Advocating for Victims of Severe Burns in Dallas
There are few injuries that can cause as much damage as burns. Burns can easily travel down into your bones, leaving large parts of your body mangled and dead. Without medical intervention and extensive surgeries, burn injuries can quickly fester and become infected, potentially leading to further complications with sepsis and other infection-based illnesses. Healing from a burn is also not an easy process, and it can cost a great deal of money. That is why burn victims should always reach out to an attorney to determine if they can file a claim against those who caused their injuries.
With years of experience handling severe personal injury cases, the legal team at The Lenahan Law Firm knows just how devastating burn injuries can be. This kind of damage can impact you for years to come and even your entire life if you were left with a disability. That is exactly why our Dallas burn injury lawyers are so dedicated to helping those with severe burns get the compensation they not only deserve, but also need. If you or a loved one have suffered a severe burn due to someone else’s negligence, call our firm at (214) 295-1008 for a compassionate helping hand.
What Are the Different Types of Burns?
When most people hear the word “burn” they picture an angry red mark caused by a flame or other sources of heat. However, human skin and soft tissues are very sensitive and can be damaged easily in several different ways, including:
Electric burns: When an electrical current rushes through your body, it can cause your skin and other deeper tissues such as muscles to burn. Electric burns are particularly dangerous because electric currents can travel throughout your entire body in a matter of seconds, leading to burns that go as deep as your bones.
Friction burns: A friction burn happens when you press your skin on a hard object for too long. The friction of your skin against the object produces heat and cuts in your skin, leaving you with a burn and abrasion. Road rash is a very extreme friction burn, although, in those cases, most of the damage comes from the abrasion.
Thermal burns: Thermal burns are caused by high levels of heat killing your skin cells. These burns can also damage your soft tissue all the way down to your bones.
Cold burns: When temperatures drop to an extreme degree, your skin can become heavily damaged and even die. This is also referred to as frostbite. Cold burns can result in the loss of a toe, fingers, and even entire limbs if they need to be medically amputated.
Chemical burns: Certain dangerous chemicals, such as strong acids and solvents, can severely damage your skin and burn through your muscles. These sorts of chemicals should never be allowed to touch humans, as the damage can be serious enough to require hospitalization, especially if the chemical gets into your eyes and causes vision loss.
What Negligent Actions Can Lead to Burn Injuries?
A more minor burn may happen when you touch the hot part of a pan, or if you stay out in the sun too long. But severe burns, ones that go past your outer layer of skin, are often caused by an act of negligence. In our experience working with burn victims, the most common ways that burns occur are due to:
- Auto accidents
- Oilfield fires and explosions
- Criminal acts, such as arson or terrorism
- Building fires
- Poor wiring
- Unwatched fire hazards
- Defective chemical containers
- Water-heater failures
- Negligently locked fire exits
- Overheated pipes or water
Even knowing these risks, many property owners neglect to properly take care of serious fire risks. Property owners should always be held accountable for their negligence, especially when that negligence leads to severe burns. The sad truth about burns is that they can easily lead to lifelong disabilities and even death.
How Are Burns Classified?
Not all burns are created equally, and they are categorized into different levels of severity. These levels are referred to as “degrees” and help medical professionals determine how deep the injury goes, as well as how to treat it. Some burns require little to no medical intervention, while others need drastic help in order to heal.
First-degree: This is the lowest level of severity. Only your outer skin is impacted, and there is a slight red mark left behind. First-degree burns should heal on their own within a few days with little medical attention needed. Consider cooling the burn with a damp cloth in order to soothe the pain.
Second-degree: The layer beneath your outer skin, the dermis, can be impacted in a second-degree burn. Along with the red appearance, your skin will often swell or bubble with blisters. These blisters will hurt when touched. A minor second-degree burn will heal on its own, but a more severe second-degree burn should be looked at by a doctor and may scar after healing.
Third-degree: When you suffer third-degree burns, it means the two top layers of your skin have been destroyed. Instead of appearing red, a third-degree burn is far more likely to be black, brown, white, or yellow. Unlike the first two degrees, this burn won’t hurt to the touch, because your nerve endings will have burned away. These burns need immediate medical attention in order to heal.
Fourth-degree: These burns have traveled all the way through your skin, muscle, and tendons to your bones. This is the most severe degree of burn and is often lifethreatening. Fourth-degree burns are often caused by building fires or other, similarly catastrophic, accidents.
Treating Severe Burns
While minor burns can be treated with some cool water and patience, more severe burns need medical intervention in order to properly heal. These treatments can vary, but often involve some level of surgery. For third-degree burns, you would likely need extensive skin grafts. A skin graft is a medical procedure where healthy skin is taken from one part of the body and implanted on a damaged part. The healthy skin helps cover the damaged body part, promote proper healing, and even minimize scarring.
For a fourth-degree burn, depending on where it is located, you may need to have a limb amputated. If your arm or leg is severely damaged all the way down to the bone, then chances are it will never properly heal. Instead, it will just cause you extreme pain and can become infected, which may lead to sepsis. In order to combat this, doctors will have your leg removed, leaving behind the healthy, unburnt tissue. This will give your body the chance to heal; however, this will also leave you with a lifelong disability that will take a great deal of time and energy to get used to.
Treatment for severe burns is expensive, requiring multiple surgeries and procedures to ensure your body heals properly. This can cost a pretty penny, even if you have good insurance. No one should be left drowning in debt on top of having to heal from a severe burn. That is why, if your burn was due to someone else’s negligence, a claim may be your best bet to financial recovery.
Call The Lenahan Law Firm for Excellent Legal Help
Burns are some of the most severe injuries you can suffer, and many victims are often left with high medical bills and no way to pay them. Without proper legal representation, these victims may be left without any way to pay their bills, heal, or get back to work and their normal, day-to-day lives. Thankfully, that’s where we at The Lenahan Law Firm come in. Our Dallas burn injury lawyers specialize in severe injuries, meaning we have the skillset to tackle your claim and work toward getting you the compensation you deserve.
Our team of Dallas injury attorneys have decades of combined experience representing injured clients and have the legal knowledge you need to uncover who is responsible for your injuries and how to get compensation. We only take on a handful of cases at a time to ensure that your case gets the time and care it needs. In addition, we do not believe in adding to your financial burdens, which is why we offer each potential client a free consultation and work on a contingency fee basis. This means we will not accept a dime of your money unless with win your claim. If you or someone you love suffered a catastrophic burn due to someone else’s negligence, call our office at (214) 295-1008 today.
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