What are the causes of burn injuries?
Millions of people will suffer burns that require emergency room treatment each year. Burn injuries range in severity from minor blisters to severe and life threatening third degree burns. At times, burn injuries are the result of negligence on the part of someone else. Burn injuries are extremely painful, often require long recovery times, and leave lasting scars. Burn victims will need the help of an experienced New Mexico personal injury attorney to fight for their full financial recovery following a serious burn.
Causes of Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can be caused by any number of accidents. When a burn injury is the result of negligent behavior, the victim could receive compensation for their losses associated with the burn, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Some of the most common causes of burn injuries include:
- Car accidents: High force car accidents can inflict burn injuries when flammable gas within the vehicle ignites. Explosions can create potentially deadly conditions quick. If the driver who caused the accident was behaving negligently, which could include speeding, tailgating, or failing to obey traffic signals, the driver may be liable to the burn victim.
- Chemical burns: Chemical compounds can cause chemical burns. These burns are potentially more dangerous than an ordinary burn, depending on the toxicity of the chemicals to which you were exposed. Deadly chemicals can burn to the bone in a matter of seconds. Truck accidents often result in chemical burns when the truck is hauling toxic chemicals. Workplace accidents can also inflict chemical burns due to unsafe working conditions or a lack of appropriate safety gear.
- Electrical burns: Electrical burns are caused by exposure to electrical current. Most often, these potentially fatal burns are the result of workplace accidents. Along with external burns, electrical burns can also cause internal injuries, including potentially cardiac arrest.
Burn injuries require prompt and extensive treatment. Any burn holds the potential for scarring and infection. Severe burns could further cause respiratory distress syndrome, which results in the lungs failing. Third degree burns may require skin grafting, while even less serious burns will need potentially months to heal. Contact a personal injury attorney if you have experienced a burn due to negligence right away.
Posted in: Brain Injuries, Personal Injury