Introduction: Catastrophic Fires & Burn Injuries
Fires cause more deaths in the U.S. than all natural disasters combined annually. Often fires are the result of negligence, defectively designed products or faulty building. In 2006, the most current year with data from the United States Fire Administration (USFA), 1.6 million fires were reported with $11.3 billion in property losses.
The national law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is currently representing clients who have been harmed physically and financially by tragic fires as the result of the negligence of another or from a defective product.
Legal Rights of the Injured
The law in most states provides individuals with legal claims and the right to compensation for fire-related injuries they suffer as a result of a defective product or the negligence of another. Burn survivors and other victims of fires may file lawsuits seeking compensation for their pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost past and future wages and punitive damages.
Types of Fires
Home & Residential Structure Fires - Devastating Fires at Home
Residential house fires account for 81% of fire-related deaths and 79% of injuries in the U.S. (Data from 2006, the latest year with available data). For a ten year period beginning in 1997, an average of over 3,000 civilians were killed and another 15,340 were injured annually as the result of residential structure fires.
Residential structures fires encompass fires that occur in places where people live such as one- and two-family dwellings (including manufactured homes), apartments, hotels, motels, college dormitories and boarding houses.
Click here for more information about residential structure fires and burn injuries.
Non-Residential Structure Fires - Fires at Businesses
Nonresidential structures include educational, institutional, public assembly, stores and offices, industry, utility, defense, storage in structures, and other buildings were people gather for school, work, entertainment or other activities.
While fire safety measures like overhead sprinklers and fire stairwells have gone far in reducing deaths and injuries from fires in non-residential buildings, poor building management, hazardous work practices, non-compliance with municipal fire codes or improper action from emergency response personnel can still place lives at risk. Learn more...
Vehicle Fires - Car, Truck, SUV and other Automobile Fires
Vehicle fires can be started by defective gas tanks which explode during collisions, faulty cruise control switches which can spark and various other causes but can easily spread to homes or other structures, causing significant property damage as well as severe danger to human life. Learn more....
Outdoor Fires - Large-scale Fire Disasters and Wildfires in Suburban & Rural Areas
Fires outdoors can spread quickly, destroying wild habitats and farmland, and even homes and businesses. Wildland-urban interface fires often result from the negligence of utility companies in failing to properly maintain power lines and adjacent vegetation, and are thus the direct result of another's negligence or failure to act. Learn more...
Resources for Burn Victims
There are many organizations in the United States dedicated to helping burn survivors. Please visit our resources for burn victims web page with links to websites that have information relevant to individuals and families of those who suffered burns and other catastrophic fire injuries.
How Fires Are Investigated
Fires are often complex events whose origins and cause are difficult to determine. Because of their destructive nature, fires consume the evidence of their initiation and progress. But despite the difficulties surrounding an investigation it is often possible to for trained individuals to determine the cause of a devastating fire. Learn more...
Contact Personal Injury Attorney | Lawyer
If you have been injured in a fire, or if a family member has been killed by a fire, please click here to contact an experienced personal injury attorney at Lieff Cabraser for a free, no obligation review of your case.
About Lieff Cabraser
Founded in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a sixty-plus attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. For the last seven years, the National Law Journal has recognized Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in America.
For our personal injury cases, we bring a team of experienced lawyers. Each client is assigned an individual lawyer. In addition, we have on staff multiple nurses, legal assistants, scientific analysts and case clerks to assist the attorneys. Learn more about our firm.
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