), gas explosion (NYC utility line incidents, building gas system failure). Each cause has a different defendant profile.
First-degree (superficial, sunburn-like). Second-degree (partial thickness — blisters, painful, fluid loss). Third-degree (full thickness — destroys skin and nerve, paradoxically less painful at the burn itself). Fourth-degree (extends into muscle and bone, often requires reconstruction or amputation). The Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) percentage is the standard severity metric. Major burn centers in NYC: NewYork-Presbyterian, Weill Cornell, Lenox Hill, Burn Center at NYP/Weill Cornell.
Property-owner negligence for premises burns (defective heating, unmaintained electrical, blocked exits). Products liability for defective products causing burns. Construction-site coverage under Labor Law §240/§241(6)/§200 for workplace burns. Utility-company liability for gas-line incidents. Restaurant liability for scald injuries. Each track has its own evidence requirements.
Burn cases are uniquely long-tail. Skin grafts and hypertrophic scar revisions continue for decades. Disfigurement and contracture release surgeries are repeated through adolescence and adulthood. Psychological treatment for PTSD and body-image impact runs in parallel. A life-care planner models the burn-specific course over 30-50 years. We do not settle a major burn case before the life-care plan is complete and reviewed by independent burn-center physicians.
Yes. Immigration status does not bar a Labor Law claim in NY. Communications with us are protected by attorney-client privilege.
In most cases, yes. Workers’ comp covers your employer. The Labor Law claim is against third parties — property owner, GC, subcontractor. The two run in parallel.
Three years from the accident under CPLR §214. If a public entity is involved (NYCHA, a city project), a 90-day Notice of Claim is required under GML §50-e.
The garments worn at the time, the heat source or device, the scene itself (photographed before alteration), all medical records from emergency response through the burn unit, and witness statements.
TBSA percentage and depth, medical course (surgeries, hospitalization length, rehabilitation), the life-care plan, lost-earning capacity, and the pain-and-suffering component (consistently among the highest in PI awards).
Yes, if the utility’s actions or inactions caused or contributed to the explosion. Con Edison and National Grid have specific reporting and inspection obligations.
Labor Law §240 (elevation-related), §241(6) (Industrial Code violations), and §200 (general supervision) all apply if applicable. Workers’ comp runs parallel to a third-party claim.
Total Body Surface Area burned. The percentage determines hospital-discharge timing, long-term care plans, and damages quantum.
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