Personal Injury Lawyers

Burns from trauma such as car accidents

A burn can be a major injury that completely changes your life.  Even a small burn from getting your hand too close to a fire or a drop of boiling water can be extremely painful.  Larger burns can cause ongoing pain and complications for many years with serious consequences for your day-to-day activities and lifestyle.
What is a burn from trauma?
An injury from trauma specifically refers to one that is caused by a harmful event, like extreme heat to your skin or inhaled smoke.  Damage caused by genetic or other conditions, such as a burn from scratching a rash, are not considered as caused by trauma.
Burns from trauma are indicated by:

• Moderate to severe pain
• Blisters and red swelling on your skin
• Skin that looks wet, waxy, leathery, or charred, depending on the severity of the burn
• Burnt hair
• Burns to your nose, throat, and lungs from inhaling smoke and extremely hot air

There are four categories of burns that can happen to any part of your skin.  The categories are divided according to the depth and amount of damage to your tissues.

1. First degree burns: these are the least severe burns with only surface damage to the skin.  Skin will be red and painful, but will generally heal with home treatment within a few days or a week.
2. Second degree burns: these are more serious burns that reach to the second layer of your skin.  They are more painful and can cause redness, swelling, and blisters.  Your skin may also look moist and eventually develop scars.
3. Third degree burns: these burns reach even deeper into your skin and can make it look waxy or leathery.  These burns are deep enough to kill nerves and cause numbness in the affected area.
4. Fourth degree burns: these are the worst possible burns where the destruction has gone beyond your skin and into your muscles, other tissues, and bone.  These burns look black and charred.  The nerve damage can be so extensive with fourth degree burns that you actually feel nothing.

You may have different types of burn in the same area.  Burns also often come along with other kinds of injuries, such as soft tissue damage and lung damage, depending on the circumstances of the traumatic event.
The pain from a burn may be felt immediately when your skin touches fire or something that is very hot.  In other circumstances, you may not immediately notice that you’ve been burned due to an emergency spike in adrenalin, to shock, or to the fact that the burn has destroyed your nerves.
In the longer term, the problems associated with burns can change depending on their extent and their response to treatment.  Long term issues can include:

• Infection of the immediate area or a whole body infection introduced through the injury, known as sepsis
• Severe loss of fluids and blood due to damage to blood vessels
• Hypothermia (low body temperature) caused by the loss of skin, which normally helps regulate body temperature
• Scarring
• Problems with joints or bones if the burn was fourth degree or the scarring is deep
• Respiratory problems from damaged lungs or a damaged airway

What causes burns from trauma?
A lot of different kinds of incidents can cause burns.  Burns from trauma are most common as a result of car accidents and traffic accidents.
What should you do if you have a burn?
Burns can be very serious and have a long lasting impact on your quality of life.  The first thing you should do if you think you have a burn that is serious or not getting better is get medical help.  A doctor can examine the burn to see what type it is and the extent of your injury and set up a treatment and monitoring plan.
Getting medical help is also important legally.  If you think the burn is from a car accident or is otherwise someone else’s fault, the doctor’s opinion will be important if you go ahead with seeking damages.  You will need to show that your burn was caused by the accident as well as the extent of the injury and its impact on your activities.  If you’ve been injured in a car accident in BC, talk to one of our Fraser Valley personal injury lawyers by scheduling a free consultation.
Get legal advice from a personal injury lawyer if you think it was caused by an accident or someone’s careless or reckless behaviour.
How are burns treated?
Your doctor will set up a treatment plan for you.  This can include anything from prescription or over-the-counter medication to staying in a specialised hospital unit that treats severe burns.
More minor burns get better over time with at-home treatment.  How long this takes depends on the type and severity of the burn.  Unfortunately, in some cases a burn can cause an injury that never heals completely and becomes a life-long problem.
Free consultation with Fraser Valley, BC personal injury lawyers
We offer a free consultation for people with injury claims including burn injuries and other injuries stemming from traffic accidents and other traumatic events caused by negligence.  Call us toll free at 1-855-467-0505 to schedule a free consultation today.