When to hire a lawyer for a burn injury?

If you or someone you love has suffered from a burn injury, you are probably well-aware of just how life-changing the experience can be. Not only will victims be faced with the reality of life-long medical treatments and rehabilitation, but they will have to pay for these medical services to avoid further complications, infections, and / or debilitations. Moreover, many burn injury survivors will live the rest of their lives with permanent disfigurement, scarring, nerve damage, or even paralysis.

Burn injuries in Waco, Temple, and Killeen

According to the latest data available from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, consider the following statistics:

• Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death among children under age 14.
• Leading causes of accidental injury at home are burns, drowning, suffocation, choking, poisonings, falls, and fire arms.
• Burns and fires are a common cause of accidental death in children and adults, and account for an estimated 3,500 adult and child deaths per year.
• Nearly 75 percent of all scalding burns in children are preventable.
• Toddlers and children are more often burned by a scalding or flames.
• The majority of children ages 4 and under, who are hospitalized for burn-related injuries, suffer from scalds burns (65 percent) or contact burns (20 percent).
• Hot tap water burns cause more deaths and hospitalizations than burns from any other hot liquids.

How are burns classified?

Burns are classified based upon their depth.
A first degree burn is superficial and causes local inflammation of the skin. Sunburns often are categorized as first degree burns. The inflammation is characterized by pain, redness, and a mild amount of swelling. The skin may be very tender to touch.

Second degree burns are deeper and in addition to the pain, redness and inflammation, there is also blistering of the skin.

Third degree burns are deeper still, involving all layers of the skin, in effect killing that area of skin. Because the nerves and blood vessels are damaged, third degree burns appear white and leathery and tend to be relatively painless.

Burns are not static and may mature. Over a few hours a first degree burn may involve deeper structures and become second degree. Think of a sunburn that blisters the next day. Similarly, second degree burns may evolve into third degree burns.

Regardless of the type of burn, inflammation and fluid accumulation in and around the wound occur. Moreover, it should be noted that the skin is the body’s first defense against infection by microorganisms. A burn is also a break in the skin, and the risk of infection exists both at the site of the injury and potentially throughout the body.

Hot liquids burn like fire

Hot liquids can cause life threatening burns and are the leading cause of burn injuries in children under the age of four.
Important Information to Help Avoid Burn Injuries:

• Scalds and burn accidents frequently occur when parents or caregivers are in a hurry, angry, or under a lot of pressure or stress.
• Coffee, tea, soup and hot tap water can be hot enough to cause serious burn injury.
• Scald and steam burns are often associated with microwave oven use.
• When tap water reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it can cause a third degree (full thickness) burn in just five seconds.
• Hot tap water accounts for 17% of all childhood scald hospitalizations.
• 60-70% of all pediatric patients seen in the Burn Center have a scald injury.

How to prevent burn injuries

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  • Provide continuous supervision of children in the kitchen and bathroom.
  • Keep all hot liquids at a safe distance from children – keep pot handles turned toward the back of the stove.
  • Test all heated liquid/food before giving it to a child or placing it within his/her reach.
  • Never hold a child while drinking a hot liquid.
  • Purchase appliances with short cords, and keep all cords from dangling over counter edges.
  • Before placing a child into the bath or getting into the tub yourself, test the temperature of the water by moving your hand rapidly through the water for several seconds. The temperature should not exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (a child’s delicate skin burns more quickly than an adult’s).
  • Never leave a child unattended in the bathroom or bathtub.
  • Use extreme caution bathing a child in a kitchen sink with a single-lever faucet – these are easy for a child to turn on.
  • Adjust your thermostat setting on your water heater to produce a water temperature of 120-125 degrees or less.

Results in Personal Injury Matters

• $27 million settlement in matter involving the close head injury of a two-week-old child. Read about this case as reported by the Waco Tribune Herald, KCEN-TV, Meat & Poultry Magazine and Topverdict.com.
• $15 million settlement reported in matter involving the injuries of an ATF agent in the Branch Davidian raid. Read about this case on Justia.com.
• $1.5 million settlement reported for the injuries caused by a straw purchase of a gun at a pawn shop. Read about this case as reported by the Waco Tribune Herald, and MoreLaw.com.
• $800 thousand verdict for motorcycle driver with broken femur involved in collision with a car.

We are proud of our results reported above, but please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each matter depends on the facts of the case.

Burn injury attorneys in Waco, Temple and Killeen 

Dunnam & Dunnam personal injury lawyers are experienced in handling claims involving burn injuries. Our Waco personal injury lawyers have represented accident victims in Waco since 1925. We are here to get you through this together. Our goals are the same—to make sure you can get on with your life and that your legal interests are protected. Although every case is different, we have recovered millions for Waco injury victims. We are here to answer questions about your case. In the meantime, you can read a few of the general frequently asked questions about personal injury claims while you wait to schedule a free legal consultation with one of our Waco attorneys. Call the Waco, Temple & Killeen burn injury attorneys at Dunnam & Dunnam at 254-753-6437. The Temple, Killeen & Waco burn injury attorneys at Dunnam & Dunnam include: