North Bay Wildfire Burn Injury Attorney

The effects of a burn injury can last a lifetime. You or a loved one may live forever with physical trauma such as scarring, disfigurement, or amputations. You may also suffer long-lasting mental and emotional trauma from being involved in a California wildfire. While nothing can take back the pain a fire causes you, there are remedies for the financial losses involved with burn injuries. Come to the Wine Country Wildfire Consortium for legal help if you were one of the many people who suffered burns in the recent devastating fires.

Elements of a Burn Injury Claim

One couple that lost their home in the Tubbs Fire is filing a lawsuit against PG&E, the utility company, on the grounds that the company negligently failed to properly maintain its electrical wires and components, contributing to the Wine Country fires. It is the first of most likely many like it against the company in light of ongoing investigations into the company as a potential cause of the fires. A personal injury suit is one of the best ways to hold a negligent party accountable for his, her, or its actions – especially if a burn injury resulted from the incident.

To file a personal injury claim for a burn, you must have four elements. First, that the other party (the defendant) owed you a duty of care. In the PG&E example, the utility company owes citizens of California a duty to act within accepted standards of care for the industry. This includes routinely inspecting electrical components for potential problems, and making repairs to prevent foreseeable disasters like wildfires.

The second element is a breach of this duty. The couple suing PG&E is alleging that the company breached its duties of care by failing to prevent a risk that was foreseeable in the hot, dry, and windy conditions. The third element is causation. The injured party must prove that the defendant’s breach of duty caused the harm in question. The defendant must have caused or contributed to the element that resulted in burn injuries. Finally, the plaintiff must show that he or she suffered real, compensable damages in the fire. These include burn injuries and property damage.

When to Call the Wine Country Wildfire Consortium

Burn injuries are serious. They can be extremely painful and require days or weeks in the hospital. Severe burns may require multiple surgeries and skin grafts during recovery. Victims may require physical rehabilitation as well as psychological therapy to cope with the trauma of being involved in a raging wildfire. Burn victims may have lifelong consequences from burn injuries, along with hefty medical bills and financial losses. If someone else’s negligence caused the fire, burn victims have the right to pursue compensation for all of these harms.

The Wine Country Wildfire Consortium is committed to helping victims of burns and catastrophic injuries from the recent Sonoma and Napa County wildfires. The Consortium consists of five highly successful local law firms that have won hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for fire victims. Some of these firms have lawyers and staff directly affected by the Wine Country fires. They are passionate about helping burn injury victims secure brighter futures through quality legal help. Call today to schedule your free consultation, to see if you have grounds for a personal injury claim.