If you sustained a burn injury in Nevada, you may be able to sue the property owner or manager for negligence based on premises liability. If a defective product caused your burn, you may be able to sue the manufacturer and distributor for strict liability.
The following flowchart summarizes the steps of the typical burn injury lawsuit in Nevada.
Who can I sue for my burn injury?
You can bring negligence lawsuits against everyone whose carelessness caused your burn. Examples might include:
- The reckless driver who crashed into you;
- The restaurant where a hot drink was spilled on you;
- The hotel whose shower spewed scalding water;
- The fireworks pyrotechnic who did not take reasonable safety measures, resulting in you getting singed;
- The electrician whose shoddy work caused your kitchen fire;
- The construction company of your apartment building for failure to follow fire codes.
If your burn was caused by a defective product – such as a poorly constructed iron or gas grill – you can bring a strict product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.
Deeply burned skin that covers a large total body surface area (TBSA) may require emergency department medical attention.
How do I prove liability?
Negligence Cases
To win a negligence case for your burn injuries, we have to prove:
- the defendant breached their duty of care towards you, and
- this breach caused your burn.
For instance if a waiter accidentally spilled a hot drink on you, we would search for video footage of the incident and for any eyewitnesses who could testify as to what happened. Plus we would use your medical records to show that you were in fact burned.
The waiter likely has little money, so we would instead sue the restaurant since companies are vicariously liable for their employees’ negligence. Plus, since the spill happened on restaurant property, the company has premises liability.
In some burn cases, we hire an accident reconstruction expert witness to examine the evidence and chart out exactly what happened and how the defendants were at fault. If we can show the defendant’s legal team that we have enough evidence to win at trial, they may be willing to offer a favorable financial settlement upfront without a trial.1
Strict Liability Cases
To win a strict liability case for your burn injuries, we have to prove:
- The product that burned you was defective when it left the defendant’s possession, and
- You used the product in a manner which was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant.
For instance if your new hairdryer sparks and burns you, we would sue the manufacturer for selling you a defective product. The key evidence would be the hairdryer itself and medical records of your injuries.
Unlike with negligence cases, we do not have to prove that the manufacturer breached any duty of care. We simply need to show the product was defective, and that you were injured by using the product correctly.2
What money can I get?
In Nevada burn injury lawsuits, we fight for such compensatory damages as:
- past and future medical expenses (such as for emergency room care, operations, cosmetic/plastic surgery, mental health counseling, physical therapy, home health care, and other medical treatments);
- lost wages;
- loss of future earnings; and/or
- pain and suffering for the lifelong emotional distress and trauma the burns are causing you (including scarring, disfigurement, and permanent impairment).
To calculate your projected future damages, we would rely on the expert testimony of medical professionals, accountants, and psychologists.3
Common causes of house fires include arson, cooking mishaps, defective heaters, electrical malfunctions, and accidents like dropping a cigarette or candle.
What if I was partly to blame for the burn?
Under Nevada’s modified comparative negligence laws, you can still recover money in a lawsuit as long as you were no more than 50% to blame for your injuries.4
Your final payout would then be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault. So for instance if you sustained $10,000 worth of damages – and the court finds you 50% to blame for not seeing medical help earlier – then you can recover $5,000 (half of $10,000).
Is there a time limit to sue?
As a burn victim in Nevada, you have a two-year statute of limitations after the accident to bring a personal injury lawsuit.5
Fires range from 980- to well over 2,400 degrees and can melt skin instantly. Plus hot steam burns skin faster than hot water.
What if I was burned at work?
If you sustained a burn injury at work in Nevada, you should be able to file for workers’ compensation. Depending on the extent of your injuries and whether you suffer permanent impairment, you could receive:
- disability benefits,
- medical treatment, and
- vocational retraining.
Every home should have multiple smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
What are the different types of burns?
The types of burns are:
- Thermal burns from direct contact with open flames or hot surfaces.
