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Each year more than 1 million people suffer from burn injuries and an estimated 4,500 Americans die. More than 500,000 burn victims are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year, and approximately 45,000 of these victims require hospital admission.
Burn injuries can occur in several different ways, including when a victim comes in close contact with flame, corrosive chemicals, hot objects, scalding fluids, exposure to radiation, and electrocution.
- Thermal Burns – This can include flame, radiation, excessive heat from fired steam, and hot liquids and/or objects.
- Chemical Burns – This includes various acids, bases, and caustics.
- Electrical Burns – This includes electrical current and lighting.
- Light Burns – This includes burns caused by intense light sources or ultraviolet light rays, which include sunlight.
- Radiation Burns – This can come from nuclear sources. Ultraviolet light is also a source of radiation burns.
Burn injuries can have dire consequences that are not limited to but can include partial or complete paralysis, damage to hearing, disfigurement, sight, or even the brain and spinal cord. Death may even occur in severe cases. If this is due to someone else’s negligence, then it would be considered a wrongful death case.
With serious burn injuries, medical expenses are not only severe, but they can also extend for a long time. Loss of income is also a painful outcome of burn injuries if the victim may not be able to work at all, or may be rendered unfit for well-paying jobs.
Types of Burn Injuries
First-degree burns: These are superficial burns that involve only the epidermis or outer layer of skin. They are the most common and minor of all burns. The skin is reddened and extremely painful, but the burn will heal on its own without scarring within two to five days. There may be peeling of the skin and temporary discoloration.
Second-degree burns: These occur when the first layer of skin is burned through and the second layer, the corium, is damaged, but the burn does not pass through underlying tissues. The skin is moist and there will be deep intense pain, reddening, blisters, and a mottled appearance to the skin. These burns are considered minor if they involve less than 15 percent of the body surface in adults and less than 10 percent in children. Second-degree burns will heal themselves and produce very little scarring when treated with reasonable care. Healing is usually completed within three weeks. Second-degree burns covering more than 30% of the body are serious or complex burns.
Third-degree burns: These burns involve all skin layers. These are the most serious of all burns and are usually charred black and include areas that are dry and white. Third-degree burns may be very painful, but some victims feel little or no pain because the nerve endings have been destroyed. This type of burn may require skin grafting. When third-degree burns heal, dense scars form.
Burn Injury Attorneys Fighting For You
Our attorneys understand burn injuries may result in a tremendous amount of pain and emotional trauma. The burn injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Michael F. Mahoney can help determine if your injury was due to negligence.
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