A woman has died of injuries sustained in a house fire caused by faulty electrical wiring, the News-Sun of Camdenton, Mo. reported Feb. 10. Violet Marie Simpson, 86, suffered burns and smoke inhalation during the fire in the early morning hours of Dec. 28. She and another person in the house managed to escape and go to a neighbor’s house to call the fire department at about 3:45 a.m., but not before Simpson sustained serious burn injuries and smoke inhalation injuries. She was hospitalized for more than a month before she passed away.
Unfortunately, electrical wiring problems are a consistent and widespread cause of house fires like this one. According to the Red Cross, problems with electrical wiring of homes and appliances are the leading cause of house fires, ahead of cigarette accidents, cooking accidents and children playing with matches. In many cases, the faulty wiring is the fault of a company that did substandard electrical work or made and sold a defectively wired consumer product. When that’s the case, that company is legally responsible for any injuries or deaths that result.
That legal responsibility could be especially important in cases like this one, where the victims must be hospitalized for long periods. That’s a common problem with burn injuries that affect a large amount of the victim’s skin (around 30% for adults with second-degree burns). Without our skin, we lose our first barrier against infections and our bodies’ ability to regulate temperature, hydration and other functions that are basic to good health. Victims of severe burns frequently must visit special wards to get the care they need, and may need surgery or dermatology care for years afterward. In addition to being painful and traumatic, unfortunately, this is also very expensive.
If a manufacturer, home builder or other party is found legally liable for the victims’ injuries in a Missouri burn injuries lawsuit, those victims can collect compensation for their costs and injuries. That includes the cost of past and future medical care for their burns, as well as compensation for any permanent disability or loss of a loved one; pain and suffering; and other financial costs, like the loss of property in the home. Carey, Danis & Lowe handles this type of case for clients throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. Our experienced Missouri burn injury attorneys even offer free case evaluations, so there’s no risk in speaking to us about your case.
If you’ve lost someone or been severely burned in a fire caused by someone else’s carelessness and you’d like to learn more, you can contact the Lowe Law Firm online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400 today.
