New York City Burn Injury Lawyers

Why Burn Injury Victims in NYC Choose Meirowitz & Wasserberg

Our nationally recognized trial attorneys in New York have won over $800 million in settlements and verdicts since our founding in 2011. We represent people, not corporations and our clients are our highest priority.

Our firm has the experience and resources needed to stand up to large corporations and win. Our local expertise allows us to handle burn injury cases from construction sites, building fires, landlord negligence and workplace accidents across all five boroughs.

Our founding partners, Samuel Meirowitz and Daniel Wasserberg, have over 40 years of combined legal experience and extensive knowledge of burn injuries, their causes and how to recover. We understand that burns are some of the most traumatic injuries you can experience, and we are passionate about helping New Yorkers secure justice and accountability.

Our compassionate team works hard to ensure each client receives the full and undivided attention they deserve. The high quality of our services has won us the respect and admiration of our clients and the legal community. This is reflected in our awards and accolades. For example, our founders have been recognized as Rising Stars by Super Lawyers and Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers.

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What Makes Meirowitz & Wasserberg the Right Choice?

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When you hire Meirowitz and Wasserberg, you hire a team of personal injury lawyers that are dedicated to fighting for your rights. One of the things that I believe is critical to the work that we do is making sure that each and every client feels served. We are not one of these corporations that don’t know the names of our clients or consider our clients simply numbers, our clients are people our clients deserve service the highest level and that’s exactly what we do. We treat our clients like they’re our family and every single day we fight for their rights and that’s the reason why we’ve been able to recover hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients because we put them first

Types of Burn Injuries We Handle in New York City

We handle many serious burn cases in New York City, including thermal, chemical, electrical and scald burns that happen at homes, job sites and businesses throughout the five boroughs. No matter what type of accident caused your burn injuries, we can help you recover the full and fair compensation you deserve if someone else is to blame.

Thermal Burns

Thermal burns are the most common. They occur when skin comes into contact with intense heat from open flames, hot surfaces, steam or explosions. In the city, they can happen due to apartment and building fires, gas line explosions and construction or industrial accidents involving flammable materials.

Chemical Burns

Chemical burns occur when corrosive substances such as acids, solvents, detergents or industrial cleaners damage the skin, eyes or internal tissues. Many chemical burn cases may arise from industrial and construction work, laboratory accidents and unsafe storage or labeling of hazardous products.

Electrical Burns

Electrical burns are caused by contact with live electrical current, which can damage skin, muscles, nerves and internal organs along its path. These injuries can happen on NYC construction sites, at industrial facilities and in buildings with unsafe or outdated wiring.

Scald Burns

Scald burns occur when hot liquids or steam burn the skin. They are particularly common in households, restaurants and childcare settings. Scald cases can stem from overheated tap water, unsafe building plumbing and restaurant or coffee shop accidents.

Common Causes of Burn Injuries in New York City

New York City burn injuries can stem from construction hazards, unsafe buildings, defective products and everyday businesses like restaurants and delivery services.

• Construction hazards: NYC has one of the highest construction injury rates in the U.S., with a fatality rate of 11.6 per 100,000. Construction site fires can cause burns, and the National Fire Protection Association reported that U.S. fire departments respond to an average of 4,300 construction site fires annually.
• Premises liability: These cases involve landlord negligence, building code violations, faulty heating systems and other hazards. 
• Defective products: Burns can be caused by appliances, electronics, lithium batteries, e-bike battery fires and other defective products.
• Motor vehicle accidents: Cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles can catch fire or explode during an accident, causing severe burns.
• Restaurant and food service accidents: Burns in restaurants can be common, especially among employees. According to a study in the Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, hot water or coffee burns were the most common among NYC workers, followed by hot oil and soup/sauce burns. Some of these workers needed surgery and lost significant wages.

When you find a personal injury lawyer, you maximize your odds of receiving the type of award you deserve. Our legal team understands the multifaceted harms that can stem from a bad burn. We know that the scars don’t only run skin deep.

Burns often result in emotional trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and related pain and suffering. A personal injury claim is the only way to strive for recovery for these damages.

Burn Injury Severity and What It Means for Your Case

Burns can be thermal, chemical or electrical, and they occur in four degrees of severity. More severe burns cause greater damage and are more likely to have a higher case value.

First-Degree Burns

First-degree burns can result in redness and superficial injuries. They’re painful but cause limited damage. You may still be able to sue the property owner if there is clear negligence, even if the injury is minor. A lawyer can tell you what your options are.