- Chemical burns (“caustic burns”) from corrosive chemicals and acids such as chlorine, battery acid, and even bleach or pool cleaners.
- Scalds from hot liquids or steam.
- Electrical burns from charged metals and wiring and high voltage shocks.
- Inhalation burns from breathing in smoke (which can injure eyes and respiratory organs).
- Radiation burns such as from tanning beds or lasers.
- Friction burns, which typically happen when a thermal burn combines with an abrasion such as during a motorcycle or bike accident.
Note that cold burns (“frostbite”) are not really burns because they result from contact with extreme cold, though it can cause injuries just as serious as burns from heat.
Degrees of Burns
First-degree burns affect only the top layer of skin and heal quickly with over-the-counter aloe. However, these burns can be extremely painful. There is often redness, inflammation, and possibly swelling.
Second-degree burns reach under the epidermis to the dermis and may blister and cause scar tissue. They are rarely deadly, but medical care is usually necessary.
Third-degree burns and fourth-degree burns damage the underlying tissue, requiring skin grafts. The open wound is susceptible to bacterial infection, so doctors administer silver sulfadiazine, tetanus shots and/or antibiotics to prevent sepsis. Sometimes burns reach organs or the bone and may cause chronic pain.
In addition, nerve endings are destroyed in third- and fourth-degree burns – so you do not always feel pain. You may be subject to long-term hospitalization and require daily wound care and gauze changes. Serious burns heal slowly and result in contractures and permanent disfigurement.6
Also, the trauma of being burned can lead to severe, long-term psychological problems such as:
- depression,
- anxiety,
- PTSD, and
- even suicidal impulses.
Recent Statistics
In 2021, according to data submitted by Nevada hospitals to the state’s Trauma Registry, there were 66 serious burn injuries including one death.7
According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), in 2021 there were 8 injuries for every one thousand fires in Nevada. This is slightly more than the national average of 7.2 injuries for every one thousand fires.8
The Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project reports that in 2020, there were 29,165 burn admissions in hospitals throughout the U.S. Of these, 9,340 were deep burns that required surgery.9
About 3,900 hotel/motel fires broke out each year across the U.S. between 2014 and 2016.10 In 2018, there were 212,500 vehicle fires in the U.S. that resulted in 560 deaths.11
Every year ERs see tens of thousands of burn victims injured by car/motorcycle accidents, structural fires, fireworks accidents, dangerous products, and hazardous work environments.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Surgical Fires and Operative Burns: Lessons Learned From a 33-Year Review of Medical Litigation – The American Journal of Surgery.
- Burn injury: economic and social impact on a family – Public Health.
- The McDonald’s Coffee Lawsuit – Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law.
- Defending the Catastrophic Burn Injury Case – Annual Quality Congress Proceedings; Milwaukee.
- Radiation Injuries and Statistics: The Need for a New Approach to Injury Litigation – Michigan Law Journal.
Legal References:
- See, for example, Scialabba v. Brandise Const. (1996) Co.,112 Nev. 965, 921 P.2d 928. See, for example, Johnson v. Egtedar (1996) 112 Nev. 428.
- Fyssakis v. Knight Equip. Corp., 108 Nev. 212, 826 P.2d 570, 571 (1992).
- NRS 41.034. NRS 41A.011. NRS 41A.035. Tam v. Eighth Judicial District Court, (2015) 358 P.3d 234.
- NRS 41.141.
- NRS 11.190.
- Burn Incidence Fact Sheet, American Burn Association.
- Annual Trauma Registry Report, Nevada Bureau of Health Protection and Preparedness.
- Nevada Fire Loss and Fire Department Profile, U.S. Fire Administration.
- Burn Incidence Fact Sheet, American Burn Association.
- Topical Fire Report Series, U.S. Fire Administration.
- Vehicle Fires, NFPA (National Fire Protection Association ) Research.