Fire pits and bonfires are common sights in autumn. They can be cozy, and they can provide property owners in Louisiana with the opportunity to have guests over to enjoy the fire with them. However, it is essential for property owners who have fire pits or a bonfire to ensure that these fires are kept safe. If not, it could lead to burn injuries.
First, it is important to inspect the area around the fire, to ensure there are not any objects that a person could stumble over, causing the person to fall into the fire. Property owners should also keep a bucket of water nearby the bonfire or fire pit, to extinguish the flames quickly if necessary. It may even be necessary to erect a rock fence around the fire, to make sure people cannot get too close to it.
Some property owners might think that if they have a grate over their fire pit, that they have done their duty to keep their premises safe. But even fire pits grates can be extremely hot, so if a person contacts one, they could still be burned. Thus, it is important to make sure chairs and benches are not too close to the fire.
If a property owner fails to take these simple precautions, and a person is burned on their property, the burn victim may want to learn more about their legal options, including pursuing compensation through a lawsuit. Burn injuries can cause severe physical and emotional trauma, with much pain and suffering. If the burn injury could have been prevented, knowing that the injury need not have happened can make matters worse for the burn injury victim. Thus, it is important to determine whether the property owner was at fault for the burn and should be held accountable for their negligence.