Burn Injury

St Peter Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney

A burn injury is an injury that can result in permanent scarring and disability. Some burns may be more superficial and not cause any long-term disability, while others can be life-threatening. The damage to the epidermis, dermis, blood vessels, muscles, tendons, and bones can cause high degrees of pain. How much pain exactly depends on how much nerve damage has occurred.

But not only does an individual with a burn injury have to deal with the physical damage, but there is also the psychological damage. This psychological damage can be due to the pain, scarring, or both. There is also the fact that burn scars can cause permanent disfigurement and this also has emotional consequences.

Every burn injury attorney has seen many causes. These causes include car accidents, truck accidents, workplace injuries, and other negligent acts by others. Because of the long-term damage that is caused by burn injuries, burn injury settlements have been known to be rather large.

Burn Injury Facts

There are some interesting burn injury facts and these facts reflect why burn injury lawyers attend to so many cases. Here are some of those facts:

• Hospitals and other medical facilities report treating over 500,000 burn injuries annually
• 4,000 of those are deaths due to fire
• 40,000 of those are hospitalizations due to burn injuries
• 17% of these burn accidents occur in automobile accidents
• 8% of burns are acquired while on the job

Every 32 minutes, someone in the United States is injured by fire. Once these injuries occur, they are very expensive to treat. There is a lot of nerve damage that can occur, so it is important that the pain be minimized as much as possible. This is one reason why there are burn units and burn centers around the United States. They specialize in the treatment of burns and making the injured more comfortable. All-in-all, burns are the second leading cause of accidental death in the United States.

Types Of Burn Injuries

There are different types of burns. Those are:

• First Degree Burns – These are burns that are similar to a mild sunburn. Only the top layer of skin is burned.
• Second Degree Burns – Most, if not all, of the layers of the epidermis are affected. The topmost layer of the dermis (lower skin layer) may also be affected. It is when fluid accumulates between the epidermis and the dermis that blisters occur. The chance of infection increases with these burns, as does scarring.
• Third Degree Burns – These burns are so deep that almost all tissue is destroyed. The injury may also extend as deep as the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. If the burn reaches the bone, it may be referred to as a fourth degree burn. Third and fourth degree burns are cause for medical attention and can result in lifelong scarring and pain. They are also life threatening.

Minnesota Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a burn injury, a burn injury lawyer can help by making the responsible party pay for lost wages, medical expenses, and other incurred costs. Call Frentz and Frentz at 507-345-4505 or toll free at 1-800-450-4505 to take the first step. And know that we don’t get paid until you get paid. That is how confident we are that we can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.