Burn injuries are among the most painful and severe injuries a person can endure. If you have suffered a serious burn injury, you may be facing a long road ahead to recover fully. Complications can occur, and you may have to deal with more medical issues than the initial burn. Learning about long-term care and conditions related to your burn injuries can help you understand the steps you need to take to ensure you receive the best medical care possible.
Accidents Resulting in Burn Injuries
Under Alabama Law, whenever a person’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional behavior causes an accident that results in burn injuries, the victim can pursue compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. To succeed in a personal injury lawsuit, you will need to show that the defendant breached his or her duty to act reasonably under the circumstances and that the breach resulted in the accident that caused your burn injuries.
For example, if a drunk driver collided with your vehicle and caused your burn injuries, the driver’s negligence caused your injuries, and you would likely be entitled to damages. Many burn injuries are entirely preventable. Some of the most common causes of burned injuries from accidents include the following:
- Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
- Being injured by flammable liquids
- Being burned by a defective product
- Being burned in a workplace accident
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Long-Term Conditions Related to Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can end up causing ongoing, chronic problems for victims. If you have suffered a burn injury, you may be at an increased risk of some all of the following conditions:
- Cancer
- Nervous system disorders
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Gastrointestinal disease
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Infections
- Shock
- Blood loss
- Tetanus
- Sepsis
- Hypothermia
- Scars
- Keloid
- Blood loss
Long-Term Care for Severe Burn Injuries
Even with the best medical treatment, it can be difficult to avoid some complications from burn injuries. For example, many burn victims experience mental health problems due to the extreme pain they experience in the trauma surrounding their burn injuries. They may need treatment by a psychiatrist. In other cases, infections and blood loss cause ongoing damage to a victim’s organs. Burn injuries frequently need treatment for the scar tissue that begins to build up, especially in third-degree burns. Some of the treatments to prevent excess scarring are extremely painful.
A person’s sweat glands could become destroyed through the burn. Without sweat glands, a victim may not be able to work out or go outside in warm weather, or they will risk getting heatstroke. They may be too sensitive to cold climates and have to stay inside or move to an area with more moderate temperatures. In addition to treating all these immediate complications, victims may need to stay in rehabilitation facilities for a significant amount of time, which can be expensive. Victims may not be able to return to work due to the pain and ongoing complications from their burn injuries.
Damages Available in Burn Injury Cases
The damages available in a burn injury case will depend on multiple factors, including the severity of your injuries and the evidence proving that the defendant acted negligently or recklessly. There are three different degrees of burn injuries, based on severity. First-degree burns are the least serious burns and usually heal with minimum damage.
A second-degree burn causes damage to the layers of skin below the outermost layer. You may need skin grafting or go through rehabilitation to heal fully. Third-degree burns are the most serious type of burn injury. They can cause damage to all of the layers of skin, cause additional harm to your organs, and cause other complications, such as a serious infection.
If you have suffered a third-degree burn, you will probably be dealing with long-term complications, such as nerve damage and pain. You may also need extensive surgeries and suffer from disfiguring and painful scars. In these cases, plaintiffs may be able to recover millions of dollars in compensation for their past and future medical expenses, lost income, and extent of pain and suffering.
Contact an Alabama Personal Injury Attorney
If you or your loved one has experienced burn injuries and want to recover compensation for your damages, you will benefit from working with an experienced personal injury attorney. At Heninger Garrison Davis, we have successfully represented clients who suffered burn injuries due to another person or company’s negligence. We will work diligently to obtain the most monetary compensation possible for your case. Contact Heninger Garrison Davis to schedule your free initial consultation.
