San Antonio Burn Injury Lawyers

Burns are classified by first-, second-, and third-degree burns. A first-degree burn affects the outer layer of the skin—the epidermis. A second-degree burn affects the outer layer and the next layer—the dermis. A third-degree burn affects all layers and, often, the tissue under the skin.

Yes, in addition to the above-mentioned side effects of burns, they may also cause you to go into shock or die. Loss of bodily fluids contributes to shock.

Doctors use two methods to determine how much of your body has burn damage. The first method is the Rule of Nines. For adults, the arms and head make up 9 percent. The abdomen and anterior chest make up 18 percent. The back and posterior chest make up another 18 percent, the perineum is 1 percent, and the legs are 18 percent each. Under this method, a child’s legs are 13.5 percent for each leg, and the head is 18 percent.

The second method is the Lund and Browder Chart, which gives 10 percent to each arm, 13 percent to the anterior or posterior trunk, and 13 percent for the head or each leg. If a doctor has to measure smaller burns, he or she uses the patient’s palm, which is approximately 0.5 percent of the body’s surface area, to determine the size of the burn. If the doctor measures the size of the burn based on the whole hand, each hand print-size of the burn is about 1 percent of the body.

Technically, it is up to the doctor to determine when he or she should refer you to the burn center. However, the American Burn Association does have recommendations that doctors should follow, including determining how extensive the burns are and the thickness of the burns.

It would be better to seek medical care for any type of burn. However, if medical attention is not immediately available, cool the burned area with tap water, then clean it with mild soap and water. If you have an antibacterial wash, you could also use that to clean the burn. The National Institute of Health recommends using a topical antibiotic ointment or cream and dressing to cover the burn. However, you should be sure that you are not sensitive to or allergic to the cream you use.

If the burn is severe, it can cause additional problems with your body, including dehydration. The body reacts to a burn with a massive inflammatory response to destroy the cause of the problem. However, with extensive burns, this response often overreacts, which can then cause damage to the lungs, heart, kidneys, blood vessels, and other organs.

If the body loses enough fluids, it can result in a drop in blood pressure to the point that it induces shock. You could also suffer from edema, a condition where the fluid becomes trapped in the body and causes swelling. Both situations could cause a lack of oxygen to the burned tissue and organs.

Yes. The skin protects your body, and this barrier becomes damaged when it gets burned. Bacteria and other poisons can get into your body through a burn. While the immune system is busy trying to heal the burn, it is weakened, and the body will not fight off the impending threat of infection. Burn infections could spread to your organs, including your lungs (where it causes pneumonia) and to your blood (where it causes sepsis).

Treatment depends on the doctor, the severity of the burn, and the size of the burn. Treatments may include:

• Topical antibiotics;
• Silver-containing dressings;
• Extra fluids by IV;
• Repairing the burned area with a skin graft, which might use natural, laboratory-grown, or artificial sources; and
• Debriding.

Not long ago, if you had severe burns over more than half of your body, you had a good chance of dying from your wounds. Over the past 20 to 30 years and after many hours of research, doctors have increased the odds of surviving. This is true even when burns cover 90 percent of the body. However, after suffering this extent of damage, you would most likely have permanent scarring or permanent disabilities, depending on the location of the burn.

Whether you can recover damages depends on the circumstances of your case. If you suffered burns because of another person’s negligence, you may recover economic and non-economic damages. If the court finds that the defendant was grossly negligent, you might recover punitive damages.

Economic damages may include past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, physical, cognitive, and psychological therapy expenses, medical aid expenses (including wheelchairs and walkers), replacement of destroyed personal property and real property, and funeral and burial expenses. Non-economic damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, loss of companionship, inconvenience, and loss of use of a body part or bodily function. You may also receive non-economic damages for excessive scarring and disfigurement.

If someone else’s negligence has left you with a serious burn injury, contact a San Antonio burn injury lawyer for a free consultation.