Summary:
- Thermal burns occur when exposed to an open flame, heated metal, steam, or hot liquid
- Friction burns happen when your skin rubs against a coarse or hard object
- Personal injury accidents can expose you to dangerous chemicals that can burn your skin
- Electrical burns occur when someone’s skin is exposed to electrical currents
Personal injury accidents are harmful incidents that involve people becoming exposed to physical trauma. During a personal injury accident, victims can suffer burn injuries from exposure to an open flame, heated metal, dangerous chemicals, or electrical currents. A burn injury can lead to symptoms like physical scarring, intense pain, and dehydration.
Some burn injuries you can suffer during a personal injury accident include thermal, friction, chemical, and electrical burns. Different personal injury accidents, such as a car, motorcycle, or slip and fall accident, can expose you to different burn injuries. After suffering a burn injury, you could pursue compensation for damages by filing a claim with the at-fault party.
Thermal Burn Injuries Caused by Personal Injury Accidents
Those who suffer personal injury accidents can experience serious injuries. One severe injury caused by personal injury accidents is a burn injury, which can occur when someone comes into contact with a heat source. There are many different types of burn injuries that differ based on what heat source the victim touches.
A thermal burn can result from exposure to excessive heat through flame, hot liquids, heated metal, or steam. This type of burn injury ordinarily results from a car or truck accident. The impact of a collision can cause a puncture in the gas tank that can result in an explosion, leading to the people in the car becoming exposed to a dangerous heat source.
Car accident impact can also cause the cooling components in the car to leak. This can cause them to stop working, leading to the car’s metals overheating. Touching the hot metal can cause a thermal burn that can destroy the top layer of skin.
Friction Burns Can Result from Scratching Against a Coarse Surface
A friction burn occurs when someone’s skin rubs against a coarse surface. The hard object can rip the skin off their body and cause a friction burn that causes significant physical pain, excessive bleeding, and a possible infection.
This type of burn injury commonly occurs during a bicycle or motorcycle accident. When someone riding a bicycle or motorcycle gets struck by a larger vehicle, they can get thrown off. As they fall down, they can scrape their skin against the road or sidewalk. This is commonly referred to as road rash.
Slip and fall accidents can also cause this type of burn when someone slips outside and slides against the coarse ground. Friction burns can also occur during a car accident when an airbag overinflates and rubs against a car accident victim’s skin.
What Personal Injury Accidents Can Cause Chemical Burn Injuries?
Chemical burns occur when someone is exposed to dangerous chemicals during a personal injury accident. This is most likely to occur during a car accident collision, such as head-on, jackknife, or rear-end accidents. The damage to someone’s vehicle during a car accident can cause dangerous chemicals to leak.
This can include chemicals like antifreeze, battery acid, and transmission fluid. These liquids can come into contact with your body during a collision and burn directly through your skin. They can also cause immediate irritation, giving you an indication you should go to the hospital to have the chemical burn treated immediately.
Electrical Burns Caused by Personal Injury Accidents
Someone can suffer an electrical burn when they are exposed to an open electrical current. The shock provided by the electrical course can burn the skin and require immediate medical assistance. This can happen during a car accident when the impact on the car can destroy the structure and reveal exposed wiring.
This type of burn also commonly occurs during workplace accidents. Those who work with power tools, electrical wiring, and appliances may get shocked by malfunctioning equipment. An electrical burn can provide just a minor shock or deep internal damage that can cause long-term health complications.
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Burn Injury Claim
At The Russo Firm, our personal injury lawyers can use their experience to put you in the best position to recover compensation for damages. They can help you collect evidence to prove the at-fault party’s liability, calculate pain and suffering damages, and negotiate a fair settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Our personal injury attorneys know how a burn injury can affect your health and quality of life and wish to help you recover financially. Contact us for a free burn injury consultation at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions About Burn Injuries
What are the Long-Term Health Complications of a Burn Injury?
Burn injuries can affect people in the short term and long term. In the aftermath of a personal injury accident, their burn can cause significant pain and suffering as they have to deal with the impact of the painful injury.
The long-term impact of a burn injury not properly treated can cause life-threatening consequences. Serious burns that classify as third or fourth-degree can affect both the skin and other parts of the body. They can cause cardiovascular disease, cancer, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, infections, and gastrointestinal disease.
What Damages Can You Pursue for a Burn Injury?
Victims of burn injuries can suffer damages, which are losses you suffer due to severe injuries and personal injury accidents. There are two types of damages you could pursue after suffering a burn injury from a personal injury accident: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are those that have a financial value attached to them. Non-economic damages are intangible costs that affect your mental health, psychological well-being, relationships with other people, and quality of life.
The following are some damages you could pursue for a burn injury:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Why Should You Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer After Suffering a Burn Injury?
Those who suffer burn injuries during personal injury accidents can file civil claims to hold the at-fault party accountable for their negligence. However, handling the process of proving liability and negotiating a settlement can prove difficult for those without legal experience. That is why it’s essential for a burn injury victim to hire a personal injury lawyer.
They will have vast experience that they can use to provide compassionate and effective legal counsel. Some ways they can help you include calculating your damages, determining who caused the accident, explaining your state’s personal injury laws, gathering evidence, and negotiating a settlement with the liable party’s insurance company.
