Light Burns

Ultraviolet Light Burn Injury ● Tanning Bed Burns

Light burns are caused by contact with sunlight or other sources of ultraviolet light. Anyone who has spent too much time in the hot summer sun on a beach or at a pool is familiar with the pain, suffering, and inconvenience of a bad sun burn. Other sources of similar light exposure include tanning lamps, tanning beds, and welding arcs. Sunburn is not always an innocent mistake. A baby or wheelchair-bound nursing home patient who is left in the sun long enough to burn may be considered to have been neglected or abused by his or her caregivers.

Other dangerous ultraviolet (UV ray) light sources may include "welding operations, biological laboratories where gels are visualized, areas in which germicidal UV lights are used, including biological safety cabinets, libraries where UV light may be used to examine documents, science laboratories where mineral lights are used to cause fluorescence, and mercury vapor lamps with broken or missing envelopes."

A serious light burn is painful, may be life-threatening, and may increase the likelihood of development of skin cancer later in life. Light burns are typically more severe for people with fair skin. The full effect of a bad sunburn or tanning bed burn may not be seen for a day or two after exposure. Over time, the skin may turn dark red or even purple. The affected person may have difficulty moving around normally due to pain. Peeling and itching may go on for weeks. Blistering may occur in severe cases of light burns. Extreme cases may require a victim to be hospitalized for pain treatment and prevention of infection as blisters ooze and the skin is broken. Laser skin treatment offers relief in some cases.

Burn Injury Online is provided as a source of knowledge and hope for light 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 light burn injury victims.

To request an attorney's thoughtful evaluation of a first degree, second degree, or third degree light burn case, contact us in New York through this Web site.