Did you suffer a burn injury?

Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States receive medical treatment for burn injuries every year, and tens of thousands require hospitalization. Burn injuries can occur anywhere—at home, at work, on the road, or because of a defective product. They may result from fire, chemicals, electricity, hot liquids, or other heat sources and can range from relatively minor to life-threatening.

Hospital stays for burn-related injuries are often significantly longer and more expensive than the average inpatient stay. Treatment may involve multiple surgeries, intensive wound care, skin grafting, rehabilitation, and ongoing specialist follow-up. Severe burns also carry a high risk of complications, including infection, limited mobility, chronic pain, disfigurement, and psychological effects such as anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress.

Many burns are preventable and occur when someone else failed to act safely—such as a negligent property owner, employer, landlord, product manufacturer, or driver. 

In New York, individuals who suffer burn injuries due to another party’s negligence have the right to pursue compensation for their medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other related losses. To avoid getting burned by the legal process and having a settlement come up short, they need to work with the right legal team. 

How Burn Injuries are Classified

We’ve all had the painful experience of getting too close to a hot surface and feeling the discomfort of burned skin. We instantly pull back to assess the damage. The wound turns red, blisters, and causes minor annoyance and pain for a few days. It’s an injury to monitor, but nothing too severe. 

While many minor burns heal fully within a short period, severe burns can cause permanent damage and require months or even years of medical recovery. Burns are based on the depth of tissue damage. Medical expenses rise dramatically as burn depth and tissue damage increase. 

• First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin (the epidermis). 

• • • They are usually treated on an outpatient basis and heal within days. 
    • Medical costs are generally limited to evaluation and medication.

• Second-degree burns extend into the dermis, causing blistering, significant pain, and a higher risk of infection. 

• • • These injuries may require emergency care, follow-up treatment, and missed work. 
    • Medical bills can reach tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the size and location of the burn.

• Third-degree burns destroy the full thickness of the skin and may damage fat, nerves, and connective tissue. 

• • • Hospitalization, skin grafting, pain management, and lengthy wound care are common. 
    • Treatment costs frequently reach hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, especially if complications such as infection occur.

• Fourth-degree burns penetrate muscle, tendons, or bone and are among the most catastrophic.

• • Patients may require multiple surgeries, extended ICU care, rehabilitation, and ongoing assistance. 
  • Lifetime medical and care expenses can rise into the millions of dollars.

Because medical needs—and related costs—increase sharply with burn severity, compensation claims involving moderate or severe burns must consider not only current medical bills, but also future treatment, lost income, rehabilitation, and long-term physical and emotional effects.

And complications from a burn injury—even one that appears minor at first—may not reveal themselves right away. Before accepting a settlement or assigning a dollar value to a claim, it’s important to let the healing process unfold, follow medical guidance, and consult an experienced injury attorney.

How Burn Injuries Can Happen

Burn injuries are more serious than many people realize—until they suffer a burn that requires medical attention. 

According to the American Burn Association, an estimated 486,000 people receive medical treatment for burn injuries in the United States each year, and approximately 40,000 require hospitalization at hospitals or burn centers. 

When severe burns do occur, they are most often linked to a few preventable causes. Recent burn center data show:

• Flame and flash burns from residential fires, explosions, or vehicle fires—about 40% of cases.
• Scalding injuries caused by hot water, steam, or heated liquids—roughly one-third of cases.
• Contact burns from touching hot surfaces, metal, machinery, or equipment—around 10%.
• Chemical burns resulting from exposure to industrial or household acids, alkalis, or solvents—about 3–4%.
• Electrical burns, which may damage internal organs even when skin injury appears minimal—approximately 2–3%.

The majority of burn injuries occur in homes and residential settings, but thousands also happen at work, in public spaces, and on the road.

Where Burn Injuries Occur

Serious burn injuries are most likely to happen at home—commonly due to cooking incidents, heating equipment, electrical hazards, or defective household products. Burns can also occur:

• In the workplace, particularly in construction, manufacturing, food service, industrial facilities, and other environments where workers may be exposed to heat, chemicals, electricity, or combustible materials.
• In motor vehicle crashes, typically when fuel ignites, electrical systems spark, or surfaces catch fire for some other reason. 
• On commercial or public property, when property owners fail to address fire hazards, faulty wiring, or other dangerous conditions. 

Burn injuries can happen anywhere, at any time. The likelihood and severity can hinge on where a person lives, works, or travels. Population density, building age, safety compliance, industry type, and access to emergency services all play significant roles. 

In New York, where millions of people live in older, multi-unit housing, rely on public transportation, and work in high-risk occupations, understanding how and why burn injuries occur locally is a key step in identifying what—and who—may be responsible.

Burn Injuries in New York

Burn injuries affect thousands of New Yorkers every year, and the risks are shaped by the state’s dense population, aging buildings, transportation systems, and industrial workforce. Several factors can make burn incidents more prevalent—and more severe— in New York:

• New York City experiences a high volume of building fires each year.
  • FDNY responded to approximately 23,000 structural fires and 13,000 non-structural fires in FY 2023, reflecting the ongoing risk of burns in multi-unit housing and densely populated NYC neighborhoods. 
• Many NYC residential fires occur in older, multi-unit buildings. 
  • More than 80% of NYC’s housing was built more than 50 years ago, increasing risks related to outdated wiring, heating systems, and code deficiencies.
• Lithium-ion battery fires have become a rapidly growing hazard in New York City.
  • FDNY reported 268 lithium-ion battery fires, 150 injuries, and 18 deaths in 2023, many of them linked to e-bikes and electric scooters or batteries charged indoors. 
• Workplace burns remain a concern across New York.
  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports thousands of work-related burn injuries nationwide each year, including more than 14,000 cases of heat (thermal) burns and over 4,000 chemical burns, with elevated risk in construction, food service, manufacturing, and industrial settings—all major employment sectors in New York. 
• Transportation incidents and roadway fires also contribute to serious burn injuries. 
  • Fuel ignition, electrical failures, and post-collision fires routinely cause injuries on New York roads and highways. New York City records around 100,000 car accidents per year, while New York State sees roughly 130,000 injury-related crashes annually.  

