Available 24/7Burns are among the more serious personal injuries that you can experience. You will never quite recover fully if you have suffered a serious burn. The scars could change your appearance forever and even cost you the use of parts of your body.
Attorney for Burn Injuries in Aiken, SC
Burn injuries have significant costs attached, both in terms of medical expenses and your own personal suffering. If you can prove that someone else was responsible for your burn injury, you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. Contact The Law Office of Taylor S. Braithwaite today. We can help you pursue the money that you deserve after a burn injury.
Common Causes of Burns
A burn, as defined by the World Health Organization, is “an injury to the skin or other organic tissue primarily caused by heat or due to radiation, radioactivity, electricity, friction or contact with chemicals.”
Here are some of the common causes of burn injuries:
- Fires
- Scalding water
- Touching hot surfaces
- Electrocutions
- Exposure to chemicals
- Explosions
Burns can occur in the following types of incidents:
- Property fires
- Car accidents
- Defective products
- Industrial accidents
Nearly half a million people each year suffer burn injuries in the United States. Roughly one in every ten burn victims will require hospitalization. Burns claim the lives of nearly 4,000 Americans each year. Many of those who are hurt will require extensive medical treatment and a lengthy rehabilitation process.
Degrees of Burn Injuries
Burns can vary in their severity. Thankfully, many burns are minor and do not need medical treatment. However, the more serious burns will demand immediate medical treatment. Oftentimes, the burn victim will need lifesaving measures.
Below are the different degrees of burn injuries:
- First-degree burns are the least serious type. Most times, these do not require medical treatment because the damage is only to the outer layer of the skin. Most times, the skin will become red, but the burn will heal on its own within a few days.
- Second-degree burns reach to the second layer of skin, known as the dermis. These burns do require medical treatment because they are painful and cause blisters. Fluid may even leak from the skin. The burn victim will usually have some type of permanent scarring, although it may not be drastic.
- Third-degree burns affect the skin, dermis, and the fat beneath the skin. These are extremely serious burns, and the skin will likely not recover. The burn victim would need one or more skin grafts over time to repair some of the damage. Third-degree burns are life-threatening.
- Fourth-degree burns are severe. The muscles, tendons, and bones may become charred and burnt. Most often, fourth-degree burns are fatal, either immediately or within the days following the accident.
Treatment for Burn Injuries
If the accident victim has suffered a serious injury, they may be sent to a specialized burn treatment center. The days after a serious burn are crucial. The most immediate danger that doctors must monitor is the threat of infection.
Serious burn injury victims could succumb to a serious infection following an injury. They may also suffer from respiratory issues that could affect their ability to breathe. Burn injury victims may need intensive care until the immediate danger to their life passes.
Once the burn victim is stabilized, doctors may consider a long-term treatment plan. For serious burns, the treatment is measured in years instead of months. Doctors will take skin from a healthier part of the person’s body (or donated from another person) and use it to repair damaged skin at the burn site. This procedure is known as a skin graft. A doctor may need to repeat this procedure many times until they can repair the entire area. Skin grafts are both expensive and painful.
Damages for Burn Injuries
As you can see, damages in your burn injury case can be prohibitive. Not only are there steep economic costs associated with the injury, but there are also severe impacts to your life. The medical costs of a severe burn injury alone can approach $2 million.
Your non-economic damages in a burn injury case could also be considerable. These damages can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Embarrassment and humiliation
Our Aiken burn injury lawyer would place a value on your damages so you know how much money to seek in financial compensation.
How TSB Injury Law Helps You
When you are being treated for a serious burn injury, your existence is dominated by your medical care. You are going through multiple surgical procedures and an extensive rehabilitation process. The last thing that you have the time and capacity for is dealing with the legal process. On your own, you may accept the first thing offered to you because you are panicked about the mounting costs of your injury.
When you hire a burn injury lawyer, you will immediately understand more about the legal process and the possible pathway to financial compensation. Then, your lawyer will go to work on your behalf. They will deal with the insurance company on your behalf, negotiating for more money when the insurance company is offering you less.
There are three things that you need the most in any personal injury case: answers, justice, and compensation.
We can promise you that we will make every attempt to answer all your questions, and we will do everything in our power to deliver the other two on your behalf.
Contact a Burn Injury Attorney in Aiken Today
The team at TSB Injury Law will be here for you at every step of the way during your personal injury case. From the start of your case, where we provide you with responsive and attentive service, we are on your side. We never stop working for you.
Reach out to us for your free initial consultation. We can come to you if necessary. You can send us a message online, or you can call us today at (803) 220-0000.
