Get the Compensation You Deserve for Your Burn Injuries
Burn injuries are at the top of most people’s most-feared injury lists. The mere thought of suffering a burn makes us shiver, but being trapped in a burning vehicle is just unimaginable.
While the exploding vehicles in the movies are not likely in this day and age, burn injuries are still more common than most people think. We most commonly see burn injuries caused by fuel-fed fires. In some cases, electrical or chemical fires can occur in vehicle accidents; however, these fires do not usually produce serious injuries. Fuel-fed fires can occur in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, and 18-wheeler accidents.
Car fires usually start when flammable liquids such as gasoline, diesel fuel, engine oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, or engine coolant are ignited. Vehicles do have firewalls that separate the passenger compartment of the vehicle from the engine compartment to minimize the chance of a fire reaching the passengers. However, they don’t always prevent a vehicle fire from occurring.
Types of Burns
Burns are categorized into first-, second-, and third-degree burns. Per the Center for Disease Control, the following is a description of each type of burn:
First-Degree Burns
These involve only the top layer of skin. An example of a first-degree burn would be a sunburn. Signs would include:
- Redness
- Painful to touch
- Mild swelling of the skin
First-degree burns can usually be treated at home and will heal on their own. Cooling the burn with cool water or a cold compress, covering it with Vaseline and a bandage, and keeping the burned area out of the sun will help it heal. Anti-inflammatory medicine can help reduce pain and swelling as well. Depending on the burn, aloe vera or an over-the-counter antibiotic cream can be used to promote healing as well.
Second-Degree Burns
These involve the top two layers of skin. Signs include:
- Deep reddening of the skin
- Pain
- Blisters
- Glossy appearance from leaking fluid
- Possible loss of some skin
Second-degree burns may require the assistance of a medical professional, but the treatments can usually be done at home if the burn covers less than 10% of the skin. If the burn is larger than 3 inches in diameter, prevents you from using a part of your body, or seems infected, you should consult a medical professional. For small, less severe second-degree burns, similar at-home treatments that you would do for first-degree burns can be effective. However, the wound will need to be redressed one or two times a day, depending on its severity, and it will need to be cleaned daily to remove any ointments or dead skin. A doctor may even prescribe topical or oral medication as well to help it heal.
Third-Degree Burns
A third-degree burn goes all the way through the skin and permanently destroys tissue. Signs include:
- Loss of skin layers
- Often painless (nerves are burned, although areas around the third-degree burn will hurt as they are second- or first- degree burns)
- Skin is dry and leathery
- Skin may appear charred or have patches that appear white, brown, or black
Third-degree burns must be treated by a medical professional. The physician will likely clean and cover the wound, administer pain medication, and give the victim an antibiotic to prevent infection. They will likely also replace fluids that were lost due to the burn. In some cases, third-degree burns might require reconstructive surgery or skin grafting to help the wound close.
Preventing Burn Injuries
While sometimes burn injuries caused by vehicle accidents are unavoidable, you can take steps to minimize your chances of a burn injury or other injury. Choosing a safe car in the first place will help reduce the chance of an automobile fire. Regular vehicle maintenance will help ensure that all systems in your vehicle are safe and up-to-code and reduce the chance of mechanical failures that could cause the car to catch fire. When driving, wearing your seat belt will help prevent you from being expelled from the vehicle in the event of a crash and coming into contact with an inflamed surface.
Often, car crash victims will exit the vehicle immediately after a crash because they’re scared of the car catching fire or exploding. While they survived the initial crash, they would then step out of the car onto a busy highway, get hit by another car, and be catastrophically or fatally injured. This is called a secondary incident fatality. Therefore, it’s best to call emergency services and wait for them to set up a safety perimeter before exiting the vehicle.
Snellings Law Attorneys are Burn Injury Attorneys
If you’ve suffered a burn injury due to the negligence of another party, you will want to consult an experienced burn injury attorney. Severe burn injuries can be life-changing, and insurance adjusters are going to do everything in their power to minimize the pain and suffering you’re experiencing physically and mentally to avoid giving you the settlement you deserve.
At Snellings Law, we are experienced burn injury attorneys, and we fight only for personal injury victims in North Texas. Providing caring and thorough representation to our burn injury clients is very important to us as a firm. These clients have developed a toughness, both physically and mentally, that very few people ever do. Our job is to help them move through the personal injury process with as little stress as possible and to maximize their claims by being able to see and tell their story to insurance adjusters and jurors, if needed.
Contact Snellings Law today if you’ve suffered severe burn injuries due to someone else’s negligence. We are passionate about helping burn injury victims, and each member of our entire team of personal injury attorneys actively works on each case to ensure that our clients get the treatment they need and the settlement they deserve. Call us today at (214) 387-0387, and we’ll schedule a free strategy session with one of our experienced burn injury attorneys so that you can discuss your case and next steps.
