Burn Injury Lawyer in Utah
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Nobody plans for a burn. One minute you are cooking dinner or finishing a shift. The next, you are in the ER, and everything after that looks different.
Now these are surgeries to schedule and bills in the mailbox. And an insurer adjuster is calling to ask how you are feeling.
Be careful with that call. If a faulty product or an unsafe job site put you here, you shouldn’t be the one footing the bill.
Cockyane Law handles burn injury claims across Utah. We find what went wrong, go after who is responsible, and fight for what your recovery really cost.
Tell us what happened. We’ll give you a straight answer.
Call For a Free Consultation: (801) 268-2491
When Can You File a Burn Injury Claim in Utah?
If someone else’s mistake burned you, you may have a case. It doesn’t matter whether it happened at home, at work, or in a store. What matters is why it happened.
Negligence and Unsafe Conditions
Most burn claims come down to someone who didn’t take care. A greasy floor next to a hot grill. Wiring left exposed. A gas leak that people knew about and ignored. If a careless act or known hazard caused your burn, that’s a claim worth looking at.
Defective Products and Equipment
Some products are dangerous right out of the box. Space heaters that overheat. Batteries that catch fire while charging. Pressure cookers that fail. When a defect causes a burn, the company that made or sold it can be held responsible.
Unsafe Rental Properties and Commercial Premises
Landlords and businesses have to keep their buildings safe. A broken water heater, faulty outlets, no working smoke alarms, or an exit that is blocked. If the owner knew and did nothing, they may owe you.
Workplace Burn Injuries Involving Third Parties
Workers’ comp usually stops you from suing your employer. It doesn’t stop you from going after everyone else. The company that built the machine, the subcontractor on site, or the supplier who sent bad equipment can be called on the hook. And a claim against them can recover what workers’ comp won’t pay.
Types of Burn Injury Cases Our Utah Attorneys Can Evaluate
Burns come from all kinds of places. Here are some cases that we see most often.
Fire and Explosion Burn Injuries
For people who burn in a firehouse, a gas explosion, or a blaze at a business, we can look into how it started. Smoke inhalation and blast injuries often come along with the burns, and all of it counts towards your claim. A faulty furnace or a warehouse full of poorly stored chemicals can be what sets it off.
Electrical Burns and Electrocution Injuries
An electric burn can leave a small mark on the skin and still hurt the muscle, nerves, and heart underneath. We help people who were shocked by exposed wiring, downed power lines, or equipment that should have been locked before they touched it.
Chemical Burns and Hazardous Substances
Cleaning products, acids, and pool chemicals can burn your skin and damage your eyes in seconds. If you weren’t given proper warning or safety gear, or the chemicals were left somewhere they shouldn’t have been, the company or property owner may be responsible.
Scalding From Hot Liquids, Steam, and Hot Surfaces
A water heater set too high or a boiling pot knocked over in a busy kitchen can scald a child badly. Steam pipes and hot equipment without guards cause the same kind of injury. Deep scalds often need skin grafts and leave scars.
Workplace and Construction Burn Accidents
If you were burned on a job site, we look at everyone who had a hand in running it. That includes your employer, other contractors, and whoever supplies the equipment. Workers’ comp may cover part of your losses. A claim against a third party can cover the rest.
Vehicle Fires and Fuel-Related Burns
Fuel can ignite in a crash, at a gas pump, or while someone is fueling equipment. Some vehicles also catch fire because of a defect. We figure out whether the driver, the station, or the manufacturer is at fault.
Defective Appliances, Batteries, and Consumer Products
E-bike batteries, phone chargers, space heaters, and coffee makers have all caused serious burns. Keep the product if you can, and don’t try to fix it or throw it away. It’s likely the best evidence you have.
Burns Caused by Unsafe Apartments, Hotels, or Commercial Properties
Property owners are expected to fix problems they knew about. If you told your landlord about a bad stove and nothing happened, or a hotel water was hot enough to scald, these records can help prove that the owner was aware.
What Types of Burn Injuries Can Lead to a Claim?
Burns are graded from first degree to third degree and sometimes beyond. The grade matters. It’s not the only thing we look at.
First-Degree and Superficial Burns
Think sunburn, a red sore that’s gone in a few days. Nobody hires a lawyer over that by itself. It becomes relevant when it’s one piece of something bigger, like a child burned across a large part of an arm or a crash where the burn is only one of several injuries.
