What Experts Are Saying About Burn Injuries
Suffering a burn injury can be a life-changing experience for the victim. as an injury attorney we know minor burns do not usually require a hospitalization, more severe burn injuries not only call for an occasionally lengthy stay in a trauma center, but they may also require extensive post-release care.
Experts & Statistics
- Common injuries. As noted by the American Burn Association (ABA), there are an estimated annual 450,000 emergency room visits related to burn injuries. Hospitalizations related to this type of injury have reached 40,000 each year.
- 3,400 Annual deaths. The organization reveals that each year there are 2,550 deaths in house fires, 300 deaths due to vehicle fires, 400 deaths related to electricity contact or hot objects and 150 fatalities due to smoke inhalation.
- High survival rate. Between 2002 and 2011, the average survival rate of those suffering burn injuries sat at 96.1 percent. Depending on the severity of the burns, these patients may face extensive follow-up care regimens.
- Work-related burns are up. The Burn Survivor Resource Center explains that the number of deaths related to burns suffered at the workplace is actually doubling. Between 2009 and 2010, the number reached a new high that had not been seen since 2003.
- Children are a high-risk group. Each year, more than 600 children under the age of 14 die in fires. Another 47,000 suffer treatable injuries.
California Stats
The State of California is well aware of the danger that fires represent. Whether it is the accidental fire – like the recent one at the Crouch Memorial Church of God in Christ, which injured two L.A. firefighters. Further, the potential wildfire risk that is currently endangering an estimated 72,796 California homes, the risk of burn injuries is an ever-present danger.
Yet Californians are also at risk at the workplace. Explosions can occur on construction sites and in other industrial settings. Chemical burns are a danger as well. Electrical burns may occur when there are equipment failures or workers are using defective tools. Landscapers and the contractors they hire are at a high risk of coming in contact with power lines that can be obscured by palm fronds and tree limbs. Children are at risk from suffering scalds. Even though there are gadgets currently on the market that are said to test the temperature of the water, it is possible for these gadgets to fail.
Contact us today for more information on your rights, available legal remedies and the protections available to you today.