Burn Injuries
Burn Injuries are painful and can leave permanent physical and psychological
scars. According to the Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, in the early
nineties there were over 2.4 million reported burn injuries per year in the
United States. Of these incidents, over a million resulted in substantial
injury. Thousands of burn injuries result in fatalities each year. In fact, burn
injuries are right behind automobile accidents in accidental death.
Categories of Burns
First Degree Burns
First degree burns usually affect the outer layer of the skin, called the
epidermis. A first degree burn tends to be moist and red in color. A burn of
this nature is generally healed within a week. A classic example of a first
degree burn would be mild sunburn.
Superficial Second Degree Burns
A superficial second degree burn would be one that penetrates the entire
epidermal layer of skin and extends down to the deeper layer known as the
dermis. Pressure on a second degree burn tends to produce red blanches. The burn
is characterized as moist and pinkish in color. A superficial second degree burn
should heal spontaneously, often within two weeks.
Deep Second Degree Burns
A deep second degree burn differs from the superficial variety in that the
tissue destruction tends to run deeper into the dermis. A burn of this nature
will be dry and whitish in color. It will not produce red blanches with the
application of pressure. A burn of this degree can take three to four weeks on
average to heal. There is a risk that a deep second degree burn will leave thick
or hypertrophic scars.
Third Degree Burns
The most severe classification is the third
degree burn. This occurs when the burn has destroyed both the epidermal and
dermal layers of skin and extends down to what is termed subcutaneous tissue.
These burns are characterized as physically depressed, charred, and often
leather like in appearance. Ironically, a third degree burn may not be as
physically painful as the less severe categorizations, due to the amount of
nerve endings that may have been destroyed. These burns are very serious in
nature and often require skin grafting or other reconstructive procedures.
The Neil Kalra law offices in Forest Hills
Queens, New York, specializes in personal injury cases. Our practice areas include car and
motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home negligence, abuse and
injuries, lead paint poisoning, slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, construction accidents, HMO liability and other
areas.
Contact the Law Offices of Neil Kalra (in Forest Hills, Queens, New
York) immediately if you feel you have been hurt by the fault of
another. Call (718) 897-2211.
Remember, if you don’t know your rights, then you have no rights.
