Severe Burns and Electrocution Injuries: Help for Miami Families

Burn Injuries in Miami: Electrocution, Car Crash and Fire Burns

When Someone Else’s Actions Cause a Burn

Burns rarely come with a warning. A driver trapped in a crash can be burned by a fire under the hood. A worker can be scalded by hot liquid from equipment that should have been repaired. A tenant can be burned in a hallway fire. A person can be shocked by exposed wiring on a dock or near a pool.

When someone else’s carelessness causes one of these events, the injured person and their family may have options under Florida law.

Some burns happen during an attack. Picture someone assaulted in an apartment complex parking garage, where a fire is set or hot liquid is thrown. Whether a property had working locks and gates, adequate lighting, working cameras or guards is one of the questions people often ask after an attack on someone else’s property. Lawyers call this a negligent security claim. You do not need to know the legal term to ask about it.

What Electrical Shock and Burns Do to the Body

An electrocution injury can damage the body where the current enters and leaves. It can also affect nerves and organs that the skin does not show. A burn can look small on the surface and still reach deeper tissue. Some effects appear hours or days later. Follow the care your doctors recommend after any significant shock or burn. Nothing here replaces medical advice.

The spinal cord is one of the most serious concerns. The NINDS summary on spinal cord injury explains that the spinal cord has three layers of protective tissue, with cerebrospinal fluid surrounding it like a cushion. Damage in the upper neck can be especially dangerous. The same source notes that an injury between segments C1 and C4 can stop breathing, because those nerves control the diaphragm, the main muscle used for breathing.

Falls are another common danger. A shock can make a person lose their grip or balance on a ladder, a roof or a dock, and the fall can add its own injuries.

Why Permanent Scarring Matters in a Florida Car Crash Claim

For burns suffered in a motor vehicle crash, Florida law sets a specific test.

This is why the permanence of a burn scar matters. The law lists scarring and disfigurement as its own category, separate from other permanent injuries. Whether a particular scar meets that test depends on the facts. Keep dated photos as a scar heals, and keep copies of every note your doctors write about it. This threshold applies to motor vehicle cases, not to every burn claim.

Florida PIP: The 14-Day Window After a Car Crash

Personal injury protection (PIP) is the no-fault coverage that applies to many car crashes. Under Florida’s no-fault law, personal injury protection coverage has a limit of $10,000 in medical and disability benefits. Its medical benefits cover eighty percent of all reasonable expenses for medically necessary services, but reimbursement is provided only for listed kinds of providers and facilities, as long as the injured person receives initial services and care within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident. Fla. Stat. § 627.736

Several details matter for burn bills:

• Initial care must be provided by a physician, dentist, chiropractic physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or a hospital or facility owned by a hospital, or by a licensed emergency transport provider.
• If a physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse determines that you had an emergency medical condition, reimbursement for initial care can reach $10,000.
• If the provider determines that you did not have an emergency medical condition, reimbursement for that care is limited to $2,500.

Ask your care team to record the date of your first treatment. This is information about insurance, not medical advice. Follow the care your doctors recommend.

Medical Bills After a Burn: What to Ask

Burn treatment can involve many providers, and the bills may not match the amounts you expected. Florida law addresses several of these questions directly:

• What was actually paid. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.0427, evidence of past medical treatment that has been satisfied is limited to the amount actually paid, regardless of the source of payment.
• Letters of protection. A letter of protection is an arrangement in which a provider treats you in exchange for a promise of payment from any judgment or settlement. Under the same statute, a claimant must disclose a copy of the letter of protection as a condition before asserting a claim for medical expenses for that treatment. Ask whether you signed one.
• Collateral sources. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.76, the court reduces an award by amounts paid for the benefit of the claimant from collateral sources, unless a subrogation or reimbursement right exists. Ask which insurers or programs have paid, and whether any of them expect to be repaid.

Keep every bill, explanation of benefits and letter from your providers and insurers in one place.

Shared Fault and Who Pays What

Florida uses comparative fault, which means shared fault. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, in a negligence action, fault chargeable to the injured person diminishes the economic and noneconomic damages awarded in proportion to that fault. It does not bar recovery, except that a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm may not recover any damages (this bar does not apply to medical negligence claims).

The same statute provides that, in a negligence action, a court enters judgment against each liable party based on that party’s percentage of fault, not on joint and several liability. In plain terms, each responsible party answers for its own share. This is why identifying every party involved in a burn, whether a driver, a property owner, a contractor or an equipment owner, matters early.