Second-Degree Burns

These burns affect the top layer of skin and part of the lower layer. They cause swelling, blistering and pain. If the burns are deep, they may require skin grafts. These cases may be eligible for moderate to significant damages.

Third- and Fourth-Degree Burns

Third-degree burns can destroy all layers of skin, leaving it white or blackened and charred. In catastrophic fourth-degree burns, the damage extends to deeper tissues and may affect muscle and bone. These burns can damage nerves and require long-term reconstructive treatment. Third- and fourth-degree burns tend to have the strongest claims and highest case values.

Who Is Liable for a Burn Injury in New York?

The liable party for a burn injury in New York depends on who or what caused the burn. It may involve property owners, employers, product manufacturers or vehicle drivers.

Property Owners and Landlords

If your burn injuries occurred on someone else’s property, you may have grounds to file a premises liability lawsuit based on a specialized duty of care owed by property owners. You can file a premises liability claim whether you were injured on residential, commercial or public property. The property owner is normally the primary defendant, though there may be others.

In general, you will need to prove that the defendant knew or should have known that a dangerous condition on the property existed and that your injuries were reasonably foreseeable.

Examples of premises liability claims involving burn injuries include:

• Apartment fires
• Burns from hot food and beverages at restaurants
• Chemical burns
• Claims against landlords due to scalding water
• Electrical burns due to faulty wiring
• Radiator burns

The New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code governs construction within the state. It outlines requirements for structural integrity, electrical systems, fire safety, plumbing and accessibility. The New York City Fire Code is a law that establishes fire safety requirements for buildings and businesses, and it applies to all persons and places in NYC. Violators of these codes can be held liable if they cause burn injuries.

Employers and General Contractors

Employers and general contractors can be held liable for burns caused by OSHA violations, construction site negligence or lack of personal protective equipment. Under New York Labor Law 200, employers have a duty to protect their employees by providing appropriate gear and ensuring all machinery, equipment and lighting is safe and adequate. Employers or contractors who violate this law could be held liable for causing burn injuries.

Product Manufacturers

If you suffer a burn injury because of a defective product, you may not need to prove negligence at all. In a product liability lawsuit, you may only need to prove that your injury occurred while using the product as intended and that at least one of the following is true:

• The product is defective.
• The product design is dangerous.
• The manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions.

Manufacturers, distributors and retailers can be held liable for burn injuries caused by defective products. For example, if you suffered burn injuries in a car accident because a defective part led the vehicle to catch fire, you may have a viable claim against the part manufacturer.

Drivers and Vehicle Operators

Negligent drivers can cause car accidents that result in fires or explosions, leading to varying degrees of burns. In a pedestrian accident, a person may experience friction burns if parts of their body come into contact with the road.

You can file a lawsuit for damages even if you were partially at fault in an accident under New York’s pure comparative negligence laws (CPLR section 1411). But your damages are reduced by the amount you were at fault. For example, if your damages are $100,000, but you were 20% at fault, the damages are reduced to $80,000.

Compensation Available to NYC Burn Injury Victims

Compensation available to NYC burn injury victims covers economic and non-economic damages. The exact amount of compensation depends on the severity of your injuries and the amount of negligence you can prove.

Burns over large portions of your body can cause significant scarring, disfigurement and chronic skin conditions. In many cases, you may need lifelong medical treatment and struggle to return to work. You may feel like your whole life has changed due to your burn injuries.

At Meirowitz & Wasserberg, we take these cases seriously. Though no dollar figure can make up for the devastation of permanent burn injuries, monetary compensation can provide a measure of justice, cover ongoing medical care and ensure financial security.

You may be entitled to compensation for your financial and subjective losses, including:

• Current and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Physical pain and suffering
• Permanent scarring, disfigurement and disability
• Emotional distress
• Humiliation
• Inconvenience
• Wrongful death damages if a burn injury resulted in death

When someone else deliberately hurt you or displayed a blatant disregard for your safety, you may also qualify for punitive damages. These are awarded to punish a defendant and deter future misconduct.

Frequently Asked Questions About Burn Injury Claims in New York

About The Author

Samuel Meirowitz

Founding Partner

Samuel Meirowitz, a founding partner of Meirowitz & Wasserberg, has been recognized by New York Metro Super Lawyers annually since 2016. A Cardozo School of Law graduate and former prosecutor in the Bronx District Attorney's Office, he won the first multimillion-dollar asbestos verdict in a New York federal court in over 20 years.