Fire victims and their families suffer physical and emotional trauma. The burn injury recovery process is painful and often requires the care of skilled nursing staff day and night. Personal injury burn cases or cases involving a death of another due to fire can be quite complex. Attorneys must have knowledge of fire investigations.

Injury and/or loss claims usually involve negligence or product liabilitiy issues. Negligent behavior has been proven against building owners, managers or landlords, building designers/architects and firefighters. Manufacturers and distributors of products (such as gas grills, electrical equipment, etc.) that cause fires can also be held responsible under a products liability theory.

Property owner's/Business operators liability
An owner or business is generally responsible for keeping its property safe for persons lawfully on the property. Therefore, fires and injuries resulting from improper use or maintenance can result in liability. For example, storing flammable materials near a heat sources or other improper storage, failure to maintain wiring, and blocking or obstructing fire exits. If the owner is conducting "ultra hazardous" activities, such as blasting, they are responsible for injuries even they were not negligent.

Liability may go beyond the property owner
A thorough investigation may reveal persons involved with the construction and design of the building are at fault. Specifically it is important to review the architect's and contractor's work to ensure they met building code specifications. In addition, building maintenance crews and security providers may have contributed to the fire. Liability may be imposed on a these providers even if their conduct did not directly cause of the fire, but rather contributed to the spread of the fire or the extent of the damage. In some special instances, even firefighters may be held responsible for negligent performance of their job.

Fires/explosions from defective products
Defective or dangerously designed products may directly cause a fire, such as an exploding gas tank. In addition, the product may be defective because it did function/respond appropriately once a fire already started. For example, if sleep ware was not adequately flame resistant or a smoke detector failed to sound. In these cases the manufacturer or distributer would be responsible for the additional damages caused by the failure of their product. More information about defective products.

Whatever the legal theory involved, the successful resolution of these claims requires an attorney experienced in all aspects of fire-related personal injury litigation. Involving an experienced fire loss attorney as soon as possible after the incident is critical to the collection of evidence regarding the cause the fire, as well as identifying all responsible parties. By contacting an attorney with experience in the area of fire loss personal injury you ensure that you will receive the fullest possible protection.

If you would like more information please contact us online or call 1 800 7 LEGAL 7 for a Free Case Evaluation.

Related practice areas: Personal Injury, Construction Accidents