According to the American Burn Association, each year, approximately 450,000 patients receive emergency room and hospital treatment for burns. This number does not account for burn injuries that are treated at community health centers, private medical offices, or hospital clinics. Of these burn injuries, about 3,400 deaths due to burn injury occur each year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that fires and burns are the third leading cause of sudden deaths at home. It is reported that in the year 2010, there was a fire-related death every 169 minutes. A fire injury is said to have occurred every 30 minutes, the same year.
How Burn Injuries are Categorized
When a person suffers a burn injury, the most commonly damaged organ is the skin. However, if the burn injury is a serious one, almost all of the victim’s vital organs as well as nerve endings, which includes the central nervous system, can get damaged and in many cases, result in permanent injuries. Severe burn injuries can also emotionally traumatize victims for a number of years, if not their entire life. Although many advances in burn therapy and treatment have been made in the medical community, recovery is still a long and painful road and it is quite expensive too. Burn injuries are categorized according to the severity of damage to the tissues.
- First-degree burns affect the epidermis, or outer layer of the skin, causing redness and pain. Mild sunburn is the prototype.
- Second-degree burns extend to the dermis, or the skin’s second layer, causing redness, pain and blisters that may ooze. If these burns are deep, they can progress to third-degree burns over the course of a few days.
- Third-degree burns involve the skin’s two layers and may also cause damage to the underlying bones, tendons, and muscles. The site of the burn appears charred, pale or leathery. The victim generally does not suffer from pain in this area as the nerve endings are destroyed.
- Fourth-degree burns generally extend deep through the skin as well as the subcutaneous fat and right into the underlying bone and muscle. This type of burn is not just stiff, but also charred.
All burns, even the ones that are minor, may cause complications if the doctor or medical team does not treat it properly. Skin is the natural barrier of the body to infection, and when it gets burned, that protection gets destroyed. So treatment usually involves the treatment and prevention of infections.
Taking Legal Action for Burn Injuries
If you have been in a fire accident caused by someone else’s negligence, carelessness or malice and suffer burn injuries, you can legal action against them. You can file a case against them for damages such as medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of income, and so forth. It is important to find a qualified and experienced attorney to help you with your personal injury case.
RMFW Law Knows How to Deliver
If you or a loved one has suffered burn injuries due to another person’s fault, you should immediately contact a skilled personal injury attorney and there is no one better at this in this city than Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff (RMFW) Law Firm at 212-344-1000. We know how to play soft and hardball. We know when to swing and when not too. RMFW Law is a winning law firm and the legal system and the players in it know this. Do you think you have a case? Give us a call. This is now a legal matter and if you want to be paid the most for your suffering and put yourself in the best possible position of winning, call us now.