For full and fair compensation for burn injuries, you need an experienced truck accident attorney.
Big rig accidents have the potential to cause a variety of serious injuries, both to the truck drivers and to the occupants of any other vehicles involved in the accident. However, one of the most frightening scenarios for many people involves a big rig truck or car catching fire while the injured occupants are trapped inside or struggling to escape.
On the one hand, your average truck is actually less likely like to catch on fire following an accident because big rig trucks use diesel fuel. Diesel is harder to ignite than regular gasoline, so even if the fuel tank ruptures, it will be very difficult for the spilled diesel to get ignited by sparks.
However, some trucks may be carrying flammable loads, which could easily be ignited by sparks if the container breaks open. If this happens, the diesel would catch fire too. Diesel could also ignite if gasoline from another car involved in the accident has already caught fire. Considering that the average truck carries 100 gallons of diesel, this could be a very dangerous situation indeed.
Types of Burn Injuries
Serious burn injuries can happen quite quickly, be extremely traumatizing, and take months to recover from. The different types of burn injuries are:
First degree burns: These relatively minor burns affect only the outer layer of the skin, causing pain, redness, and swelling
Second-degree burns: Damage goes beyond the outer layer of skin, causing painful blistering and swelling.
Third-degree burns: These serious burns destroy all layers of the skin and can begin to affect muscles and nerves, resulting in numbness and loss of sensation in the affected areas. Third-degree burns often cause permanent scars, pain, and disabilities.
Liability and Compensation for Burn Injuries
When burn injuries result from a truck accident, the party who caused the accident is liable. For example, if the truck driver was distracted or sleepy and they collided with another vehicle, the truck driver is liable and their employer will be responsible for paying damages to the injured victims.
However, there may be some scenarios where additional liability may apply. For example, if the truck crashed due to driver error, but only caught fire due to a defect in the tank used to carry flammable materials, both the driver and the parties responsible for the manufacture or maintenance of the tank could be liable.
If you have been injured in any kind of truck accident involving burn injuries, it is extremely important to have an experienced personal injury attorney like Fernando D. Vargas representing you. Attorney Vargas understands liability law, but most importantly he understands your injuries and he will fight hard to secure the full and fair compensation you deserve for the impact your burn injuries have had on your life.
To request a free initial consultation, please call 909-982-0707 now.