Second-Degree and Partial-Thickness Burns
Blisters are the giveaway. The skin underneath is raw; it hurts, and infection is a real worry. Some of these heal cleanly in three weeks. Others don’t, and suddenly you are sitting in a surgeon’s office hearing the word “graft.” A burn that looks fine in the ER can still cost someone a month of pay.
Third-Degree and Full-Thickness Burns
These go through every layer of skin. The area can look white or leathery, even charred, and it might not hurt at all. That sounds like good news, but it usually means the nerves are gone. Skin grafts are standard. So it is a long stay in a burn unit, and plenty of people never get full movement back.
Deep Burns, Permanent Scarring, and Disfigurement
A few burns go past the skin into fat, muscle, and even bone. Those are the ones that end careers. Scar tissue tightens. A hand won’t fully close; a shoulder won’t lift. Then there’s how people look at you. All of that counts in a claim, and it counts for decades, not months.
Who May Be Liable for a Burn Injury in Utah?
When someone gets burned, it rarely comes down to one person. We start by working out who all the possible defendants are, since each may have their own insurance.
Property Owners, Landlords, and Businesses
Say you were burned in an apartment. We’d want to know whether you have complained about the stove or the water heater before and whether the landlord ever sent anyone out. The same goes for a store, a restaurant, or a hotel. If the owner knew about a hazard and left it, they could be held responsible.
Employers and Potentially Responsible Third Parties
If you got hurt at work, workers’ comp will probably cover part of it, and you most likely can’t sue your employer. But a lot of job sites have several companies on them. The general contractor, a subcontractor, or the company that rented out the equipment might be eligible, and we look at all of them.
Manufacturers, Distributors, and Sellers
When a product burns you, the maker is the obvious target. The company that distributed it and the store that sold it can be named too. The Utah Product Liability Act is the law that covers those cases.
Contractors, Subcontractors, and Equipment Providers
Someone installed that gas line or serviced that heater. If they did it wrong, or a rental company gave you a piece of equipment it knew was faulty, that’s another party to go after. We pull the work orders and inspection records to see who dropped the ball.
Other Parties Responsible for Unsafe Conditions
Now and then it’s someone you wouldn’t have thought of. A gas company that got a call about a leak and never came out, for example, or a maintenance vendor who skipped a repair they were paid to do.
What Compensation Can You Recover for a Burn Injury?
Emergency Treatment, Hospitalization, and Medical Expenses
Emergency treatment means an ambulance, your ER visit, and your stay in the hospital, in the burn unit, medications, surgeries, and follow-up appointments. Burn treatment costs a lot, and bills keep coming in after you get home.
Future Surgeries, Skin Grafts, and Rehabilitation
Many burns need more than one surgery. You may need more grafts or scar revision later, plus physical or occupational therapy. If your doctor expects that care, it goes into the claim before you settle. After settlement, you can’t go back and ask for more.
Lost Wages and Reduced Earning Capacity
You can recover the income you lost while you recovered. If the burn keeps you from doing your old job or from working full time at home, you can also claim the money you earn less over the rest of your working life.
Physical Pain and Emotional Distress
Burn pain is hard to describe, and treatment adds to it. Many people also have trouble sleeping, anxiety, or fear around heat and fire. Utah laws allow compensation for this.
Permanent Scarring, Disfigurement, and Loss of Enjoyment of Life
Scars and lost movement can change how you live. If you can’t do the things you used to do, or you feel differently about how you look, that is part of your damages.
Long-Term Care and Disability-Related Expenses
Severe burns can leave someone needing help at home, changes to their house, or special equipment. If the injury caused those needs, you can include the cost.
Wrongful Death Damages in Eligible Cases
When a burn injury kills someone, eligible family members can file a wrongful death claim. It can cover funeral costs, medical bills before death, and lost income and companionship. Utah gives two years from the date of death to file, which is shorter than most injury cases.
Call For a Free Consultation: (801) 268-2491
How Do You Prove a Burn Injury Claim?
Proof is mostly papers, photos, and people willing to talk. I start collecting it on day one.