When burn injuries occur in New York, patients may receive specialized treatment at one of the state’s dedicated burn centers, including New York-Presbyterian, NYU Langone Health, Westchester Medical Center, and regional burn units statewide. These facilities provide advanced wound care, grafting, reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation, and psychological support.

New York offers exceptional medical care for burn survivors, but treatment costs can rise quickly, and victims may be unable to work during recovery. If someone else’s negligence caused the injury, the law may require that party—not the victim—to cover medical bills, lost income, and other damages.

Burn Injury Treatment and Costs

Severe burns frequently require surgical treatment that includes wound cleaning, removal of damaged tissue, and skin grafting. Many patients undergo multiple operations, and medical care can continue long after the initial hospitalization.

National healthcare data show that burn-related hospital stays average 8.1 days—nearly double the 4.5-day average for all other inpatient stays—and cost more than twice as much.

Burn care can be more expensive not only because of longer hospital stays, but because burn injuries may require intensive, prolonged, and multidisciplinary treatment. Major treatment cost drivers include: 

• Emergency response and trauma stabilization
• Extended hospitalization and ICU care that can last weeks
• Multiple surgeries, including debridement and skin grafting
• Ongoing wound care, dressings, medication, and infection management
• Rehabilitation and therapy, such as physical, occupational, and psychological care
• Reconstructive or cosmetic procedures, sometimes performed months or years later
• Medical equipment and assistive devices, (e.g., splints and compression garments)
• Long-term outpatient follow-up and monitoring

These services and costs can accumulate over the course of treatment and drive total medical bills into the six- or seven-figure range, particularly when complications occur or when ongoing rehabilitation and additional surgeries are required.

Beyond medical bills from hospitalization, grafting, infection management, reconstructive procedures, therapy, and psychological care, burn survivors may also face lost wages, diminished earning capacity, permanent scarring or disfigurement, and emotional trauma.

Who Can Be Liable for a Burn Injury?

Many burn injuries are preventable, and when they result from unsafe conditions, careless behavior, or violations of law, one or more parties may be financially responsible. 

Depending on how and where the injury occurred, potential defendants may be landlords, building owners, employers, manufacturers, delivery companies, utilities, or government entities. 

Landlords and Property Owners

Owners and property managers may be liable when fires or burn hazards stem from:

• Faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, or missing smoke detectors
• Broken boilers, radiators, or heating equipment
• Blocked fire exits, defective alarms, or sprinkler failures
• Building code or safety ordinance violations.

Liability may apply in apartment buildings, rental homes, commercial spaces, or public facilities

Product Manufacturers, Distributors, and Retailers

Burn injuries may result from dangerously designed, defective, or improperly labeled products, including:

• Lithium-ion batteries, chargers, or e-mobility devices
• Space heaters, kitchen appliances, or consumer electronics
• Industrial equipment, machinery, or tools

Product liability claims do not require proof of negligence—only proof that the product was defective and caused injury.

Employers, Contractors, and Third Parties

Workplace burns may arise from:

• Unsafe construction sites or industrial environments
• Lack of protective equipment or inadequate training
• Exposure to chemicals, steam, electricity, or open flames

While workers’ compensation generally covers medical expenses and lost wages, injured workers may also pursue a third-party lawsuit against negligent contractors, manufacturers, property owners, or utility companies.

Motor Vehicle Drivers and Transportation Companies

Burns caused by vehicle collisions, explosions, or post-crash fires may lead to claims against:

• Negligent drivers
• Trucking companies
• Rideshare operators
• Bus or transportation authorities (subject to notice-of-claim rules)

Defective fuel systems, batteries, or electrical components may also create product liability claims.

Utilities, Maintenance Companies, and Service Providers

Gas leaks, electrical malfunctions, and equipment failures may stem from:

• Negligent repairs or installations
• Inadequate inspections
• Failure to meet safety standards

These cases often require technical investigation and expert analysis.

Government Entities

Municipalities, public housing authorities, or transportation agencies may be liable for:

• Unsafe public buildings
• Negligent maintenance
• Fire-safety violations

Claims against government entities follow shorter deadlines and special procedural requirements.

Determining Liability Is Not Always Straightforward

Serious burn cases frequently involve multiple responsible parties, overlapping insurance policies, and competing narratives about what caused the fire or exposure. Determining legal responsibility can involve detailed investigation that involves:

• Fire and electrical experts
• Building code analysis
• Product testing
• Witness interviews and surveillance review
• Preservation of physical evidence

Even if it may seem obvious how a burn happened, and who’s to blame, identifying every party that may be responsible is a necessary step to securing full compensation for the substantial medical costs, long recovery periods, and permanent effects of a burn injury. 

Don’t Play With Fire. Get Help From Pain Injury Law. 

Hiring the wrong injury law firm is like playing with fire. 

You already got burned once. Don’t get burned again by hiring a firm that deals with injury claims the old-fashioned way. Pain Injury Law leverages the latest legal technology so you can take control of your claim, your health, and your future. The best lawyers and support staff, deploying the best legal tech, puts you at the center of the claims process. Learn how.