Burn injuries are among the most painful and life-altering injuries a person can suffer. Beyond the immediate physical trauma, serious burns often require multiple surgeries, months of rehabilitation, and years of ongoing medical care. The emotional and psychological toll can be just as severe as the physical damage, and the financial burden on victims and their families is often overwhelming. When a burn injury results from someone else's negligence, you deserve an attorney who will fight to recover every dollar available.
At Chaz Roberts Law, we represent burn injury victims throughout Lafayette and the surrounding Acadiana region. Our personal injury practice is built on our commitment to standing up for people who have been seriously hurt through no fault of their own. Our attorneys bring that commitment to every burn injury case our firm handles. Call us at (337) 504-3202 for a free consultation.
Common Causes of Burn Injuries in Lafayette
Burn injuries in Lafayette can happen in a wide range of everyday situations, but the risks here are shaped in part by the region’s strong industrial presence. With oilfield operations, refineries, chemical plants, and other heavy industries woven into the local economy, workers and nearby residents often face hazards that are less common in other parts of the country. At the same time, many burn injuries arise from more familiar incidents like car accidents, house fires, and defective products, meaning anyone in Lafayette can be at risk.
Motor Vehicle and 18 Wheeler Accidents
Car and truck accidents can cause severe burns when fuel ignites, when vehicles catch fire following a collision, or when hot engine components come into contact with occupants during a crash. Accidents involving 18 wheelers carrying flammable cargo create particularly serious fire and explosion risks. Victims of vehicle fire accidents may have claims against negligent drivers, trucking companies, cargo loaders, and in some cases vehicle manufacturers.
Workplace and Industrial Accidents
Industrial facilities throughout Lafayette and the surrounding area expose workers to burn hazards on a daily basis. Equipment failures, inadequate safety protocols, improper chemical storage, and insufficient protective gear can all contribute to serious workplace burn injuries. Depending on the circumstances, victims may have claims beyond workers' compensation against third-party equipment manufacturers, contractors, or property owners whose negligence may have contributed to the accident.
Oilfield, Refinery, and Offshore Incidents
South Louisiana's oil and gas industry creates some of the highest burn injury risks anywhere in the country. Blowouts, explosions, flash fires, and chemical releases on oilfield sites, refineries, and offshore platforms can cause catastrophic burns in seconds. These cases often involve complex liability questions across multiple contractors, operators, and equipment suppliers, and they require an attorney with specific experience in the oil and gas industry.
Defective Products and Appliances
Defective appliances, electrical equipment, consumer products, and industrial machinery can cause serious burns when they malfunction due to design flaws or manufacturing defects. Product liability claims allow burn injury victims to pursue compensation from manufacturers and distributors whose negligent or defective products caused the injury, regardless of whether anyone else was directly at fault.
House Fires and Apartment Fires
Residential fires caused by a landlord's failure to maintain safe premises, defective wiring, faulty heating systems, or the negligence of another tenant can give rise to premises liability or product liability claims. Victims of apartment fires in particular may have claims against property owners who failed to install or maintain working smoke detectors, fire suppression systems, or safe electrical systems.
Chemical and Electrical Burns
Chemical and electrical burns can cause severe, often disfiguring injuries. Chemical burns may result from exposure to industrial solvents, cleaning agents, or other hazardous substances, while electrical burns can occur due to exposed wiring, faulty equipment, or contact with power lines. Although these injuries are common in workplace settings, they can also happen in homes or commercial properties when poor maintenance or defective products are involved.
Types of Burn Injuries We Handle
Burn injuries are not all the same. The severity of a burn often determines both the medical treatment required and the long-term impact on a victim’s life. At Chaz Roberts Law, we understand how devastating these injuries can be and we fight to ensure our clients receive the full compensation needed to recover and move forward.
First-Degree Burns
First-degree burns affect only the outermost layer of skin, causing redness, minor swelling, and pain. These burns are often caused by incidents like improperly maintained water heaters that produce excessively hot water, minor vehicle fires after a crash, or brief exposure to hot surfaces or liquids in restaurants or commercial settings. While they are the least severe classification, burns covering large areas can still require medical care and may support a personal injury claim when negligence is involved.
