New Orleans
A severe burn doesn’t just heal and disappear completely.
A burn can mean months of surgeries, skin grafts, permanent scarring, and pain that continues to outlast the original injury by years.
The Voorhies Law Firm holds the responsible party accountable for all of it, not just the costs of the emergency room bill.
Burns are classified into four degrees based on how deep the damage goes.
They include the following:
Third- and fourth-degree burns, and severe second-degree burns covering a large area of the body, are the ones that are most likely to cause permanent damage like disfigurement and chronic pain. These cases are life changing and deserve a genuine legal claim.
A burn injury claim can proceed under several different legal theories, depending on how the burn happened.
Fires caused by faulty wiring, malfunctioning fire suppression systems, or a landlord’s failure to maintain smoke detectors can create liability for a property owner. Scalding injuries from poorly maintained water heaters follow the same theory.
Defective appliances, heaters, batteries, and other products that malfunction and ignite can support a claim against the manufacturer under the Louisiana Products Liability Act.
Industrial fires, chemical exposure, and electrical accidents are common causes of severe workplace burns. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may proceed through workers’ compensation, a third-party claim, or both.
Louisiana places no general cap on damages for an ordinary burn injury claim. Given how expensive skin grafts, reconstructive surgery, and long-term scar treatment can be, this matters significantly for a serious burn case.
The same rules apply here as elsewhere: a two-year filing deadline under article 3493.1 for incidents on or after July 1, 2024, and a 51% comparative fault bar under article 2323 starting January 1, 2026.
STEP 1
Free consultation.
Tell us what happened. We’ll give you an honest, no-cost assessment.
STEP 2
Cause investigation.
We determine whether the burn stemmed from a property hazard, a defective product, or workplace negligence.
STEP 3
Medical documentation.
We work to document not just initial treatment, but the full course of grafts, reconstructive surgery, and rehabilitation.
STEP 4
Evidence preservation.
Where a product is involved, we move to secure it before it’s discarded or repaired.
STEP 5
Damage calculation.
We account for medical costs, lost wages, scarring and disfigurement, and long-term pain.
STEP 6
Demand and negotiation.
We pursue full value given how much ongoing treatment a serious burn often requires.
STEP 7
Filing suit, if needed.
We take the case to court before your deadline if a fair number isn’t offered.
STEP 8
Resolution.
Your claim is resolved, either through settlement or in court.
We handle burn injury claims involving:
Behind every burn injury case is someone facing scarring and pain that doesn’t go away when the bandages come off.
We build the case around the whole arc of that recovery, not just the initial hospital stay.
Across every kind of case we take on, The Voorhies Law Firm has recovered over $100 million for our clients.
Results may vary, and every burn injury case depends on the severity and specific facts involved.
Burn cases often involve more than one possible defendant, a landlord, a manufacturer, an employer, and figuring out which theory fits takes real investigation.
Richard P. Voorhies III and the team at The Voorhies Law Firm do that work early.
You’ll have a direct line to the attorney actually working your case, not a general queue, and there’s no cost unless we recover for you.
We handle burn injury cases on contingency, so you can put your energy into recovery, not worrying about another bill.
Third- and fourth-degree burns, and severe second-degree burns covering a significant area, are the ones most likely to involve permanent scarring or disability and support a substantial claim, though any burn caused by someone else’s negligence may be worth discussing with an attorney.
Yes, if at all possible. Preserving the defective product, rather than discarding or repairing it, is one of the most important things you can do for a product liability claim.
It depends on the circumstances. Workers’ comp is usually the starting point, but if a third party, like a product manufacturer or a property owner other than your employer, contributed to the burn, a separate claim may also be available.
In most cases, two years from the date of the incident for claims on or after July 1, 2024, under Civil Code article 3493.1.
Nothing to start. We handle these cases on contingency, so there’s nothing to pay unless we win.
