Types of Burn Injuries
There are three common types of burn injuries: thermal, chemical, and flash burns. While many people associate burns with making direct contact with a hot surface or flames, they can happen from other sources.
- Thermal burns occur when a person is exposed to a hot surface or substance.
- Chemical burns occur when a person makes contact with a dangerous substance. Heat isn’t always involved with chemical burns, like in cases involving hydrofluoric acid or other corrosive substances.
- Flash burns occur when a person sustains injuries because of their proximity to a heat source. For example, some people might sustain burn injuries if they are close to an explosion.
Inhalation Injuries: One of the Most Dangerous Aspects of Burns
One of the most dangerous aspects of burns are the injuries that can accompany them. Those with burns often experience inhalation injuries because of the smoke and vapors they inhale during accidents. Inhalation injuries can cause lasting damage to the respiratory system, eyes, and other parts of their body.
Symptoms of inhalation injuries include:
- Coughing up phlegm
- Irritated sinuses
- Pain or tightness in the chest
- Running nose
- Scratchy, irritated throat
- Shortness of breath
- Stinging eyes
- Headaches
Notably, inhalation injuries are one of the most deadly aspects of burns. In fact, they’re attributed to between 60 and 80 percent of burn victim fatalities.
How Common Are Burns?
According to the American Burn Association, burns are one of the most common types of serious injuries. The organization estimates that about 486,000 burn injuries that require treatment happen each year. It got this information by examining federal surveys that track hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
Other facts about burn injuries include:
- Approximately 3,257 people die from fire and smoke inhalation each year.
- One person dies from fire-related injuries every 2 hours and 41 minutes.
- 40,000 hospitalizations are related to burn injuries each year.
- Approximately 8% of burn injuries are occupational.
The worst part of burn injuries is the fact that nearly all of them are preventable. Our Dallas burn lawyers have seen people burned at home because of negligent gas companies, workers injured because their employer didn't make a simple fix, and families struggle because someone didn't operate a vehicle safely. When burns happen, they often should have—we fight to for the answers that survivors and families deserve.
Degrees of Burn Injuries
The skin has multiple layers and burns are categorized according to which ones are damaged. For example, burns that happen from accidentally touching a hot pan usually only harm the first layer of skin and are minor and require no professional help. Yet, burns for prolonged exposure to fire can burn through multiple layers and require extensive medical care, reconstructive surgery, plastic surgery, and rehabilitation.
- First-degree burns are the most common and only affect the first layer of skin. They result from quick contact with heat or a friction-causing surface. A first-degree burn only causes mild discomfort and will heal with minimal care.
- Second-degree burns are slightly more serious than first-degree burns because they damage more than the first layer of skin. However, they don’t always require extensive medical care. A second-degree burn can be differentiated by a first degree burn because they cause a deep redness of the skin and make it appear wet or shiny.
- Third- and fourth-degree burns are very serious, require immediate medical attention, and might change the rest of a person’s life. They extend past multiple layers of skin and, if severe enough, can even damage a person’s muscle tissue, nerves, and bones.
Third- and fourth-degree burn symptoms include:
- Charring
- White coloration
- Smooth, waxy appearance of skin
- Brown discoloration
- Swelling
- Conspicuous lack of blisters
Learn more about burn injuries on Medlineplus.gov
Recommended Reading
About the City of Dallas
Dallas can trace its roots back to John Neely Bryan, a lawyer from Tennessee who built a cabin on the bank of the Trinity River in 1841. Within just a few years, other settlers moved into the area and a town soon formed. Dallas got its first boost of economic growth in the 1870s with the construction of railroads that passed through the area, along with local production of cotton, grain, and leather. Oil began to dominate the Dallas economy in the 1930s with the discovery of petroleum in nearby Kilgore and additional discoveries in the Permian Basin, along the Texas Panhandle, and the Gulf Coast. Dallas quickly became an epicenter for transportation and the oil and gas market.
Dallas is culturally diverse and boasts a stable economy, thanks to the myriad industries that call the city home, including defense, financial services, telecommunications, transportation, and manufacturing. Since 2008, the unemployment rate in Dallas has remained below the national average. Leading employers in the area include AT&T, Texas Instruments, Southwest Airlines, Energy Transfer Equity, and Tenet Healthcare. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex serves as headquarters for a whopping 22 Fortune 500 companies.
Dallas is famous for its National Football League (NFL) team, the Dallas Cowboys, which has 5 Super Bowl wins and is the only NFL team with 20 straight winning seasons (1966-1985). Dallas is also known as the city where President John F. Kennedy was shot while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in the downtown area on November 22, 1963. The city is widely known as the “Big D,” thanks to a Bing Crosby song with the lyric, “Big D, little A, double L-A-S.”
“Big things happen here,” is the Dallas motto, first introduced by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings in 2012.
Dallas Links & Resources
Call Our Dallas Burn Injury Attorneys for Help: (888) 493-1629
When you call Arnold & Itkin, you’re turning to a burn law firm that’s known nationwide for getting the results that clients need. In fact, we’ve recovered billions of dollars for clients by never backing down from a fight. We know people come to us during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and we refuse to accept anything but the best for them. For us, winning a case means helping a person rebuild after they’ve lost everything.
If you’re suffering from burn injuries that could have been prevented, we’re here to help. Call our Dallas personal injury lawyers at (888) 493-1629 for a free consultation.