Second-Degree Burns
Second-degree burns penetrate deeper into the skin, causing blistering, intense pain, swelling, and a risk of infection. These injuries frequently result from preventable accidents such as apartment or workplace fires, scalding from unsafe water temperatures, grease fires in commercial kitchens, or chemical exposure due to improper storage or labeling. In many cases, these burns may be linked to negligent property maintenance, safety violations, or defective equipment.
Third-Degree Burns
Third-degree burns destroy all layers of the skin and may damage underlying tissue, muscle, and nerve endings. These catastrophic injuries are often caused by serious negligence, including car and 18-wheeler accidents involving fires or explosions, industrial incidents at refineries or oilfield sites, electrical accidents involving exposed wiring or unsafe job conditions, and large-scale residential or commercial fires. These cases often involve multiple liable parties and significant safety failures.
Fourth-Degree Burns
Fourth-degree burns extend beyond the skin into muscle, bone, and even internal organs. In personal injury cases, these injuries are typically the result of extreme and preventable events, such as major industrial explosions, high-voltage electrical incidents due to inadequate safeguards, or prolonged entrapment in structure fires caused by code violations or defective fire safety systems. These are life-threatening events that often stem from serious negligence or systemic safety breakdowns.
Make no mistake, these injuries are catastrophic, and pursuing a claim requires a law firm that understands how to investigate liability, identify responsible parties, and fight for the full value of a case. Call Chaz Roberts Law at (337) 504-3202 to discuss your claim.
Long-Term Effects of Severe Burn Injuries
The consequences of a serious burn injury extend far beyond the initial hospitalization. Victims frequently face:
- Multiple reconstructive surgeries over a period of years
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement affecting appearance and self-image
- Chronic pain requiring long-term pain management
- Limited range of motion and physical function in affected areas
- Increased susceptibility to infection due to compromised skin
- Heat sensitivity and difficulty regulating body temperature
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety
- Social isolation and difficulties returning to work and normal life
- Ongoing costs for compression garments, wound care, and therapy
Understanding the full long-term impact of a burn injury is essential to calculating the true value of a compensation claim. Accepting an early settlement offer before the long-term prognosis is clear is one of the most common and costly mistakes burn injury victims make.
Compensation Available in a Louisiana Burn Injury Claim
A successful burn injury claim in Louisiana can seek compensation for both economic and non-economic losses, including:
- Emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, and surgical costs
- Future medical expenses for reconstructive surgery, skin grafting, and ongoing care
- Physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages for time missed from work during recovery
- Reduced earning capacity if burns affect your ability to work in the future
- Pain and suffering for the physical pain caused by the injury
- Emotional distress and psychological harm including PTSD and depression
- Disfigurement and permanent scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life for activities no longer available to you
- Wrongful death damages for families who have lost a loved one to a fatal burn injury
Louisiana Burn Injury Laws You Should Know
Louisiana operates under a pure comparative fault system, meaning that even if you were partially responsible for the accident that caused your burn injury, you can still recover compensation. Your damages are reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault, but you are not barred from recovery entirely. Insurance companies frequently attempt to exaggerate a victim's share of fault to reduce their payout, which is one reason having an experienced attorney advocating on your behalf matters so much.
Louisiana also has a deadline of one year for personal injury claims which is shorter than most other states. In most cases, you have one year from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. Missing that deadline generally means losing your right to pursue compensation entirely. Certain exceptions may apply depending on the circumstances, but relying on those exceptions is risky. Contacting an attorney as soon as possible after a burn injury is always the safest course.
Determining Liability in a Burn Injury Case
Identifying who is legally responsible for a burn injury requires a thorough investigation of how the accident happened and who had a duty of care that was breached. Potentially liable parties in Louisiana burn injury cases may include:
- Negligent drivers or trucking companies whose vehicles caused a fire or explosion.
