Burn Injury
New York Job Burn Injury Victims Need Urgent Care and an Aggressive NY Workers Comp Lawyer
Every year, over 40,000 workplace burns occur in the United States, with more than 25 percent of them taking place in construction site accidents. All burn injury victims require emergency medical attention-first-degree, second-degree or third-degree-and any employee burned on the job could have debilitating workplace injuries. Though full-thickness burns are considered the worst, even first-degree burns affecting only the outer layer of the epidermis can later cause work-related skin cancer.
Worker burns happen in all types of settings, and all qualify for workers compensation:
- Firefighters burned while putting out a blaze
- Electrical burns when faulty wiring caught on fire
- Toxic fumes inhalation airway/lung burn
- Hot roofing tar or other scalding materials spilled
- Cooks burned by restaurant stove fires or boiling water
- Mechanics burned by corrosives, caustic chemicals, or solvents
- Warehouse fires, refinery fires, factory fires, and mill fires
- Radiation exposure skin burns and eye burns
- Construction site fires
- No fire sprinklers in office building fire
- Hazardous lab chemical burns from alkaloids and acids
- Plumbers burned by rust removers and drain cleaners
You may have a workers’ compensation claim and a third-party burn injury lawsuit depending on the circumstances. However, burns can be quite costly, and the insurance company may not be willing to pay up. That’s why it’s so important to get a workplace burn injury lawyer on your side as soon as possible.
Types of burn injuries at work
All burn injuries are serious, but the greater the severity, the greater the impact on your life. The four types of burns include:
- First-degree burn: also known as superficial burns, first-degree burns just affect the outer layer of skin, the epidermis. The skin becomes red, dry, and painful, with no blisters.
- Second-degree burn: also known as “partial thickness,” a second-degree burn affects the epidermis and part of the lower layer, the dermis. Second-degree burns are red, blistered, and sometimes swollen.
- Third-degree burn: known as “full thickness” burns, third-degree burns destroy both the epidermis and the dermis, reaching the subcutaneous tissue. Third-degree burns may be white or blackened and charred, and they are exceptionally painful.
- Fourth-degree burn: the most severe type of burn, fourth-degree burns go through the subcutaneous tissue and may reach muscle or bone. Fourth-degree burns can eliminate feeling in the area by destroying nerve endings.
Depending on the severity of your burn injury, you may need painful skin grafts or reconstructive surgery to repair the damage. The risk of infection is quite high because burns can destroy the skin. Long-term medical treatment such as physical therapy may be needed. Workers’ compensation should pay all these costs – and our attorneys will fight to ensure you get the full compensation you need for your workplace burn injury.
Even If Your Job-Related Burn Seems Minor, Call Us Today
Whether the company car engine exploded in a work-related accident, boiling water was spilled on you by a fellow waitress, you were burned by a toxic spill at an industrial site, or you were burned while welding, you need powerful legal representation. Sometimes employees think a burn is nothing more than a minor skin irritation or don’t know if it’s a job-related burn. But infected burns can become very serious, sometimes needing hospitalization. Call us now at (800) 692-3717 or contact us online for a free evaluation with a burn injury lawyer. We are also very experienced in representing union members.