Long-Term Care and Conditions Related to Burn Injuries
When you suffer from a burn injury, you may face a long road ahead in order to fully recover. Complications could occur and you might end up dealing with much more than the initial burn. By learning about long-term care and conditions related to burn injuries, you can decide the next steps you should take to ensure you receive the best care possible. Heiting & Irwin can help.
Riverside, California personal injury lawyers Heiting & Irwin have over four decades of experience assisting clients with burn injures. We have retrieved more than $500 million for our clients, and we’ll work hard to get you the monetary recovery that’s rightfully yours.
All About Burn Injuries
You could suffer a burn injury if you get into a car accident, you’re in a fire, you come into contact with flammable liquids, a defective product hurts you, hot liquid spills on you, or in many other ways. Even surgeries can cause burns. Burn injuries can happen at work or in your personal life and are categorized in the first degree, second degree, and third degree.
A first degree burn is the least serious type of burn, as it causes minimal damage to your outermost layer of skin. It typically heals within a few days or weeks and you could probably treat it at home with some antibiotic ointment, gauze, and acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
A second degree is more severe than a first degree burn, and it will end up causing damage to the layers of skin below your outermost level. You’ll see your skin becoming red and sore and blistering. You should definitely go to the doctor for treatment, and you may have to go through medications and/or skin grafting to fully heal.
A third degree burn is most serious type of burn. It can damage all of your skin’s layers and cause additional harm to your organs as well as other complications. It may be so bad that the nerves have been damaged and you don’t feel any pain. It’s crucial to go to the doctor right away for a third degree burn to treat the burns and prevent further injury and possibly even death. Note that one may need to spend weeks or months in the hospital’s burn department to ensure proper care.
Keep in mind that the initial treatment you receive for your burn injuries may not be enough, especially if you experience related injuries. Follow-up treatment is a probable necessity.
Conditions Related to Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can end up becoming chronic problems. If you suffer from a burn injury, you could even have an increased risk of suffering from related:
- Cancer
- Nervous system disorders
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Gastrointestinal disease
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Infections
You may also suffer from blood loss, shock, tetanus, sepsis, hypothermia, keloids, and scars. This means long-term care for the burn injuries, as well as the other conditions experienced as a result of them.
Long-Term Care for Burn Injuries
Long-term care is going to depend on the severity of the burns and what else is happening to your body. For instance, if you end up getting cancer, you may need radiation treatment. Diabetes could require insulin injections, and you might have to take medication for a gastrointestinal disease. If you experience mental health issues as a result of the injury and the trauma surrounding it, you could need a therapist and/or a psychiatrist to prescribe medicine like antidepressants.
When you come home from the hospital after being treated for a serious burn injury, scar tissue is going to start forming, and you could require special treatment. You may need to apply lotion to your scar tissue so that it doesn’t crack or become too dry. Some treatments are very painful.
Sweat glands may have been destroyed too; and you may need to avoid doing tough exercises and going out in the heat so that you don’t get heat stroke. You might also become more sensitive to cold climates and have to either stay inside where you can control the temperature or move to an area with more moderate temperatures.
Unfortunately, burn injuries are horrible; and treating burn injuries can be quite expensive, painful, and time-consuming. You may have to stop going to work and participating in your favorite activities. Or, you might never get back to how things used to be before your accident. This can be especially traumatizing, but resources can be very helpful.
There is some hope, if you get in touch with an experienced and well-respected personal injury lawyer. They could possibly help you along in your treatment, help you find important resources and expert treatment, and ultimately recover damages so that you receive the financial compensation you deserve for the financial impacts and for the extensive pain and suffering.
Damages for Burn Injury Cases
If you are suffering from burn injuries as a result of an accident, it’s critical to contact a personal injury lawyer right away. While your insurance may cover some of the costs of your care, it might not provide enough and you could get stuck with sky-high medical bills. You may not get to the vest doctors. You may have other difficulties. This isn’t fair, considering the accident wasn’t your fault. Why should you have to pay?
The possible damages your lawyer could get you may cover:
- Your medical bills (past, current, and future)
- Loss of wages (past and future loss of earning capabilities)
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent scarring and/or disfigurement
Even if your injuries don’t seem severe, it’s always worth it to talk to a personal injury lawyer and let them know what you’re going through.
When you call, be ready to describe proof regarding your incident (police report, witnesses, video, photos, etc.) medical bills, and earning records. Don’t worry if you don’t have all those things; your lawyer can help you gather more evidence to support your case.
Don’t be worried about legal costs, either. Your lawyer will charge you a percentage of your recovery if they can get you a suitable settlement. Otherwise, you won’t owe them anything. Essentially, there is no risk involved and you have so much to gain.
Quick note: If an insurance company has called you to talk to you, or even to offer you a settlement, don’t talk to them. It will be to your disadvantage. Your lawyer will fight on your behalf to get you a proper settlement. You deserve it.
At first, you need to focus on healing and not on a lawsuit or how you’re going to pay for your medical bills and other expenses. Contact a personal injury lawyer and let them handle everything immediately, so you can relax as much as possible and get treatment for your burn injuries. Lawyers will help with your burdens.
Contact Heiting & Irwin for Help
If you experienced burn injuries and want to recover compensation from your accident, then it’s time to find an experienced and highly respected personal injury lawyer to represent you. Heiting & Irwin are here for you. We have dealt with many personal injury cases involving burn injuries; and we will work hard to get you the monetary recovery that you deserve. Contact us online or call us at 951-682-6400 to start your case now.
