Health Upp Burn Injuries – Burns can be one of the most serious and severe injuries people can sustain. These injuries can happen anywhere. Burn injuries can cause scarring, disfigurement, dangerous infections, and even death. Because of this, severe burns can lead to high medical costs and substantial lost income.
An Atlanta personal injury attorney who is skilled in burn injury claims understands how devastating it is to sustain a burn injury from someone else’s negligence or carelessness.
Burn injuries change lives. You deserve an experienced, honest, and hardworking lawyer to help you seek the right to compensation for your burn injuries.
Types and Degrees of Burn Injuries
A severe burn injury could result from many kinds of accidents. There are many types of burn injuries, including:
- Thermal burns
- Chemical burns
- Electric burns
- Friction heats
- Radiation heats
According to the National Institutes of Health burns can be classified into several levels of severity. These can range from the first-degree to the sixth degree. Each level of burn has its own set of challenges and treatments. The more severe the burn is, the more it will affect the skin and deeper tissue.
- First-degree burns – These kinds of burns affect only the outermost layer. These burns can make the skin redden and cause severe pain.
- Second-degree Burns – This type of burn can penetrate deeper and is more severe. Second-degree burns may cause blistering or scarring and can affect multiple layers. These can be extremely painful.
- Third-degree burns – third-degree burns can cause severe skin damage to all layers. These injuries, like other higher-degree burns, can cause permanent nerve damage that may require skin grafts.
- Fourth-degree burns These severe burns can prove to be life-threatening. They may also penetrate the fat layers below the skin.
- Fifth-degree burns These major burns, which can be as severe as fourth-degree burns and even more dangerous for the victim, can cause death. A fifth-degree burn is one that extends into the muscle.
- Sixth-degree burns – sixth-degree burns can be life threatening and may even extend to the bone.
Common Causes for Burn Injuries in Atlanta
A serious burn injury can be caused by many things, including contact with heat or steam, exposure to chemicals, or radiation. The following are the top causes of burn injuries:
- Fire at work, at home, and at dangerous places
- Contact with hot liquids or steam
- Chemical Exposure to cleaning agents or toxic industrial chemicals
- Radiation from medical imaging equipment
- Heat or fire caused by defective products
- Electric burn injuries at work
The following are some complications that can result from deep or extensive burns:
- Bacterial infection can lead to bloodstream infection (sepsis).
- Fluid loss, including low blood volume (hypovolemia.
- Hypothermia, dangerously low body temperature.
- Inhaling hot air or smoking can cause breathing problems.
- Scarring or ridges are cause by scar tissue overgrowth (keloids).
- Problems with bone and joints, such as scar tissue that causes tightening or shortening of skin, muscles, and tendons (contractures), can cause severe pain.
Getting Compensation for Burns
Georgia law can provide significant compensation if you sustained a burn injury from someone else’s negligence. Your situation will determine the type and amount of compensation that you can seek.
Let’s say, for example, that you are injured in an accident that causes severe burns due to the negligence of your employer. You might be eligible for different compensation than if you had been involve in an accident away from work. This is because the workers’ compensation insurance company of your employer will usually only provide limited benefits for injuries that occur on the job.
Workers’ compensation benefits could be available if you are injured on the job.
- Two-thirds of your weekly average earnings, until a maximum
- Medical expenses coverage, which includes the cost of medical equipment
- Compensation for Disabilities
You may be eligible for compensation if you have suffered serious burn injuries at work or if you are suing a third party that is not an employer for the injury, for:
- Medical bills
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Future medical expenses
- Loss wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Psychological suffering and physical pain
- Permanent scarring and disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Inferior quality of life
- Punitive damages for exceptional cases
Types of lawsuits a Burn Victim Can File
The nature of the injury and how it occurred will determine which type of personal accident claim an injured victim must file.
If someone is injured by a defective product that causes a fire on business property, they can file a premises negligence lawsuit. They could also file a product liability suit if they were hurt by a defective product that caused a fire. They could file a car crash lawsuit against another driver or at-fault party if they were burned in a car accident.
An Atlanta burn injury lawyer can help you determine which type of case you may be eligible to file.