Roughly nine out of every ten burn injuries occur in the home. These accidents can result in serious burns that can change the course of your life and result in substantial financial costs.
Safety measures can help you avoid a serious burn injury, so it is helpful to understand burn risks and how to treat these injuries in the short term. If you or a loved one has been injured in a burn accident, the experienced Jacksonville personal injury lawyers at Horton & Mendez Injury Attorneys can help you explore your legal options for financial compensation.
Common Causes of Severe Burn Injuries
There are numerous hazards in your home that can cause serious injuries. Common causes of severe burns include:
- Fires
- Exposure to heat
- Touching hot surfaces
- Chemical burns
- Thermal burns
- Scalding from hot water
Thermal sources, or coming into contact with heat, are the most common causes of burns. Not only can you be seriously burned in your home, but you can also be injured in a car accident when you come into contact with hot parts of your car.
Third-degree burns are the most serious type of burn injury. Here, the burn would cut through many layers of your skin and may even reach down to the tendons and bones. Third-degree burns often result in permanent injuries that require numerous skin grafts to help you recover to the fullest extent possible.
Burn Education
You may not know the most significant risks for burns in the home, but it is vital that you learn of the potential risks in your home to know what to avoid. You should research the everyday products that you use to learn which ones are flammable and can be burn risks. You may even consider taking a burn safety course online, where you can learn more about the risks you face in your own home. You should also learn how to treat burns when they first occur because what you do immediately makes a difference.
There are prevention and outreach programs in North Carolina that can help educate you about burn safety. The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center conducts numerous classes and has extensive resources online that can help educate you and provide tips on preventing burn injuries. These programs cover burn safety for both children and adults so parents can learn how to keep themselves and their children safe in the home.
Minimizing Your Own Risks
Appliances cause many burns in the home. You should frequently check your appliances and perform all of the required maintenance. You should always follow the instructions for using appliances and never try to repair appliances on your own, especially doing anything that can affect the wiring.
You should be careful when cooking or doing anything around a fire. It is a good idea to wear short sleeves and avoid loose-fitting clothing when you are cooking or grilling. Further, you should also know which surfaces can get very hot and avoid touching them. You may consider wearing thermal gloves when working around surfaces that can get extremely hot.
Keeping Children Safe in the Home
Children are among the most at risk of suffering serious burn injuries in the home. Parents must prevent children from being able to access appliances and other things that could cause burns.
They should consider a safety zone around dangerous appliances to keep children from reaching things like stoves and heaters. Children should also be taught from a very early age that they should never come into contact with these dangerous appliances.
Scalding is a common burn injury among children. Roughly one in every five scald injuries occur to children aged four and younger. Many of these scald injuries happened due to cups, mugs, or other tableware containing hot liquids. Others can happen in the bathtub when there is no control over the temperature of water. Parents should not give children cups containing extremely hot liquids, and they should supervise them when they are in the bathtub.
Much of keeping children safe comes down to supervision. It is difficult to never leave your kids unattended in the home under any circumstances. However, you should also be mindful of the potential risks and be proactive to help avoid them.
Legal Remedies for Severe Burn Injuries
There are times when burn accident injuries are not your fault. No matter what you do to improve your own safety, you may still be injured. A burn accident lawyer can investigate what happened and help you determine whether you are able to file a lawsuit for your injuries. The most common type of burn lawsuit for household injuries is a product liability claim when an appliance is defective.
Product liability claims are challenging lawsuits. You would need to show that there was a defect in the design, manufacturing, or marketing of the product. When you file a product liability lawsuit, you are taking on some of the biggest companies, and you need an experienced attorney to battle on your behalf.
Contact a Jacksonville Burn Injury Lawyer Today
Horton & Mendez Injury Attorneys can provide you with full-service legal representation when you have suffered a burn injury and are seeking compensation. Our lawyers will perform a comprehensive investigation of your accident to help determine whether you can hold someone responsible for it. If your legal claim is successful, you may be entitled to a large settlement check, as burns are disruptive and painful injuries. You can schedule a free initial consultation today by sending us a message through our website or by calling us at 910-405-7751. You pay nothing unless you win your case.
