Personal injury lawyers frequently represent clients who suffered serious burn injuries. Burn injuries are not only painful but can leave permanent physical and psychological scars. Many of these cases are wrongful death lawsuits.
Common Causes of Burn Injuries
The most common causes of burn injuries are:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Fires in structures
- Electrocution or electrical burns
- Thermal (steam or liquid) burns
- Chemical burns
- Defective heaters and household products
- on-the-job accidents
Types of Burn Injuries
Understanding the specific cause of a burn is critical:
Electrical Burn Injuries
Electrical burn injuries result from exposure to high-voltage electricity. The burn injuries are a result of electric current flowing through the body and causing a variety of wounds resulting in serious physical injuries and possible death. These injuries can be caused by a defective product or negligence in the use of a product.
Thermal Burn Injuries
Thermal burn injuries occur when there is exposure to, or contact with steam, flames, flash and hot surfaces or hot liquids with a temperature of at least 115 degrees. Burn injuries from coffee and tea are very common and can result from the spilling of the liquid drink onto a person. Cases have been filed against restaurants for the liquids being too hot or because the employee failed to properly secure the cup lid before providing the drink to the customer.
Automobile and Chemical Burn Injuries
Automobile fires are often caused by gas explosions as well as contact with another object in a collision. Chemical burn injuries are caused by contact with acids or strong bases such as alkaloids. Often strong chemicals are used in laboratories and place on the job workers at risk. Very strong chemicals will dissolve skin at contact and are difficult to wash away at contact exposure.
Structure Fires and Burn Injuries
Structure fires and burn injuries are often associated with residential or office building fires. When these events do occur, it is not uncommon to find that heating and electrical equipment has malfunctioned and resulted in serious burn injuries or death to unsuspecting victims. The lack of working smoke detectors in a building is often the basis for filing a burn injury lawsuit.
Classifications of Burn Injuries
Burns are medically categorized by the depth of tissue damage, ranging from surface-level irritation to profound:
First-Degree Burns
First-degree burns usually affect the outer layer of the skin. A first-degree burn tends to be moist and red in color. A burn of this nature is generally resolved within a week.
Second-Degree Burns
A second-degree burn is one that penetrates the outer layer of skin and extends to the deeper layer known as the dermis. Pressure on a second-degree burn tends to produce red blanches. The burn is moist and pinkish. A superficial second-degree burn should heal spontaneously, often within two weeks. However, sometimes, a second-degree burn can run deeper into the skin. A burn of this nature will be dry and whitish in color. It will not produce red blanches with the application of pressure. A burn of this nature can take three to four weeks on average to heal. There is a risk that a deep second-degree burn will leave scars.
Third-Degree Burns
The most severe burn is the third-degree burn. This occurs when the burn has destroyed both the epidermal and dermal layers of skin and extends down into subcutaneous tissue. These burns are usually physically depressed, charred and often leathery in appearance. A third-degree burn may not be as physically painful as the less severe categorizations, due to the number of nerve endings that may have been destroyed. These burns are very serious in nature and often require skin grafting or other reconstructive procedures.
Impact on Burn Survivors
Burn survivors endure physical and emotional trauma, an injury that leaves one in pain, disfigurement, organ damage, body chemistry damage and/or sensitivity to temperature change. They also often incur significant medical expenses, rehabilitation expenses and lost earnings.
Seeking Legal Help for Burn Injuries
Lawsuits against negligent persons, businesses, property owners and manufacturers seek money compensation for the harm caused by a preventable burn injury.
An experienced attorney can help secure the maximum settlement for an injury victim. It is important to hire an attorney as soon as possible after a burn injury to begin the investigation process and gather the evidence needed to win the case.
