Anyone who has ever touched a hot surface and pulled away their hand quickly understands how fast the pain comes and stays after experiencing a burn. The redness, swelling, rapidly forming blister and throbbing pain continue for what feels like an eternity. Not much brings relief – home remedies and over the counter remedies fall short. Pain is one of the worst symptoms of a burn injury.
Burn victims only have two years from the date of their injury to sue the party or parties responsible for their injuries. Children and minors, under certain circumstances, have more time to sue. Contact a Charleston burn injury lawyer to learn how to move forward with your claim in the appropriate time to collect damages. An experienced Charleston injury attorney can help to pursue compensation for your suffering.
Types of Burns
The most common burn injuries Charleston burn injury attorneys see are ones caused by contact with fire or flame. Scalding injuries from steam, hot bath water, or spilled coffee follow as the second most common type of burn injuries.
Burn injuries affect skin tissue. When the flame, fire, or scalding liquid touch the surface of the skin, the skin is injured. Thus, burn injuries are classified by the layer of the skin affected by the flame, fire, or scaling liquid.
First-Degree Burns
A first-degree burn is experienced when the outer layer of the skin or epidermis is affected. Symptoms take a week to resolve and include pain, redness, and swelling.
First degree burns are caused by a mild sunburn, spilling coffee, tea or soup on oneself, high water temperature for bath setting, or touching metal grills while inserting or removing items from the oven or microwave.
Second-Degree Burns
A second-degree burn is a burn that reaches the second layer of the skin, the dermis. At this point, the epidermis and dermis are burned. In addition to severe pain, swelling and redness, the second-degree burn victim’s skin become deep red and blisters.
Third-Degree Burns
The most serious of burns is a third-degree burn. Third-degree burns affect the subcutaneous or the third layer of skin. At this burn stage, the skin’s texture becomes leather like and is white or black in color, regardless of actual skin color.
The pain levels are at the highest in third-degree burn victims because the nerve endings may be permanently destroyed or burned away. Even the area beside the burn is affected – it can become extremely painful, red, sore, and swollen.
Other bodily systems are affected as well. Respiratory and cardiac problems are common because the pain increases pulse rate causing difficulty breathing.
Contacting a Charleston Burn Injury Attorney
Burns cause varying degrees of pain, blisters, swelling, and skin loss. Additionally, burns can lead to serious complications like shock, infections, and amputation.
Small or superficial burns may be treated at home or urgent care facilities but deeper burns may require hospitalization for treatment that can include intravenous fluids, surgery, and rehabilitation oftentimes at a burn center.
A Charleston burn injury lawyer helps burn victims receive compensation for their injuries and future medical expenses relating to the burn injury. Contact an experienced burn injury attorney in Charleston today to schedule your comprehensive case evaluation.
