How do you keep your home safe from fire?

Some cities and other local governments require that smoke detectors be placed inside every bedroom, as well as outside of sleeping areas on every floor. If your home does not have these, you could be putting your family at risk. Outside of sleeping areas, it is recommended that smoke detectors be installed near a stairway, in the basement, and near cooking appliances.

Whether a fire extinguisher is legally required in your home will be determined by your local or state code. You should make sure to have one regardless of law, but if your landlord has not provided a fire extinguisher, you should look up your local ordinances to find out if they are required to provide one, and have it placed in an easily accessible area.

It is generally permitted to file a claim against a landlord citing negligence. However, when determining this it is important to work with a burn injury attorney who can help you parse through the language of your lease to ensure you can actually file a claim.

The language of a lease can be used by landlords to intimidate tenants into not taking action, but you have rights. In some states, if a lease says you have waived your right to a jury trial in a personal injury lawsuit, that clause could be found void. Don’t let your landlord intimidate you. Instead, contact an experienced burn injury attorney like those at Morgan & Morgan to find out if you can hold your landlord responsible for their negligence.

In order to ensure your home is safe from fire, it is important to install essential fire safety equipment. If you rent, your landlord should have it installed for you. If it’s not, you can request installation of this crucial equipment.

Essential fire safety equipment includes:

• Smoke alarms
• Fire extinguishers
• Fireproof doors

Additionally, your fire escape, if you have one, is an essential fire safety tool, and should be sturdy and clear at all times. Similarly, escape routes in apartment buildings should also be clear and accessible, and electrical wiring should be kept up to date.

For more information on fire safety in the home, check out our fire safety guide

If you suffer a burn injury on the job, you may file a workers’ compensation claim. Your employer’s insurance is supposed to cover medical expenses, as well as lost wages for while you were out of work. Insurance companies, however, have been known to try and limit payouts and even deny benefits. If you’ve dealt with a work-related burn injury and workers’ compensation insurance has denied you benefits, contact our attorneys to discuss your rights.

Yes. If a defective products causes or worsens a fire that leads to a burn injury, you could potentially file a lawsuit against the manufacturer. It’s important to be aware of products with known defects that can cause fires or make existing ones worse. For example, while smoke detectors are crucial, ionization smoke detectors can take as much as 30 minutes longer than other alarms to notice smoke. There are also a number of fire suppression devices for stove ranges that have not been proven to successfully suppress fires as advertised. Contact a Morgan & Morgan burn injury attorney to learn more about filing a lawsuit.