The Hidden Tragedy Of Burn Injury
Friday, March 25, 2005
A burn injury is a leading cause of unintentional death in the United States, surpassed only by vehicle crashes and falls. The leading cause of death among children ages 14 years and younger is from accidental deaths, with burn injury being one of the five leading causes of accidental injury. A burn injury can be caused by hot liquids, flames, chemicals or electrical sources and can be a lot more serious than initially believed, affecting various functioning.
More than just a surface injury, depending on the severity of the burn injury the patient can suffer from affected muscle, bone, nerve and blood vessel functioning because of serious burns. A complex injury, a burn injury injures the skin, which impacts the body's normal fluid/electrolyte balance, body temperature, body thermal regulation, joint function, manual dexterity and bodily appearance. Million of Americans are affected by a burn injury every year and thousands will die because of the burn injury.
The trauma caused by a burn injury can be more than just the physical appearance. It is not uncommon for a burn injury patient to suffer emotional and psychological problems that can take a very long time to be able to manage. Since nearly 75 percent of all burn injuries in children are preventable, there are many precautions that people can take to reduce the risk of a burn injury.
There are different groupings for a burn injury based on the method and degree of the burn. A method of a burn injury is based on the route of the burn injury, such as thermal, chemical, electrical, light or radiation. Based on the severity of the burn injury, regardless of the method, the degree is determined. A first-degree burn injury is a superficial injury involving just the outer layer of skin or epidermis. While painful, a first-degree burn injury is the most common and most minor of burn.
A second-degree burn injury occurs when the first layer of skin is burned through and the dermal layer beneath is damaged. The second-degree burn injury will be associated to more pain than a first-degree burn injury and show a blistered, reddened appearance. If involving less than 15 percent of the body surface in adults and less than ten percent in children a second-degree burn injury is considered minor. In most instances, little scarring will be suffered and complete healing noticed within three weeks.
A third-degree burn injury is the most serious, involving every layer of the skin and requiring skin grafting in some instances. Sometimes a patient suffering a third-degree burn may feel very little pain despite the severity because all of the nerve endings have been destroyed. After healing from a third-degree burn injury thick scars will form. The emotional and psychological impact having noticeable scars after surviving a traumatic incident can be lasting.
Thankfully, over the last several decades the number of burn injuries has been reduced. The increased use of smoke detectors, better federal regulation of consumer products, workplace standards and other burn injury prevention and fire safety methods have allowed this to occur. The costs incurred and the pain suffered because of a burn injury can be tremendous, but a reputable burn injury lawyer may be able to recover damages entitled to you.
