Causes & Types of Burn Injuries

A serious burn injury is traumatic, painful, and costly. Burn injury victims and their families often face a long, difficult path to recovery.

Common causes of burn injuries include the following:

Electrical burn injuries are caused by exposure to high voltage electricity. For those working in the electrical field, these job dangers are ever present. The burn injuries result from electric current flowing through the body and causing a severe exit wound. It is possible that high voltage will cause the heart to stop beating and result in death.

Workplace Explosions are caused by a variety of factors. A faulty gas line, an errant pipe fitting, an improperly stored combustible material, or an open flame may all contribute to an unexpected explosion. Typically, such explosions occur where the workplace has not sufficiently guarded against such explosions occurring.

Flammable clothing is extremely dangerous because fire may spread quickly through the clothing and create severe burns all over the body. Clothing sold in the United States must comply with the Flammable Fabrics Act.

Thermal sources cause burns when a person is exposed to or comes into contact with them. These sources include steam, flames, flash, hot surfaces, and hot liquids.

Automobile accidents may result in fires, putting passengers and the driver in great danger. Automobile fires may be caused by gas explosions or contact with another object.

Chemical sources include acids and strong bases such as alkaloids. Dangerous chemicals can often be found in laboratories. Very strong chemicals will dissolve skin at contact and are difficult to wash away at contact exposure.

Fires in structures occur in residential and commercial structures thousands of times a year. Often, smoke inhalation is the cause of death or serious injury to inhabitants of homes and offices damaged or destroyed by fire.

There are four main types of burn injuries, as follows:

  • Thermal burns are caused by contact with flames, steam, hot water or other hot liquids, and other sources of intense heat.
  • Chemical burns are caused by contact with an acid or alkali.
  • Radiation burns are caused by contact with nuclear radiation or ultraviolet light.
  • Light burns are caused by contact with sunlight or other sources of ultraviolet light.

Burns are generally classified by degree:

  • First degree burns (superficial burns) involve only the top layer of skin. The skin is red, painful and dry, but usually heals on its own without scarring within a week.
  • Second degree burns (partial-thickness burns) involve the top layers of skin. Not only is the skin red, but it blisters and may weep clear fluid. This burn usually heals in 3-4 weeks and may scar.
  • Third degree burns (full-thickness burns) destroy all layers of skin and can penetrate the underlying fat, muscle, bone and nerve structures. These burns are brown or black with underlying tissues appearing white. Significant medical advances have been made in treating third degree burns, yet they continue to be a serious medical condition.

Some consequences of serious burn injuries are as follows:

  • Skin may lose the ability to re-grow when third degree burns are suffered. Undamaged skin from another part of the body can be transplanted to the damaged area.
  • A person with severely burned and scarred skin tissue may lose the sense of touch.
  • A seriously burned victims' skin may not perspire normally as the quality and ability of the skin tissue has been damaged.
  • Dead skin must be removed to help prevent infection because dead tissue from burns is a breeding ground for bacteria and infection.

Burn Injury Online is provided as a source of knowledge and hope for burn victims and their families. The sponsors of this Web site have cultivated working relationships with top internationally renown experts who care and treat burn injury victims and with expert forensic engineers who identify the "root-cause" of the burn producing event. These experts and physicians have trained at the most prestigious academic institutions and are held in high esteem by their peers in the scientific community. Lawyers, medical researchers, and healthcare providers collaborate to pursue medical and legal remedies for burn injury victims.

You can learn more about your legal rights after a burn accident by filling out the simple case inquiry form, to be reviewed by an attorney. The New York law firm of Meiselman, Denlea, Packman, Carton & Eberz P.C. will make every effort to respond to your inquiry promptly.