Fire Injury in Texas Law

Fire and Burn Injury under Texas Law

Damages and injuries from accidental fires are common. Even with insurance coverage property damage and medical costs can ruin you. Depending on the circumstances of the fire your rights to recovery may vary. You may be able to seek legal compensation for your injuries and losses under personal injury law, negligence or wrongful death statutes.

There can be numerous causes for fires many of which may leave you with an actionable cause. For example, if the fire was caused by a consumer product that was unsafe or manufactured improperly or that failed to provide proper warning labels you may be able to file under product liability laws. If a property owner or landlord failed to install correct fire safety and warning equipment such as smoke detectors which resulted in a fire causing injury and loss may be able to file under Texas personal injury and/or negligence statutes.

Burns can be one of the most painful injuries of all. A severe burn injury can leave permanent scarring requiring multiple surgeries, sometimes leaving permanent disfigurement and can prevent an individual from returning to work. Often times a burn victim can never fully regain the life they led prior to their injury.

Recovering from serious burn injuries is usually a long and very painful experience involving all manner of medicines, skin grafts and even sometimes dialysis. Needless to say this process can be very expensive.

Burn injuries are ranked in order of their severity from the first to fourth degree. First degree and secondary injuries can heal with time and care. Third and fourth degree injuries however are much more serious. Victims of third and fourth degree burns often face numerous additional challenges such as muscle damage, bone damage, skin damage, as well as damage to blood vessels and neurological functions.

If the injury occurred at work than the employer may be liable for the employee's medical expenses through workers compensation insurance. Although an employer cannot usually be sued for an injury that occurs on the job, if the accident was caused by a negligent third-party such as a careless coworker or another company, it may be possible to make a claim against that third-party.

If a victim loses their life to a fire where someone failed to give due diligence in an accident such as an automobile collision the family may be able to see compensation under Texas wrongful death law.