Burns are among the most painful of all injuries and can result in blistering, scarring, disfigurement, shock, and death. Survivors of severe burn injuries often face long-term, painful treatment. Burn treatment is aimed at preventing infection, minimizing scarring, controlling pain, and counseling to help victims make the psychological adjustments needed to cope with the permanent disfigurement and physical limitations that often come with serious burns. The size, type, degree, and severity of the burn and the area of the body will determine the treatment and the prognosis.
Every year approximately 450,000 patients are treated for burn injuries, 45,000 require hospitalization, and 3,500 die.
TYPES OF BURNS
Two types of burn injuries are
- Thermal burns from contact with flames, hot objects, steam or hot liquids,
- Chemical burns, from chemicals that come into contact with the skin
ACCIDENTS THAT CAUSE BURNS
Motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, and aircraft accidents account for a significant number of burn injuries. Any impact that causes flammable fluids to leak can cause car fires; broken fuel lines, hoses, caps, and filters can all cause fluid leaks. A car crash can puncture the fuel tank, causing the gasoline to leak out and explode, engulfing the car in flames before passengers can escape, causing burn injuries and death.
Burns caused by scalding, chemicals, electricity, radiation, flames, and contact with a hot surface are common workplace injuries. Burns constitute 60 percent of all workplace injuries.
DEGREE AND SEVERITY OF BURNS
Burns are classified by degree, first, second, third degree, and by their severity, i.e. whether they are major or minor burns.
- First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin.
- Second-degree burns affect the outer layer and the layer below it.
- Third-degree burns affect and often destroy the deepest layer of skin and the tissues below the skin, often requiring skin grafts.
WHEN BURNS ARE CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE
Burn injuries are often the result of another person’s negligence, whether a driver who caused a car crash or a company, individual, or several individuals responsible for safety inspections in the workplace. In these cases, victims are able to make a claim for compensation for their losses with the assistance of a Seattle personal injury lawyer experienced in handling burn accident injury cases. Severe burn injuries are among the most difficult and painful injuries to treat. The burn injury lawyers at Wattel & York understand that a person who has experienced extensive burns will need a recovery sufficient to provide the cost of long-term treatment and care, usually including repeated surgeries, and to compensate for severe pain and suffering, disfigurement, and disabilities that are often permanent.
THE HELP YOU NEED WHEN YOU’VE BEEN BURNED
If you or a family member has suffered a burn or other serious injury because of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing, the person responsible for your damages needs to be held to account, and you need to claim the compensation you need and deserve. With the Seattle burn injury attorneys at Wattel & York, you have the best chance at a full and adequate financial recovery for both your economic and non-economic losses. We are committed to justice for the individual and will do what it takes to achieve it.
If you’re worried about the cost of hiring top legal representation, don’t be. At Wattel & York, you never pay a penny out of pocket. We front all expenses and are paid from your settlement or verdict. You pay absolutely nothing unless we win money for you.
Call Wattel & York for a free legal consultation today.