Severe burns are among the most painful, disfiguring, and life-altering injuries a person can survive — and the recovery can take years. When someone else’s negligence caused the fire, the crash, or the defective product, Kyle Koester fights for everything that loss deserves.
Suffered a serious burn injury in Georgia?
Kyle Koester is a Woodstock, GA burn injury attorney representing severely burned victims and their families across Cherokee County and metro Atlanta. Burn claims run on Georgia’s general negligence, premises, and product-liability law — including modified comparative negligence (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) and a two-year deadline to file (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33); a defective-product burn may also involve the product-liability statute and its repose period (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11). There is no fee unless he wins. Free consultation: 770-744-5250.
Few injuries are as devastating as a serious burn. Beyond the immediate trauma, survivors often face months in a burn unit, repeated surgeries and skin grafts, a lifetime of scarring, and a psychological toll that doesn’t show on an X-ray. The medical costs are enormous and the road back is long.
When a burn was caused by someone else’s negligence — a careless driver, an unsafe property, a dangerous product, or an unsafe worksite — you should not have to carry that financial weight on top of the recovery. A serious burn case is a catastrophic-injury case, and it deserves to be handled like one.
These claims are also evidence-intensive. The cause of a fire or an explosion must be investigated and proven, often with fire experts and engineers, and the evidence — the vehicle, the product, the scene — can disappear quickly. Early, experienced legal help protects both your claim and your future.
Burns are classified by how deep they go and by what caused them. The deeper the burn, the more serious the injury — and the more complex the claim. (Medical descriptions below should be verified before publish.)
Affects only the outer layer of skin (the epidermis). Red, painful, and dry — like a sunburn. Usually heals without scarring, but widespread first-degree burns can still be serious.
Reaches into the second layer of skin (the dermis), causing blisters, swelling, and intense pain. Deeper second-degree burns can scar and may need specialized care.
Destroys both skin layers and can damage nerve endings, sometimes leaving the area numb. Skin may appear white, leathery, or charred. These burns typically require skin grafts and leave permanent scarring.
Extends through the skin into muscle, tendon, or bone. Among the most catastrophic burns, often involving amputation, multiple surgeries, and lifelong disability.
Damage to the airway and lungs from inhaling smoke, superheated air, or toxic gases. These injuries can be life-threatening even when external burns appear minor.
Chemical burns come from corrosive substances; electrical burns from contact with current and can cause deep internal damage far beyond what’s visible on the skin.
When a burn results from someone else’s negligence, the cause often points to who is responsible.
High-speed collisions, fuel-system failures, and post-crash fires can cause severe burns — sometimes pointing to both an at-fault driver and a vehicle or component defect.
Explosions, electrical accidents, hot equipment, and chemical exposure on the job. Beyond workers’ compensation, a negligent third party may also be liable.
Flammable goods, faulty wiring, exploding batteries or e-cigarettes, and unsafe appliances. A manufacturer can be strictly liable for a dangerous product.
Landlords and property owners who ignore fire-safety duties — missing smoke detectors, blocked exits, faulty wiring — can be liable when a fire injures a tenant or visitor.
Burn treatment is among the most expensive in all of medicine — burn-unit stays, surgeries, grafts, and years of reconstruction and therapy. A full recovery accounts for the lifelong cost, not just today’s bills.
If we don't win, you don't pay.
No fees, no costs, no risk. Kyle only gets paid when he recovers money for you.
Get Your Free Case ReviewThere’s no burn-specific statute — these claims run on Georgia’s negligence, premises, and product-liability rules. Which ones apply depends on how the burn happened. Tap any card for the deep dive.
You can recover only if less than 50% at fault, and your recovery drops by your share of fault.
Why it matters: Insurers often argue the victim caused the fire. Read the statute page →
Georgia generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Why it matters: Fire and product evidence vanishes fast — long before the deadline. Read the statute page →
Strict liability for a defective or dangerously flammable product — plus a 10-year statute of repose.
Why it matters: Many burns come from defective products; the repose clock can be decisive. Read the statute page →
A property owner’s duty of ordinary care — including fire safety — toward people lawfully on the property.
Why it matters: Building and rental fires often trace to a landlord’s safety failures. Read the statute page →
Statutory references current as of 2026. Always confirm current Georgia law — your specific case may involve additional or updated provisions.
Straight answers to what burn victims and families ask Kyle most.
Serious claims commonly involve thermal burns from fires and hot surfaces, scalds, chemical burns, electrical burns, and inhalation injuries from smoke and superheated air. The more severe the burn — especially third- and fourth-degree — the more complex and high-value the claim, because of the extensive care and permanent effects involved.
It depends on how the burn happened — an at-fault driver in a vehicle fire, a property owner who ignored fire-safety duties, an employer or third party at a worksite, or the manufacturer of a defective or dangerously flammable product. Sometimes more than one party shares responsibility.
Burn victims may recover medical and burn-unit costs, future reconstructive surgeries and skin grafts, lost wages and reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, compensation for permanent scarring and disfigurement, and the psychological impact. Because burns are among the most painful and disfiguring injuries, damages can be substantial.
Georgia generally allows two years from the date of injury under OCGA 9-3-33. If a defective product caused the burn, a separate product-liability statute of repose may also apply. Acting quickly helps preserve critical evidence — the product, the scene, and fire-investigation findings.
Nothing up front. Kyle works on a contingency fee — you pay no attorney fee unless he recovers money for you, and the consultation is free. Contact Koester Legal at 770-744-5250.
The terms that come up most in Georgia burn injury cases — defined simply.
The percentage of the body affected by burns — a key measure doctors use to gauge severity and guide treatment.
A surgical procedure that moves healthy skin to a burned area. Severe burns often require multiple grafts over time.
The removal of dead or damaged tissue from a burn to help it heal and reduce infection — often repeated and painful.
An emergency incision through thick, burned skin to relieve pressure and restore circulation in a severely burned limb.
Permanent scarring or change in appearance — a distinct, compensable category of harm in a burn claim.
An expert-prepared roadmap of the lifetime treatment, surgeries, and costs a catastrophically burned person will require.
Compensation for the care a burn victim will reasonably need going forward, not just bills already incurred.
When a defective or dangerously flammable product caused the burn, the manufacturer may be strictly liable.
Building and rental fires often trace to a property owner’s failure to maintain safe, fire-protected premises.
Post-crash vehicle fires can combine a negligent driver with a possible vehicle or fuel-system defect.
Wondering what your burn injury case is worth?
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