Medical Records and Treatment Documentation
Your medical file is the backbone of your case. We want every record from the ER onward. Go to your appointment. If there’s a six-week hole in your treatment, the insurance company will say you were not that hurt.
Fire Investigation and Incident Reports
Fire departments with reports. So do employers and property managers, and sometimes the state fire marshal. I ask for them right away, because they get harder to track down as time goes by.
Photographs, Video Footage, and Witness Statements
Take pictures of the burn and keep taking them as it heals. Photograph the place where it happened too. Security video is the thing people forget about. A lot of systems tape over themselves in a couple of weeks, so ask the business to save it. And write down who was there, even if all you have is a first name.
Product Inspection, Maintenance Records, and Safety Documentation
If a product burned you, keep it. Bag it up and don’t plug it in again. We’ve seen people toss the very thing that would have won the case. With the building. We look for repair requests, inspection reports, and anything showing the owner knew.
Medical, Engineering, and Financial Expert Evidence
Larger cases need experts. Your doctor can say what your recovery will look like. A fire investigator or an engineer works out what actually failed. Someone who does this for a living can then calculate what you’ll lose in future earnings.
Why Choose Cockayne Law for a Burn Injury Case?
- We price the whole injuries, surgeries you have had, surgeries you still have ahead of you, missed work, and what recovery looks like years from now.
- We treat your case as yours. No two burns are alike, so no two claims are built alike.
- You’ll know where you stand. We return calls and explain things in plain language.
- You get a straight answer. If we think a claim will be hard to win, we’ll tell you.
Burn Injury Lawyer Serving Communities Across Utah
We represent burn victims throughout the through out Utah and main cities like Salt lake city, Weber County, Utah County, Orem, and Ogden. If you were hurt in one of these areas, start with the page for your city.
- Salt Lake City
- West Jordan
- West Valley City
- Taylorsville
- Kearns
- Magna
- Rose Park
- Ogden and Weber County
- Provo and Utah County
Don’t see your city? Call us. We take the burn cases across Utah state.
FAQs
There are no set numbers. It depends on how deep the burns are, how much surgery and therapy you need, how long you are out of work, how much scarring is left, and how clearly someone else was at fault. The insurance available also affects what can realistically be covered. We can give you a real estimate once we have seen your medical records.
For most injury cases, it’s four years. Product liability claims get two years from when you discovered the harm and what caused it. Wrongful death claims get two years from the date of death. If the government entity is involved, you generally have to file a notice of claim within one year. Don’t wait to find out which one applies to you.
Often yes. Your compensation is reduced by your share of the blame. But if you found 50 percent or more at fault, Utah law bars you from recovering anything. Insurers know this and push fault onto injured people whenever they can.
You can apply for workers’ compensation, which usually keeps you from suing your employer. You may still have a claim against someone else, like an equipment maker or another subcontractor on the site. That claim can cover losses; workers’ comp doesn’t.
Discuss Your Utah Burn Injury Claim
If you or someone in your family was burned because of someone else’s mistake or a dangerous product, talk to us before you talk to an insurance company. Tell us what happened, and we’ll go over what we see and what your options are. Reach Cockayne Law by phone or through our contact form.
[Legal Disclaimer]
This page provides general information about burn injury accident claims in Utah, including Logan, West Jordan, Sandy, Provo, Magna, Layton, St. George, Millcreek, Orem, Herriman, Salt Lake City, American Fork, Ogden, Midvale, Saratoga Springs, West Valley City, Draper, Spanish Fork, South Jordan, Eagle Mountain, Holladay, Lehi, Murray, Taylorsville, Cottonwood Heights, and the Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City. This content is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Every burn injury accident case is unique. Consult a qualified Utah attorney for advice about your specific situation.
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Our Locations
6671 S Redwood Rd Ste 110, West Jordan, UT 84084, United States
574 E 1400 S, Orem, UT 84097, United States
2650 Washington Blvd, Ogden, UT 84401, United States
Area of Services
- kearns
- Murray
- magna
- St. George
- Orem Utah
- Cottonwood
- rose park
- West valley city
- Provo Utah
- Lehi Utah
- Millcreek
- Herriman
- taylorsville
- South Jordan
- west jordan
- Ogden
- Sandy
- Holladay
- American Fork
- Saratoga Springs
- Midvale
- Cottonwood
- Logan
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