Burn Injury Lawyer in Miami

Burn injuries are among the most painful and disabling injuries in personal injury practice. Severe burns require lengthy hospitalization, multiple skin-graft surgeries, infection control, intensive rehabilitation, and lifelong scar management. The American Burn Association estimates that nearly half a million Americans seek medical treatment for burn injuries every year, and a substantial fraction are hospitalized at specialized burn centers — Miami is served by the Ryder Trauma Center / Jackson Memorial Hospital burn unit, the regional referral facility for South Florida. If you or a loved one has suffered a serious burn injury caused by another party's negligence in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Monroe County, an experienced Florida burn injury lawyer can help.

Burn Severity

• First-degree. Affects only the outer layer of skin (epidermis). Red, painful, no blistering.
• Second-degree. Affects the epidermis and part of the dermis. Blistering, severe pain, often requiring grafting in larger or deeper second-degree burns ("deep partial thickness").
• Third-degree. Full-thickness destruction of the skin and underlying tissue. White, charred, or leathery in appearance, often painless in the burn center because nerve endings have been destroyed. Requires grafting and produces permanent scarring.
• Fourth-degree. Extends through skin into muscle, tendon, and bone. Often requires amputation.

Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burned is the other key measure. The American Burn Association considers any burn over 10% TBSA, any third-degree burn, and any burn involving the face, hands, feet, genitalia, or major joints — along with any electrical or chemical burn — as warranting transfer to a burn center.

Common Causes of Burn Injuries

• Apartment and condo fires — caused by faulty wiring, defective appliances, smoking, or landlord failures to maintain smoke detectors
• Restaurant kitchen fires and grease burns — affecting workers and patrons
• Gas explosions — natural gas and propane leaks in homes, restaurants, and commercial buildings
• Vehicle fires — particularly post-collision fuel system failures
• Electrical burns — contact with energized lines on construction sites, faulty wiring, defective products
• Chemical burns — workplace exposure, defective consumer products, swimming pool chemicals
• Scalding burns — overheated water from defective water heaters, restaurant beverages, daycare and nursing home incidents
• Defective products — flammable clothing, exploding lithium-ion batteries (e-cigarettes, scooters, hoverboards), space heaters
• Boat fires — fuel system fires on Biscayne Bay and Intracoastal recreational vessels

Who Can Be Liable

Burn cases often involve multiple defendants and overlapping insurance:

• Landlords and property owners for negligent maintenance, code violations, missing or non-working smoke detectors, and inadequate fire safety
• Utility companies in gas-leak and downed-line cases
• Product manufacturers in defective-product fires (under Florida's strict-liability product framework)
• Vehicle manufacturers in post-collision fuel-system fires
• Contractors who installed defective wiring, gas lines, or appliances
• Restaurants and businesses for scalding and kitchen-related injuries
• Employers and third parties in workplace burn cases (with both workers' compensation and third-party tracks)

Damages

Damages in a serious burn case are typically large because of the extensive medical care, multiple surgeries, lengthy rehabilitation, and visible permanent scarring:

• Past and future medical expenses, including reconstructive surgeries that may continue for years
• Past and future lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering — burn pain is among the most extreme in medical practice
• Permanent disfigurement and scarring
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Mental anguish, including PTSD and depression that frequently follow major burns
• Loss of consortium for spouses
• Wrongful-death damages in fatal cases

Florida Legal Framework

For burn injuries occurring on or after March 24, 2023, Florida's statute of limitations on negligence claims is two years from the date of the injury. Strict product-liability claims also generally fall within that two-year window, with exceptions for latent injuries. Wrongful-death claims must be filed within two years of the date of death.

Punitive damages may be available in cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct — for example, a landlord who knowingly disabled smoke detectors to "save money" or a manufacturer that knew its product was dangerously defective and concealed it. Punitive damages must be specifically pleaded and supported under § 768.72.

If you or a loved one has been seriously burned in a Miami-area incident, contact the Law Offices of Albert Goodwin. Call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected] for a free consultation.