Tragic Duluth Georgia Fire Claims Life of Baby and Injures Parents
A tragic fire that raged inside a Duluth residence claimed the life of a 10-month-old baby and injured the baby's parents Saturday night. When emergency personnel arrived at the scene, the father of the child was in the front yard screaming that his house was on fire and that his infant was still inside the residence. The police were able to break the windows of the residence and rescue the child from the fire, but the child later died at the hospital.
The parents of the infant were transported to a special facility for treating burns in Augusta. Fires can cause some of the most painful and life altering injuries. Sometimes these fires are the result of negligent conduct or defective products that create an unsafe fire hazard. If you or someone you love is injured in a fire, you may have the right to compensation for your injuries. At Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, we have been assisting those who face serious injuries in fires caused by the negligence of others or defective products for over 39 years.
While the cause of the Duluth fire is still unclear, injuries that result from a fire may stem from a variety of causes that give rise to liability including the following:
Defective Fire Alarms: A fire alarm is a valuable life-saving device, and its presence in homes and apartments is mandated by law. Sometimes fire alarms are defective and do not warn occupants of a fire in time to avoid being burned or suffer heat inhalation injuries.
Defective Construction: Building codes and other fire safety regulations govern safe construction of buildings and required safety equipment. If a residence or apartment is not built according to these codes or mandatory safety equipment is not installed, the builder of the property may be liable for a fire victim's injuries.
Failure to Maintain Fire Alarms: A landlord is required to maintain fire safety equipment in common areas. When fire alarms and other safety equipment in common areas are not properly maintained, the owner of the building may be liable for injuries caused by a resulting fire.
Inadequate Fire Escape: If a fire escape is not present or is improperly maintained, it can result in residents of a building being unnecessarily trapped inside.
Fires often spread quickly through a property and can engulf the entire building in flames within a few minutes. If fire alarms are not installed or properly maintained, it may mean that occupants are seriously injured or killed who would have escaped if they had warning of a fire sooner. It is not uncommon that fire victims suffer more serious injuries because of construction or building materials that do not meet building code or other fire safety regulations which cause a fire to spread more quickly. If a property owner fails to maintain fire escapes, fire extinguishers, and other safety equipment, the result could be wrongful death or years of recovery from painful burn injuries involving scarring, disfigurement and skin grafts.
At Montlick and Associates, Attorneys at Law, we have been assisting those injured in fires throughout Georgia for over 39 years. If you or someone you love is injured or killed in a fire, we can help. Our personal injury attorneys in Georgia are available to assist clients throughout all of Georgia, including but not limited to Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Dalton, Gainesville, Macon, Marietta, Rome, Roswell, Savannah, Smyrna, Valdosta, Warner Robins and all smaller cities and rural areas in the state. Call us today for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333), or visit us on the web at www.montlick.com. No matter where you are in Georgia, we are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you.