Getting burned—literally—can turn your life upside down. Beyond the pain and trauma, you're often left asking, “How did this even happen?” and more importantly, “Who’s responsible for it?” Maybe the injury happened at work, maybe at home, or in a car accident. No matter where it happened, if someone else played a part in it, you may have a legal case.
Kentucky law has its own way of sorting out who’s at fault in personal injury cases. It’s not always cut and dry. So if you’re thinking about holding someone accountable, here’s what you need to know about how it all works.
Burn Injuries Happen More Often Than You Think
We tend to think of burns as kitchen accidents, but they happen in a wide range of situations. Some examples? Hot water pipes in a poorly maintained apartment. Electrical burns from bad wiring. Chemical spills at job sites. Even defective products, like batteries that overheat or machines that catch fire, can be the root cause.
Often, these injuries are preventable. And when they are, that’s when you start looking at who may have failed to do their job—whether it’s a landlord, employer, manufacturer, or someone else.
Figuring Out Who's at Fault
In legal terms, the goal is to figure out if someone was careless—or in legal speak, negligent. Let’s say a landlord ignored repeated requests to fix faulty wiring, and it caused a fire. That’s negligence. Same goes for an employer who skipped proper safety training, or a company that released a faulty product.
To have a valid case, there has to be a connection between their actions (or lack of action) and your injury. That connection is what makes them legally responsible. And of course, you’ll need to show what the injury has cost you—physically, emotionally, and financially.
What If You Were Also Partly to Blame?
Here’s where Kentucky’s “pure comparative fault” rule comes in. It sounds fancy, but it’s simple: if you were partly at fault, you can still recover money. Your compensation just gets reduced based on your share of the blame.
Let’s say a court says you were 30% responsible for what happened. If your total damages come to $100,000, you’d still be eligible to recover $70,000. It’s not all or nothing here—which can be good news.
What’s an IME and Why Should You Care?
If you file a claim—especially a workers’ comp case—you might get asked to attend what’s called an Independent Medical Exam, or IME. The name is a bit misleading. These exams are often set up by the insurance company, and the doctors involved are there to provide an opinion that could impact your case.
That doesn’t mean you should panic, but you should definitely prepare. A lawyer can help you understand what to expect and how to make sure the exam doesn’t work against you unfairly.
Proving It: What Kinds of Evidence Help?
Burn injury cases often come down to the details. The more evidence you have, the stronger your claim. That might include things like:
- Fire department or workplace reports
- Photos of the scene or your injuries
- Witness statements
- Maintenance records or safety violations
- Medical records that show the extent of your treatment
You don’t have to collect everything yourself. That’s part of what a good personal injury lawyer does—dig through the details, talk to the right people, and help build a strong case.
Let Brandon J. Broderick Help You Move Forward
If you’re dealing with a burn injury, chances are you’re juggling more than just doctor appointments. There’s lost time, lost income, and plenty of stress to go around. You shouldn’t have to figure it all out alone.
At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we’ve helped people across Kentucky get real answers and real results. We listen, we dig deep, and we fight to make sure our clients get the compensation they deserve—especially when someone else’s mistake caused the pain.
Give us a call today for a free, no-pressure consultation.