Florida Deadlines: Do Not Wait

Florida sets filing deadlines that depend on the type of claim. For example, under Fla. Stat. § 95.11, a medical malpractice action generally must begin within two years from when the incident occurred or was discovered, or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence, and no later than four years from the incident, with limited exceptions. Fla. Stat. § 95.11 reads: “(c) An action for medical malpractice shall be commenced within 2 years from the time the incident giving rise to the action occurred or within 2 years from the time the incident is discovered, or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence; however, in no event shall the action be commenced later than 4 years from the date of the incident or occurrence out of which the cause of action accrued, except that this 4-year period shall not bar an action brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child’s eighth birthday.” If a burn was made worse by negligent treatment, that claim may fall under these rules. Other types of claims have their own deadlines: under Fla. Stat. § 95.11, an action founded on negligence and an action for wrongful death must generally be brought within two years, and the right deadline depends on the facts.

Do not assume you have plenty of time. Contact the firm promptly.

Evidence to Protect

Evidence is most useful when it is collected early. Useful items include:

• Photos of the scene, the vehicle, the equipment or the location where the burn happened
• Names and contact details of witnesses
• Fire, police, incident or work reports
• Medical records and dated photos of burns and scars as they heal
• Repair, inspection and maintenance records for equipment, wiring or the property
• Requests to preserve security camera footage, if an attack occurred on a property

Keep damaged clothing, tools and equipment when possible, and document them before any repair. Write down what you remember while it is fresh. Give your attorney accurate details from the beginning.

Miami Settings: Where These Burns Happen

Miami-Dade has a few settings where burn claims often begin:

• Highways. Crashes on I-95 and the Dolphin Expressway can lead to vehicle fires and burns for drivers and passengers. Motorcycle and ATV riders face similar risks.
• Job sites. Cranes, scaffolds, ladders and long tools can touch overhead lines on sites in Hialeah, Doral and Miami Gardens.
• Apartment complexes and garages. Older apartments and condominiums in Kendall, Homestead, North Miami and Coral Gables can have faulty wiring, and parking garages can be places where attacks occur.
• Hotels and resorts. Guests in hotels in Miami Beach and Sunny Isles Beach may be exposed to unsafe electrical equipment, scalding water or fire.
• Water. Pool equipment, dock wiring and boats near power lines along Biscayne Bay and the Miami coast can cause shocks.

Each setting raises different questions about who was responsible. A case depends on its own facts.

When an Electrocution or Fire Is Fatal: What Families Can Do Next

Florida’s wrongful death law allows certain family members to bring a claim when a loved one dies because of another person’s wrongful act. This applies even when the death happens in navigable waters, meaning waterways that boats can travel.

The claim is generally brought by the person appointed to manage the deceased’s estate, on behalf of the surviving family and the estate. Survivors may be able to seek certain losses under the law, including medical and funeral expenses that were paid.

Some practical steps can help:

• Request the official incident, fire and autopsy reports.
• Keep records of funeral and medical expenses.
• Save messages, photos and any statements from witnesses.

Grief is heavy, and families can move forward at their own pace. A trusted doctor, counselor or faith leader can offer support. Even so, the legal deadlines continue to apply, so contact the firm promptly.

Long-Term Recovery After a Burn or Electrical Injury

Recovery after a serious burn or shock can take a long time. It may involve burn centers, rehabilitation, scar care, nerve pain, or changes in memory and concentration. Follow your doctors’ recommendations.

Keep a journal. Note symptoms, appointments, missed workdays and daily limits. Keep dated photos of scars. This record helps your doctors, and it shows what daily life is really like.

Quick Answers

Talk with Igor Hernandez About Your Miami Burn Case

If an electrical shock, a fire, a scald or an attack has left you or someone you love burned, you do not have to decide the next step alone. CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based firm that handles personal injury claims of every severity, including serious burn, spinal cord and brain injuries, for clients throughout Florida. Igor Hernandez is licensed to practice law in Florida and is admitted to The Florida Bar. He can review whether your situation may support a claim.

The initial consultation is free, confidential and comes with no obligation to continue. CHG charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery. A matter may be referred to, or handled together with, another law firm. No outcome is promised or predicted. Past results do not mean similar results will be obtained.

Request your free case evaluation today.