BURN ACCIDENTS

Burn injuries can result from many types of accidents and can have significant impact on a personal injury victim’s life. A severe burn injury is perhaps the greatest trauma the human body can experience. It combines significant disfigurement with severe functional impairment. Severe burns can also be one of the most challenging types of injuries for both doctors and attorneys. Both the injury and the treatment are extremely complex because of the significant impact of the injury and the duration of treatment options. Such injuries can cause damage to many body systems and organs resulting in numerous and varied threats to the life of the personal injury victim. Unfortunately, some of these injuries will remain throughout the life of a victim who survives a severe burn injury

The complexity of the treatment is evident not only by the numerous surgical procedures which the burn victim must undergo to achieve some type of recovery, but also since a typical hospital is unable to provide the specialized care necessary for the severe burn victim. Due to the need for specialized medical care, burn care treatment centers are some of the most expensive types of medical care in this country, both in the immediate phase of a severe burn and the continuous cosmetic revisionary treatment.

Unfortunately, approximately over two millions burns are recorded each year, with fully one-third of these injuries reported in children. About one thousand of these burns result in hospitalization for the victim. Furthermore, burns are the third leading cause of accidental death and rate considerably high for those under forty. Burn injuries have been increasing due in part by the fact that the U.S. is a high-energy, highly industrialized society where energy transfer and storage are a significant aspect of both occupational and residential settings.

TYPES OF BURN INJURIES:

A burn is generally defined as a tissue injury resulting from excessive exposure to thermal, chemical, electrical, or radioactive agents. Hence burns can be caused by a large variety of sources. A typical thermal accident is caused by contact with high heat sources such as hot water, steam, or roofing tar. Other causes can be due to flames or burning substances in the context of a residential, commercial, or aircraft explosion.

Other sources of burn injury include exposure to caustic or acidic chemicals, electrical current (construction site injuries); friction, (a motorcycle accident victim); exposure to hot gasses resulting in inhalation burns to the lungs, and exposure to ultraviolet or other radiation.

Burns are considered serious, painful wounds of varying degrees of severity.  Unfortunately, the most severe burns result in quick fatalities or within a short period of time. If a victim is fortunate enough to survive, permanent bodily scars and quality of life concerns are a lifetime certainty. That is why it is absolutely essential that a qualified and dedicated personal injury attorney handle the case.

RECOVERABLE DAMAGES:

● Medical Expenses

Moderate and serious burn injuries can trigger astronomical bills. For example, hospitalization at a trauma center or burn care center can cost as much $1,000,000. An attorney dedicated to personal injury claims will help you recover the costs for any hospital stay, surgery, doctors’ visits, diagnostic tests, skin grafts, and other severe burn treatment options. You may further be entitled to the costs of future medical care, which is typical of sever burn cases.

● Pain and Suffering

Burn accidents may inflict a wide range of injuries, whether they are temporary, longer-term, or permanently disabling. The law allows for compensation for the pain and suffering associated with such injuries, yet it does not provide a fixed formula to calculate that type of compensation. To recover the maximum amount that your injuries warrant, one will need the help of a dedicated personal injury attorney who is equipped with the knowledge, resources and experience to best evaluate your claim.

● Loss of Wages

Time lost at work due to injuries inflicted by a burn injury can be significant and have serious ramifications on your finances and family responsibilities. If your burn injuries prevent you from working, then all your lost wages may be included in any claim for recovery against the negligent party and the liable carrier. Even if you used sick leave or vacation time during the recovery period, reimbursement may be available in your recovery. What if your injuries leave you permanently disabled and unable to work ever again? In conjunction with this firm’s experts, a personal injury lawyer can calculate your future losses and recover for your diminution in lifetime earning capacity.

● Loss of Consortium

Loss of consortium is a cause of action that may be brought by a spouse of the injured party for loss or harm he or she suffered as a result of bodily injury caused to the injured spouse by the negligent party.

● Wrongful Death

If a burn accident resulted in the death of a party, then there may be a cause of action for wrongful death. A wrongful death action arises in favor of certain statutory outlined survivors of a decedent of an accident. The survivors who are entitled to bring a wrongful death claim include but are not limited to the decedent’s surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, or issue of deceased children.

IMPORTANT STEPS TO TAKE AFTER A BURN ACCIDENT:

The following are very important steps you should take in the immediate aftermath of a burn accident:

(1) Call the police and file a report. Filing such a report will help document the event and shed light on what or who caused the accident.

(2) Receive prompt medical attention for yourself or anyone involved in the accident. If the injuries require emergency care, call an ambulance for transport to a hospital. If the injuries are not serious, visit an urgent care medical center or arrange to be seen by your regular physician.

(3) If safe and reasonable, attempt to gather information at the scene of the accident. If there are witnesses to the accident, obtain their names and contact information.

(4) Do not give statements to the insurance companies’ representatives about the incident without first contacting a personal injury attorney.

(5) Immediately contact a dedicated Burn Injury Attorney. It is crucial to immediately seek counsel so that any evidence available is immediately and appropriately gathered before it is lost or destroyed, and that any possible witnesses are found and interviewed while their recollections are still fresh and useful.