A burn injury is one of the most painful types of personal injury a person can suffer.
According to the Burn Survivor Resource Center, there are approximately 2.4 million burn injuries reported in the United States each year. Approximately 650,000 people are treated by medical professions; and 75,000 are hospitalized. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 have major burn injuries involving at least 25% of their total body surface. Approximately one million people will suffer permanent disabilities resulting from their burn injury, and between 8,000 and 12,000 will die.
According to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign (NKDC), fires resulting from children’s play are the leading cause of residential fire-related death and injury among children ages 9 and under. Among children ages 14 and under, hair curlers and curling irons, room heaters, ovens and ranges, irons, gasoline and fireworks are the most common causes of product-related thermal burn injuries. The majority of scald burns to children, especially among those ages 6 months to 2 years, are from hot foods and hot liquids spilled in the kitchen or other places where food is prepared and served. Hot tap water accounts for nearly one-fourth of all scald burns among children and is associated with more deaths and hospitalizations than other hot liquid burns. Tap-water burns most often occur in the bathroom and tend to be more severe and cover a larger portion of the body than other scald burns. Nearly two-thirds of electrical child burn injuries among children ages 12 and under are associated with household electrical cords and extension cords. The vast majority (95%) of microwave child burn injuries are scald burns. Microwave burns are typically caused by spilling hot liquids or food, and are primarily associated with the trunk or the face.
Virginia Burn Injury Lawyer Gerald Schwartz fights for burn injury and fire accident victims in Alexandria and Woodbridge, and all over Northern Virginia. He is Past President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. For a free burn injury consultation, call Gerald Schwartz at 1-800-423-0055.