Morgantown Burn Injury Lawyers

Also Recovering Damages in Clarksburg

Suffering from burn injuries after a fire or explosion can leave you with physical and psychological scars that can be expensive to treat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year in the United States, 1.1 million burn injuries require medical attention, and 50,000 of those injuries require hospitalization. Many burn injury victims require hospitalization and extensive reconstructive surgery to treat their burns, which can add up in medical bills, and victims may already be losing wages from having to miss work.

Our Morgantown burn injury attorneys believe that you deserve justice for suffering due to another’s conduct. You already must cope with your pain – you don’t deserve to be crippled by financial debt, too. Shaffer Madia Law has recovered tens of millions of dollars for our injured clients, proving our commitment to advocating fiercely for our clients’ right to fair compensation.

Causes of Burn Injuries

Accidents that have been caused by human error and negligence are abundant, and many of them can cause burn injuries that require lifelong care or permanent disability.Common accidents that can cause burn injuries include:

• Car accidents
• Explosions involving industrial sites, flammable liquids, and propane tanks
• Workplace accidents, which can involve hazardous substances in the workplace or electrocution from faulty wiring
• Building fires, which can involve fire code violations, poor alarm systems, and other forms of negligence
• Truck accidents and tanker explosions
• Defective products, which can include inadequate protective shielding, poorly designed gas tanks, and faulty appliance wiring

Burn Injury Types

While open flames are one of the most common causes of burns, there are a variety of different burns that can create lasting injuries.

Burns can include:

• Friction burns, which are caused when a hard object rubs off skin. “Road burn” is a type of friction burn, and many car and bike accident victims can get them.
• Thermal burns, which occur after touching a hot object raises the temperature of your skin.
• Chemical burns, which are caused when your skin meets acids, detergents, or solvents.
• Radiation burns, which can occur after X-rays or radiation therapy. Sunburn is also a type of radiation burn.
• Electrical burns, which can occur after coming into contact with an electrical current.

Doctors group burns into categories based on how severe the burn is. Known as “degrees,” the higher the degree, the more serious the burn is.

Degree types include:

• First-degree: These burns affect only the outer layer of your skin, and long-term damage is rare. An example of a first-degree burn is a mild sunburn – the skin may be red and tender, but you won’t suffer from blisters.
• Superficial second-degree: In this type of burn, the outer layer of your skin and the layer underneath, referred to as the dermis, is damaged. You may have blisters, and your skin will appear swollen and red. If it’s superficial, only part of your dermis is damaged, so you most likely won’t have scarring.
• Deep second-degree: In this more serious type of burn, also known as a deep partial thickness burn, more of your dermis may be damaged, leaving a scar or causing a permanent change in the color of your skin.
• Third-degree: Also known as a full thickness burn, this type of burn destroys a full two layers of skin, and it won’t hurt because your nerve endings will have been damaged. Instead of turning red, your skin may turn black, brown, white, or yellow.
• Fourth-degree: The most severe of the burns, this type destroys all layers of your skin and goes beyond to destroy your bones, muscles, and tendons, too.