Getting the Right Recovery for Burn Injuries

Unfortunately, if there’s one thing we’ve learned in decades of helping accident victims, it’s that burn injuries often cause more pain and disfigurement than any other type of injury. Those who have not experienced the physical and mental anguish personally cannot fully imagine the horror you endure with a severe burn injury. Moreover, the damage to delicate tissue simply does not heal the way other injuries often do. Restorative surgery can only do so much. Accident victims with severe burns are left with permanent pain and damage to their appearance that haunts them for the rest of their lives.

At Searcy Denney, we know that there is only so much a Tallahassee personal injury lawyer can do to help. We can’t turn back the clock and prevent the accident from happening. We can’t restore your health and appearance. But we can help you gain the resources you need to build the best possible life going forward. You deserve no less.

Degrees of Severity for Burn Injuries

Human skin is made up of multiple layers that protect bodily tissue from injury and infection. Mild burns damage the skin, but severe burns often destroy it completely, causing serious injuries to the tissue underneath.
Doctors generally classify burns into degrees of severity:

• First-degree burns. Also known as superficial burns, first-degree burns are injuries that damage only the outer layer of skin, the epidermis. Skin damaged by a first-degree burn often turns red and painful, but in most cases, it will heal unless subjected to further damage.
• Second-degree burns. When someone suffers a second-degree burn, the damage extends far into the dermis, the middle layer of the skin. The dermis contains blood vessels, lymph nodes, sweat glands, and other critical features of the body, so damage can lead to more serious impacts. Nerve endings are also contained in this layer, so second-degree burns are extremely painful. A second-degree burn will often blister and can easily become infected, leading to complications.
• Third-degree burns. Sometimes referred to as a “full thickness burn,” third degree burns destroy all layers of the skin. For this reason, a third- degree burn may look black, white, brown, or yellow rather than red. These severe burns are often not initially painful because all nerve endings have been burned away. Because they leave tissue underneath exposed to germs, it can be difficult to keep a third-degree burn from becoming infected.
• Fourth-degree burns. When a burn reaches the fourth-degree level, it destroys not only skin but also muscles, tendons, other tissues and even bones. These types of burns are often life-threatening and cause the entire body to suffer.

A personal injury lawyer knows that severe burn injuries often require accident victims to endure multiple rounds of extensive surgery with a lengthy and painful recovery period. The danger of infection requires a drastic change in lifestyle, and even when all precautions are taken, a burn victim can still suffer infections that cause further devastation to the body.

Types of Burn Injuries

Most people tend to think of burn injuries stemming from a fire or explosion. But there are different types of burns, and they can be caused in many different ways. Thermal burns are the “typical” burns that result when a source of heat raises skin temperature to dangerous levels, causing skin cells to die. Exposure to hot metal, boiling liquids, steam, and flame all cause thermal burns.

At the opposite extreme, contact with objects that are very cold can lead to cold burns. Cold air can also cause burns, often referred to as frostbite. While less common than thermal burns, cold burns can be just as destructive to tissue.

Friction burns result when the skin is rubbed against a hard object, removing one or more layers of skin. These burns are common in motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents.
When the skin is exposed to toxic chemicals, the substance can cause a chemical burn. Solvents, detergents, and strong acid or alkaline solutions can trigger chemical burns.

Other types of burns come from exposure to unseen forces. Contact with alternating or direct electrical current causes electrical burns while exposure to sources of radiation can lead to radiation burns.

Severe Burns Can Occur in a Variety of Ways

Burns result from many different types of situations. When the cause can be traced to the negligence, recklessness, or deliberate wrongdoing by another person, then a Tallahassee personal injury lawyer can help burn victims recover compensation from the person responsible. This compensation, generally referred to as damages, can make up for economic losses such as medical expenses as well as non-economic losses such as pain, suffering, and a reduction in the quality of life.

Examples of situations that can lead to severe burns include:

• Improperly performed medical procedures
• Fires and explosions in buildings
• Car and truck accidents
• Defective products that cause electric burns

No matter how severe your burn injuries are, however, to recover compensation from the person responsible, you need evidence to prove that their improper actions were the cause of your injuries. This requires taking immediate action to gather and preserve evidence at a time when you may be unable to move or even think clearly. Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer at Searcy Denney can help by investigating to collect evidence to build your case while you focus on healing. Your attorney can also handle questions from investigators and insurance companies, leaving you in peace and preventing you from inadvertently saying something that could hurt your ability to receive compensation.

Burn Injuries Can Devastate Your Life. Allow Us to Help

Our legal system cannot erase your injuries, but it can provide a sense of justice along with the resources you need to care for yourself and your family going forward. At Searcy Denney, we know that working with a Tallahassee personal injury lawyer early on gives you a source of information, support, and empathy during an extremely difficult time in your life.

To get the help and advocacy you deserve when severe burns threaten to destroy the quality of your life, contact the team at Searcy Denney to get started with a free consultation and case evaluation. Just call us at 888-549-7011 or contact us online and we will explain the many ways our experienced attorneys can assist.