Texas Burn Injury Lawyer

Common Causes of Burns in Texas

Burns can take many forms, including:

• Thermal burns from hot solids, liquids, or gasses
• Combustion burns from flames
• Chemical burns
• Electrical burns
• Radiation burns

Some of the ways these burns can happen may surprise you.

What Causes Burn Accidents?

The following incidents can cause a variety of burns:

Fire Hazards

Fire hazards like illegally stored gasoline, oily rags, and improperly maintained furnaces can trigger fires or explosions.

Missing or Defective Fire Systems

Most public buildings in Texas must have at least one of the following:

• Smoke detector
• Fire alarm
• Sprinkler system
• Fire suppression system

These systems give the building’s occupants time to evacuate. Without these systems in place, incidents involving fires can be even more dangerous.

Improper Staff Training

Businesses must train their employees to avoid burning customers. Improperly trained workers could spill caustic chemicals, overload an electrical system, or fail to provide necessary safeguards for X-ray or UV tanning equipment.

Fire Code Violations

Fire codes serve to protect buildings and their occupants. These rules are set by local officials to ensure both new construction and renovation projects incorporate fire safety measures into structures. When builders and contractors violate fire codes, the fire risk can increase. These dangerous premises can threaten both occupants and nearby residents.

Workplace Safety Violations

Workplaces are filled with burn hazards. For example, the radioactive materials used in medical and industrial facilities can cause radiation burns when mishandled. Power tools and other electrical equipment can cause electric shocks when improperly shielded or maintained. Chemical spills and splashes can burn eyes, lungs, mucous membranes, and skin.

Workplace accidents can cause a wide range of burn injuries.

Fuel Spills

Car accidents can cause fuel to spill. In addition to being flammable, gasoline and diesel fuel can cause chemical burns.

Severity of Burn Injuries

Your skin has three layers: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The epidermis provides a water-tight layer that keeps germs out and moisture in. The dermis regulates your temperature with sweat glands and keeps your skin healthy with oil glands. The hypodermis sits above the connective tissues that hold your skin to the muscles underneath.

Doctors rate burns using a three-degree scale. The different degrees of burns tell you the symptoms and likelihood of recovery.

First-degree burns damage or destroy the epidermis. They are the mildest burns and cause pain, redness, and swelling. These burns usually heal without any scars or side effects.

Second-degree burns destroy the epidermis and damage the dermis. They can cause intense pain because the dermis contains the sensory nerve endings. You may also experience redness, swelling, and blisters. These burns usually heal without scars.

Third-degree burns destroy the epidermis and dermis. These burns cause no pain because they destroy nerve endings. Without any skin, you risk dehydration and infections. Doctors treat third-degree burns with skin grafts that protect the body but increase the likelihood of scarring.

Serious burns can create scar tissue on muscles, tendons, and ligaments that cause the tissues to shrink and harden. These contractures can disable or disfigure victims.

Burn Injury Liability

Anyone who contributes to burn accidents through their negligence or wrongful actions might bear liability for the resulting injuries. Examples include:

• Hotels
• Landlords
• Property managers
• Repair technicians
• Manufacturers of defective products

If your burn injury happens at work, your employer will usually be protected from lawsuits by the worker’s comp system. However, if your employer is a non-subscriber to the workers’ comp system, you may need to file a lawsuit for your employer’s negligence.

Compensation Available for a Burn Injury

Texas burn injuries are often eligible for large settlements and jury awards because of the devastating physical, mental, and financial effects of these injuries. After a burn injury, you can pursue compensation for your economic and non-economic losses.

Economic losses include costs like medical bills and lost wages. Burns may require expensive treatments extending over many years. Depending on your job, you could also miss significant time from work during your recovery.

On the other hand, non-economic losses cover the reduction in your quality of life due to your injuries. Again, burns can justify significant compensation due to physical pain from burn treatments, mental anguish, disability, and disfigurement due to scars.

How Do I Maximize Compensation for My Burn Injury Claim?

To help your burn injury lawyer from The Law Giant recover full and fair compensation, you will want to make sure that you take these key steps:

• Document the accident scene
• Identify any witnesses
• Get police or fire department investigation reports

A personal injury lawyer experienced in handling burn injuries can use this information to assess the strength and value of your claim so that you can decide how to proceed. Contacting a lawyer right away is vital to giving your claim the best chance of success.