Las Vegas burn injury lawyers for serious burns and explosions

Updated October 2026. General information, not legal advice about your case.

Burn injuries in Las Vegas: what to know

A serious burn can mean a stay in a burn unit, skin grafts, infections, scarring and months or years of treatment. Burns often come with other injuries too, such as broken bones or a back injury after a fiery crash. A claim has to account for all of it, including the care you will still need.

Immediate steps after a serious burn

Burns can keep damaging tissue after the event, and deep burns can look less serious at first. Get emergency treatment and follow your medical team's instructions for wound care, infection control, surgery and rehabilitation. Treatment decisions belong to your doctors. Do not go back to an unsafe scene to collect evidence.

When another person can do it safely, keep:

• Photographs of the scene, and of your injuries as they heal
• Damaged clothing, the product involved, its parts, charger and packaging
• Receipts, incident reports and the fire department report number
• Names and phone numbers of witnesses
• Letters, emails and messages from a property owner, employer, manufacturer, utility or insurer

A fire investigator, engineer, electrician or product expert may need to inspect the scene or the product before it is repaired, cleaned up or thrown away. Do not give a recorded statement to an insurer before you get advice.

How Las Vegas burn injuries happen

• Fires in apartments, hotels, casinos, restaurants, nightclubs and workplaces
• Explosions involving fuel, propane, gas lines, industrial processes or defective equipment
• Vehicle crashes that end in fire, and fuel system or battery failures
• Electrical contact, arc flashes, unsafe wiring, and failed batteries or chargers
• Chemical exposure, improperly stored substances, and missing warnings or safety systems
• Scalding liquids, steam, unsafe water temperatures and commercial kitchen incidents
• Defective appliances, vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and other products

Types of burn injuries

Burns are described by depth, often as first-, second-, third- or fourth-degree burns. Deeper burns can damage skin, nerves, muscle and bone, and can need surgery and grafts. Electrical and chemical burns can also cause harm that is not visible on the skin. Your medical records, not the first look at the injury, show how serious it is.

Who may be responsible

Responsibility depends on what caused the fire, explosion or exposure, and who controlled it. Depending on the facts, responsible parties can include:

• A property owner or management company, for unsafe conditions such as faulty wiring, missing smoke alarms or blocked exits
• A product manufacturer, component supplier or retailer, for a defective product (see Las Vegas product liability)
• A contractor, maintenance company or utility, for unsafe gas, electrical or construction work
• A driver or vehicle owner, for a crash that caused a fire

More than one insurance policy may apply. The fact that a fire or burn happened does not by itself prove that someone is responsible. Each party's role has to be shown with evidence, such as fire-origin analysis, inspection and maintenance records, building and fire-code evidence, product testing, prior complaints, surveillance video and company documents.

If you were burned at work, Nevada's workers' compensation system generally covers claims against your employer, and it is a separate matter. A claim against another company, such as a contractor, property owner or product maker, may still be possible. We handle claims against companies other than your employer, not workers' compensation claims.

Documenting the full cost of a burn injury

A serious burn claim should cover more than the first hospital bill. Depending on the injury, it can include:

• Emergency care, burn-unit care, skin grafts and reconstructive surgery
• Infection treatment, physical and occupational therapy, and scar management
• Counseling and psychological care
• Future procedures, care and equipment
• Lost income and reduced ability to earn a living
• Pain, disfigurement and limits in daily life

Photographs taken at medically appropriate times can document healing and scarring. Doctors, life-care planners and vocational experts may be needed to show what future care and work limits will cost.

Nevada fault rules and filing deadline

Under Nevada's comparative negligence law, NRS 41.141, you cannot recover if your share of fault is greater than the combined fault of the parties you claim against. Otherwise, your compensation is reduced by your share. An insurer's claim about your share of fault does not decide it. Fault arguments should be tested against the scene evidence, safety duties, warnings, training, maintenance records and expert findings.

NRS 11.190 generally gives two years to file a lawsuit for personal injury caused by another person's wrongful act or neglect. Other deadlines or notice rules may apply, for example in claims involving a public entity, a minor, a defective product, construction or a death. Call early. Scenes are repaired and physical evidence is thrown away.

What to bring to your free case review

You do not need to collect everything before you call. If you have them, bring:

• Letters and emails from the insurance company, the other party or their lawyer
• Photographs of your injuries and the scene
• Your medical records and bills
• Proof of lost pay or income
• Proof of what you paid out of pocket

Get a free Las Vegas burn injury case review

Call 702.819.8998 or 888.845.9696, or request a free case review. Our Las Vegas office is at 6360 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 102, Las Vegas, NV 89118. We can also meet by phone or video. There is no fee and no case cost unless we recover money for you. The written agreement explains the fee before we start.