If you have suffered a burn injury at work, it is highly recommended that you contact an experienced worker’s compensation and personal injury attorney.
Burn injuries can occur anywhere and at any time. However, according to The American Bar Association, occupational burn injuries accounted for some 6% of all burns studied between 2002 and 2011. Moreover, The Bureau of Labor Statistics also found that heat burns caused workers to miss on average 5 days of work and chemical burns 3 days of work. If you have suffered a burn injury at work and feel it may be serious, despite what your employer may say, it is highly recommended that you contact an experienced worker’s compensation and personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
Though anyone can suffer from a workplace burn injury, some occupations come with a higher risk for this type of injury.
Some of the primary occupations that involve burn hazards include but are by no means limited to:
- Electricians
- Janitorial Work
- Construction Workers
- Food Prep Workers (Chefs, Cooks, Servers)
- Healthcare Workers
- Fire Fighters
- Mechanics
Burn injuries can fall into one or more different categories:
- Electrical Burns -This type of burn may happen if electricity passes through a person’s body. This type of burn is not only suffered by electricians or those who work directly with electricity. Motor vehicles contain an elaborate electrical system, and there are many opportunities for an electrical burn to occur in a car accident. Besides, if power lines or other electrical equipment are damaged in the accident, electrical burn injuries may occur.
- Heat Burns– These are the most common types of burns that occur. These types of burns could happen if there is an open flame from gas that has caught on fire, heat escaping from the radiator, or if a person comes in contact with any hot surface, steam, or liquid.
- Chemical Burns-There many industries such as sanitation and cleaning, automotive, healthcare, and many others that work around extremely corrosive chemicals daily. When spills occur or proper care is not taken, severe chemical burn injuries can be suffered.
It is important to remember that burn injuries have many different causes and can occur while working or just in everyday life. They can be painful and very serious and may lead to lifelong scarring in addition to severe pain and disability. The website WebMD provides a list of three types of burns that everyone should be aware of:
- 1st-degree burns are mild compared to other burns. They may result in pain and reddening of the skin’s outer layer, also known as the epidermis.
- 2nd-degree burns affect the epidermis and the dermis, which is the lower layer of skin. They will usually cause pain, redness, swelling, and blistering.
- 3rd-degree burns are also known as full-thickness burns, and they penetrate the dermis and affect deeper tissues. The result is often white or blackened, charred skin that may lose sensation and become be numb.
Symptoms of burn injuries
The symptoms of burns are wide-ranging and depend on the cause and type of burn.
They often include:
- Blistering
- Pain- In most cases, however, the degree of pain is not always related to the burn’s severity, given that the most serious burns may be painless.
- Peeling skin
- Reddened or white and even charred skin
- Shock
- Swelling
Treatment for Burn Injuries
Healthline.com provides a list of recommended actions if you or someone you know suffers a burn or heat-related injury, whether at home or in the workplace.
First-degree burns can usually be easily treated. In the event of a first-degree burn injury, you should:
- Soak the wound in cool water for five minutes or longer
- Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain relief
- Apply a lidocaine cream with aloe vera gel to soothe the skin
- Use an antibiotic ointment and loose gauze to cover and protect the affected area.
Second-degree burns can often range from severe to mild. For any severe burn, you should immediately seek medical attention. However, treatments for a mild second-degree burn generally include:
- Running the skin under cool water for 15 minutes or more.
- Taking over-the-counter pain medication, usually acetaminophen or ibuprofen
- Applying antibiotic cream to blisters
- Applying a lidocaine cream with aloe vera gel to soothe the skin
In cases of third-degree burns, you should never attempt to self-treat a third-degree burn instead of calling 911 immediately. Before medical treatment arrives, you should raise the injury above your heart. It would help if you did not get undressed, but it is recommended to make sure no clothing is stuck to the burn, given that this can lead to infection.
Contact Our Mercer County Personal Injury Attorneys Today
At The Law Office of Cohen & Riechelson, our experienced team of personal injury lawyers represents clients across Mercer County, Trenton, Princeton, and Hamilton in all types of workers’ compensation claims involving burn injuries. Our unique approach is centered on our clients and ensuring that they receive the compensation and support they deserve to be made whole and get back to work as soon as possible.
To schedule a confidential consultation with our firm today to discuss your claim, please contact us online or through our Hamilton, NJ office at (609) 528-2596 for a free and confidential consultation regarding your specific case and the options for recovering compensation.