- Employers or property owners who failed to maintain safe conditions or provide adequate safety equipment.
- Oilfield operators, contractors, and equipment suppliers in industrial accident cases.
- Product manufacturers whose defective products caused the burn.
- Landlords who failed to maintain fire safety systems or safe electrical and heating systems.
- Government entities responsible for road maintenance or utility infrastructure in some circumstances.
In many burn injury cases, more than one party may share liability. Identifying every responsible party is essential to securing your recovery.
Why Choose Chaz Roberts Law for Your Burn Injury Case
Burn injury cases require attorneys who understand the challenges that come with these injuries, the industries that cause them, and the legal frameworks that govern liability in Louisiana. Chaz Roberts Law has been representing burn injury victims in Lafayette and throughout Acadiana for over 16 years.
Chaz Roberts Law was built to serve this community. Our firm understands the local industries, the local courts, and the specific challenges that burn injury victims in Acadiana face when pursuing compensation. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Contact a Lafayette Burn Injury Lawyer Today
A burn injury caused by someone else's negligence should not leave you and your family carrying the financial burden alone. Chaz Roberts Law is here to help you pursue the compensation you need to cover your medical care, your lost income, and the full impact this injury has had on your life.
Contact Chaz Roberts Law at (337) 504-3202 to schedule your free consultation with an experienced Lafayette burn injury lawyer today.
Burn Injury FAQs
How Long Do I Have to File a Burn Injury Lawsuit in Louisiana?
In most cases, Louisiana's one-year prescriptive period applies, meaning you have one year from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is one of the shortest deadlines in the country and it is strictly enforced. Limited exceptions exist for cases involving minors or situations where the injury or its cause was not immediately discoverable, but those exceptions are narrow. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after your injury to make sure your rights are protected.
What If I Was Partially at Fault for the Accident That Caused My Burn Injury?
You can still recover compensation. Louisiana's pure comparative fault system allows injured victims to pursue damages even when they share some responsibility for the accident. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you are not barred from recovering entirely.
If you were found to be 20% at fault and your total damages were $500,000, you could still recover $400,000. An attorney helps ensure that your share of fault is not inflated beyond what the evidence actually supports.
What If My Burn Injury Happened at Work?
Work-related burn injuries may entitle you to workers' compensation benefits, but workers' compensation is often not the only avenue of recovery available. If a third party, such as an equipment manufacturer, a subcontractor, or a property owner, contributed to the accident, you may be able to pursue a separate personal injury claim against that party in addition to your workers' compensation claim. These third-party claims can recover damages that workers' compensation does not cover, including pain and suffering. An attorney can evaluate whether a third-party claim is available in your situation.
What Should I Do After Suffering a Burn Injury in Lafayette?
- Seek emergency medical treatment immediately. Do not delay care in order to gather evidence or make phone calls.
- Document the scene and your injuries as soon as you are able after receiving initial treatment.
- Preserve any evidence related to how the accident occurred.
- Contact an attorney before speaking with any insurance representatives.
- Call (337) 504-3202 to speak with Chaz Roberts Law as soon as possible.
Can I File a Claim If My Loved One Died From a Burn Injury?
Yes. Louisiana law allows surviving family members to pursue a wrongful death claim when a loved one dies as a result of another party's negligence. Eligible claimants typically include spouses, children, and parents of the deceased. A wrongful death claim can seek compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support, loss of love and companionship, and the grief and emotional suffering of surviving family members. A survival action may also be available to recover damages the deceased suffered before death, including pain and suffering. Contact us to discuss your family's options.
What If My Burn Was Caused by a Defective Product?
If a defective appliance, piece of equipment, or consumer product caused your burn injury, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of that product. Louisiana product liability law allows injured victims to pursue compensation based on defective design, defective manufacturing, or failure to provide adequate warnings about known dangers. These claims can proceed even if you were using the product in a normal and expected way. Preserving the product and any packaging or documentation is important to building a product liability case, so avoid discarding or repairing anything related to the incident.
