It may surprise you to learn that US emergency departments treat over 400,000 people each year for burn injuries. Here at Cellino Law, a premier New York personal injury law firm, our attorneys receive numerous questions from people who have suffered these types of injuries. We therefore thought it would be helpful to develop a burn FAQ sheet to answer some of the most common questions we receive. What follows is the result of our endeavor.
What is a Burn?
Burns are damage to your skin and other tissues caused by contact with one or more of the following:
- A fire or other heat source
- The sun or other radiation source
- Extreme cold
- Harsh chemicals
- Electricity
In addition, excessive friction to your skin can likewise cause a burn.
Heat Source Burns
Obviously, coming into contact with the flames of a fire during a fiery vehicle crash can cause a serious burn injury, but any heat source can severely burn you. Examples include the following:
- A hot oven or stovetop
- A hot pan
- Hot liquid, such as bath or shower water or coffee
When a hot liquid is the burning culprit, the burn is called a scald.
Sun and Other Radiation Burns
Few of us reach adulthood without sustaining at least one or two sunburns during the summer months. While most of these are minor in nature, they can blister, itch and peel, leaving faint scarring.
If you undergo radiation treatment for cancer or other illnesses, these can burn you as well if not properly administered.
Cold Burns
It may seem counterintuitive to think of cold things as a source of burns, but that’s exactly what frostbite is. In fact, a frostbite “burn” can be potentially catastrophic, requiring amputation of the affected areas, most notably toes and fingers.
Chemical Burns
Given the number of corrosive chemical compounds and liquids on the market today, it’s no wonder that more people than ever are arriving at emergency rooms with chemical burns. Common sources include:
- Steering, brake or transmission fluid
- Pesticides
- Battery acid
- Gasoline
- Paint thinner
Even household cleaning products can produce a chemical burn if used in strong enough concentrations without wearing protective gloves.
Electrical Burns
An electrical burn results any time a part of your body comes into contact with a source of electricity, such as one of the following:
- Frayed or damaged power cords
- Ungrounded power cords, particularly extension cords
- Power line, dangling or downed
- Transformer
- A “hot” wire in your vehicle
Old stoves can also pose an electrical burn danger since a damaged burner can unexpectedly arc electricity into the air.
How Serious are Burn Injuries?
The medical community uses a 1-4 rating system when describing the seriousness of a burn injury.
A first-degree burn, the least serious, is relatively superficial, affecting only the outermost layer of your skin, the epidermis. While the affected area likely will turn red, a first-degree burn generally heals on its own and leaves no scarring.
A second-degree burn goes through your epidermis into your second skin layer, the dermis. These are the burns that blister and peel and can cause pain, even when treated with topical burn ointments.
A third-degree burn is serious and usually destroys both your epidermis and dermis, plus some of your underlying tissues, such as muscle, fat and even nerves. One of the biggest dangers of a third-degree burn is that you may not feel much pain if you have nerve damage and consequently fail to seek the immediate medical attention such burns require. They usually require a long time to heal and may well necessitate one or more surgeries and skin grafts.
A fourth-degree burn represents a life-threatening injury because the burn goes all the way down to your bones. Again, you may feel little or no pain with a fourth-degree burn since your nerve endings in the affected area have been destroyed. Nevertheless, you need immediate medical intervention to prevent your body from completely shutting down, resulting in death. Even with the best medical treatment, including skin grafts and reconstructive surgery, a fourth-degree burn almost invariably leaves disfiguring scarring.
What are the Possible Complications of Burn Injuries?
The two most common complications of a burn injury are infection and respiratory distress.
Needless to say, when a serious burn breaks open your skin, you have an open wound through which bacteria can easily enter your body. Once established, this bacterial infection can quickly enter your bloodstream and cause sepsis, a life-threatening whole-body infection that results in death if not immediately treated aggressively.
If a fire causes your burn injury, you likely inhaled smoke, a very dangerous situation in and of itself. Smoke inhalation can quickly block your lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Prolonged smoke inhalation can damage your lungs so severely that you may suffer from respiratory distress, including shortness of breath, for the rest of your life.
What are the Costs of Burn Injuries?
The financial costs associated with a serious burn injury can be as horrendous as the injury itself. Given the lengthy and extensive medical treatment and care these injuries require, you could find yourself facing skyrocketing medical bills at precisely the time when your injuries require you to be and remain off work. These expenses can easily soar into hundreds of thousands of dollars for such things as:
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Prescription drugs
- Rehabilitation
- Physical and occupational therapy
In addition to medical expenses and loss of income, burn injuries almost invariably entail a great deal of mental and emotional suffering, especially if you sustain them on your face, neck or other area of your body where you can’t cover up your lingering scars with clothing and accessories.
Do You Need a Lawyer For a Burn Injury?
If you have sustained a serious burn injury anywhere in the state of New York caused by someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, whether in a car crash, at work, or while on someone else’s property, the lawyers at Cellino Law stand ready, willing and able to help you get the compensation you deserve.
We practice only personal injury law and have already recovered more than $2 billion for our injured clients. We know both the federal and New York state laws pertaining to all types of personal injuries, including burn injuries, and work diligently and aggressively on behalf of our clients. From dealing with insurance companies to conducting full-blown jury trials, our lawyers are committed to obtaining the best possible result for each and every client. We have the knowledge, experience, skills and resources to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident, and then use those findings to your greatest advantage.
You may be sure that we will give you the utmost in personal service from your first contact with us to the successful completion of your case. We offer you not only a free initial consultation, but also ongoing 24/7 support and updates throughout the entire process.
So contact Cellino Law today. Remember, the New York personal injury statute of limitations gives you only three years from the date of your accident in which to pursue legal recourse. The sooner you let us begin representing you, the sooner we can put all of our resources to work for you. Again, it costs you nothing to find out how we can help you weather the physical, emotional and financial emotional storms after you sustain a serious burn injury that could well negatively impact you for the rest of your life.