When a Burn Changes Everything, You Deserve Answers

Florida Severe Burn Injury Lawyer | Free Case Evaluation

A full-thickness burn does not just “heal and move on.” It changes your whole life. It can mean months in a burn unit. It can mean repeated skin grafts and scar-release surgeries for years. It can mean physical therapy to fight contractures — tight scar tissue that pulls across a healing joint.

At CHG Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent people who suffered these catastrophic, life-altering burns. We also help families who lost someone to them. This page is written for you and your family, not for lawyers.

We work on a contingency fee. That means no upfront cost. You pay attorney’s fees only if we recover money for you. Your case evaluation is free.

Request your free case evaluation — no cost, no obligation. We serve families in English and Spanish. Atendemos en español.

What We Mean by “Severe Burn” — and What We Don’t

Many law-firm pages lump a sunburn, a kitchen scald, and a life-altering burn together. We don’t. We take catastrophic burns that cause permanent injury, disfigurement, or death. These are the injuries that need special burn-center care. They change how a person lives, works, and looks for the rest of their life.

You may have a claim if the injury involves:

• Third- and fourth-degree (full-thickness) burns that need skin grafts, flap surgery, or reconstruction.
• Deep burns that cause permanent scarring, nerve damage, or loss of function.
• Amputation of a burned limb, hand, or finger.
• Inhalation or airway burns, high-voltage electrical burns, chemical burns, flame burns, and severe scald burns over a large part of the body.
• Wrongful-death cases where a loved one did not survive their burns. This is the most catastrophic outcome there is. We handle these cases with dignity, focused on the family left behind.

We are based in Florida and take burn cases nationwide. See our severe burn injuries resource hub.

Why Depth and TBSA Drive Everything

Burn doctors measure two things. These two things also drive the value of a claim: how deep the burn goes and how much of the body it covers. That coverage is called total body surface area, or TBSA. Doctors estimate it with tools like the “rule of nines” used by the American Burn Association.

• Third-degree (full-thickness) burns destroy the whole skin layer. This includes nerve endings and sweat glands. They will not heal without grafting.
• Fourth-degree burns reach into muscle, tendon, or bone. They often lead to amputation.

By cause, the injuries we handle include:

• Thermal burns (fire, flames, hot surfaces)
• Scald burns (hot liquids, steam)
• Electrical burns
• Chemical burns (acids, solvents, industrial products)
• Inhalation burns that damage the airway and lungs

Often, what makes a severe burn a lifelong condition is not the first wound. It is the complications that follow. These include infection and sepsis, contractures (tight scar tissue that freezes a joint), raised scars, chronic nerve pain, and years of surgeries and psychological care.

A claim that ignores those future needs undervalues the injury. That is why we build cases around lifelong care, not a fast settlement.

How Severe Burns Happen and Who May Be Liable

Often more than one party is responsible. Finding every one of them is how a case gets fully valued.

• Truck and vehicle crashes with fuel fires or explosions after a collision. See our truck accidents page.
• Workplace and industrial incidents, flash fires, arc-flash, and electrocution. Beyond workers’ compensation, you may have a separate claim against a third party. That could be an equipment maker, a contractor, or a property owner.
• Defective products — faulty wiring, appliances, vehicles, or lithium-ion batteries that overheat and catch fire. This is a known fire hazard the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks and recalls.
• Building fires, gas leaks, and unsafe property conditions.

If You Were Attacked or Burned on Someone Else’s Property

Maybe you were assaulted, shot, robbed, or set on fire on property you didn’t control. This could be an apartment complex, a hotel or motel, a parking lot or garage, a bar, a gas station, or a store. If so, the owner may share the blame.

Florida property owners owe visitors a duty to keep the property reasonably safe. That can include working locks and gates, good lighting, working cameras, and security staff where the risk calls for it.

When an owner ignores an obvious danger and someone is seriously hurt, the injured person may have a claim against that owner. Lawyers call this negligent security (also called inadequate-security premises liability). You do not need to know the term to have a case. You just need to tell us what happened. Learn more on our negligent security page.

What Compensation May Be Available

Florida burn compensation can cover what you’ve already lost. It can also cover what you will need for the rest of your life. Every case is different. No lawyer can promise a specific amount. A case evaluation is how we assess what may be recoverable for you.

Compensation may include:

• Medical costs — emergency and burn-unit care, surgeries, skin grafts, reconstructive procedures, and rehab.
• Future care — a documented plan, with dollar figures, for lifelong treatment, revision surgeries, therapy, and assistive devices.
• Lost income and reduced earning power if you can’t return to your old work.
• Pain, suffering, disfigurement, and a lower quality of life.
• Home and vehicle changes and long-term attendant support.
• Wrongful-death damages for families — funeral costs, loss of support, and loss of companionship.

The most important step in a catastrophic burn claim is proving future cost. We often work with life-care planners and treating doctors. Together they project decades of surgeries, wound care, and support. The first hospital bill is often just a small part of the true lifetime cost.

How the Process Works: What to Expect

1. Free case evaluation. We listen, review what happened, and explain your options at no cost — in English or Spanish.
2. Investigation. We gather medical and burn-center records, fire-marshal and accident reports, product evidence, and scene documents.
3. Identify every responsible party and the insurance coverage available.
4. Build damages. We document your current and future medical, life-care, and money needs with medical and life-care experts.
5. Negotiate. We press insurers for a fair settlement. If they won’t offer one, we file suit.
6. Resolve through settlement or trial.

Let’s be realistic about timing. Catastrophic burn cases often take many months. Complex ones can take longer than a year. In part, this is because we may wait until your treatment stabilizes. That way, a life-care plan can capture your true long-term needs instead of an early guess. We keep you informed at every step.

Florida’s Deadline to File a Burn Injury Claim

Florida sets a strict deadline. Missing it can permanently end your right to recover. In March 2023, Florida shortened the general negligence deadline from four years to two years. For most negligence claims that accrue on or after March 24, 2023, the deadline is generally two years under Fla. Stat. § 95.11.

That same 2023 law also changed Florida to a modified comparative-negligence rule. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, a person found more than 50% at fault for their own injury generally recovers nothing. If you are 50% or less at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share. You can read the full statutes on Online Sunshine, the Florida Legislature’s official site.

Deadlines vary by claim type and facts. Wrongful-death, government-defendant, and product claims can differ. This is general information, not legal advice about your case. Physical evidence and witness memories fade, so acting early matters. Contact us to confirm the deadline that applies to you.

Why Choose CHG Personal Injury Lawyers

• Catastrophic focus. We concentrate on serious, permanent injuries — severe burns, amputations, brain injuries, and other catastrophic injury claims — not routine matters.
• Licensed Florida attorneys. Our lawyers are admitted to The Florida Bar, which offers consumer resources for hiring a lawyer.
• Florida base, nationwide reach.
• Expert-driven future-care documentation through life-care planners and treating doctors.
• Bilingual service — English and Spanish. Hablamos español.
• Contingency fee. No upfront cost. You pay attorney’s fees only if we recover for you.

We do not promise outcomes, publish “win rates,” or claim to be the “best.” The Florida Bar bans those claims, and they would be unfair to you. What we offer is focused, experienced representation and an honest assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to a Florida Severe Burn Injury Lawyer Today

You focus on healing. We’ll handle the legal fight. We review your case, explain your rights, and pursue the compensation you and your family may deserve.

Request your free case evaluation now — free, confidential, no obligation. Atendemos en español.