The worst destroyer of the human body are burn injuries. They are disfiguring, emotionally scarring and cause permanent disabilities. Burn injuries are the 2nd leading source of accidental deaths in the United States followed only by the number of deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents. There is no way of adequately describing what a burn injury means to those who suffer it.
Burn injuries may be suffered as a result of fire after motor vehicle accident or airplane crash. They may be suffered in a house or office fire due to defective electrical appliances, electrical wiring, spontaneous combustion or number of other causes due to the negligence and carelessness of others.
Burn injuries may also result from mishandling of chemicals or even overdoses of radiation from sunlamps, x-ray machines, tanning booths etc.
Even when the person is removed from the source of the thermal burn, damage to the skin is still taking place and therefore the prompt administration of first aid is required. Damage to the skin, swelling and blistering of burned skin caused by loss of fluid and damaged blood vessels is usually present. The damage to the protective barrier of the skin in a burn injury often lead to infection, which if not treated promptly can result in life-threatening consequences, even death.
Even if exposure to the fire may not be direct, damage from inhaling heat, toxins released by the fire and smoke can cause permanent respiratory and other damage to the body. 80% of fatalities resulting from brain injuries are due to smoke inhalation. In some cases this is a blessing as the person really doesn’t burneto death but is afixiated first.
Contact with high-voltage power sources often result in limbs being severely burned as electricity seeks a way out of the body. With some voltage sources, the person is unable to release his grip on the power line or object often resulting in electrocution. Further severe damage to the internal organs is often present.
There is often laughter when the McDonald’s coffee burn case is discussed in the media. However, the woman suffered third-degree burns to her genital area which involves all 3 layers of the skin, destruction of the nerve endings and permanent scarring and lack of blood flow. After viewing the photographs of the burn, the jury awarded substantial money when they recognized how serious and how egregious McDonald’s conduct was in causing the Burns.
Serious burns are one of the most expensive catastrophic injuries to treat and can lead to lasting physical disability and emotional damages. Extensive skin grafting, hospital stays, multiple painful surgeries are very common. Fortunately medical science has been progressively finding new and better ways of skin grafting which will not involve rejection of the graft and which will promote wound healing by interacting directly with body tissues.
The costs in medical expenses and emotional trauma are often astronomical. For more extensive burns there are additional significant costs such as multiple admissions for reconstruction and for rehabilitation. Scars may heal physically but they remain visible and will last emotional life forever.
The Franecke law group has represented numerous burn victims including United States Marines severely burned in helicopter crashes, to automobile crashes and house fires. It is of utmost importance if you have been severely burned due to another person’s carelessness that you retain an experienced personal injury lawyer who understands serious burn injuries and how to present them to a jury. The Franecke law group can help you get full compensation for the physical and emotional trauma associated with a burn injury. You are entitled to recover all of your medical expenses, past and future, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and other damages.
While burn injuries can be permanently scarring both physically and emotionally, The Franecke law group can and will help ease your suffering to the best of our ability.
