From its Chicago offices on Wacker Drive, the American Burn Association is spearheading another public awareness campaign against burn injuries in this country, heralding February 3 through February 9, 2019, as “National Burn Awareness Week.“
Burns are one of the leading causes of accidental death and injury in this country. According to the ABA, those most vulnerable to life-altering burns are children, the disabled, and the elderly.
We have discussed the ramifications of serious burns suffered by accident victims before. Fatal burn injuries can happen in all sorts of situations, from motor vehicle accidents to semi-truck crashes, to electrical fires in homes and schools, or chemical exposure and industrial accidents that happen on the job.
For more details, read: “Burn Injuries and Death from Accident Burns.”
Children in Accidents: Severe Burn Injuries
Of particular importance are statistics showing almost one-third of serious burn injuries involve victims under the age of 15 years old. The ABA warns that children under the age of five years old are 2.4 times more likely to suffer a serious burn injury than adult victims.
While all accident victims who suffer burn injuries deserve compassionate and fervent support in their pursuit for justice in the aftermath of a serious burn accident, children arguably suffer the most of all burn victims when faced with severe burn injuries and need the most zealous advocacy.
Why? Infants, toddlers, youngsters, tweens, and teens must face many years of medical care, surgical treatment, and psychological counseling. Their healing will be compounded by bodies not yet fully formed.
These young burn victims will endure horrific pain and suffering not only when dealing with their wounds immediately after the accident, but in the months and years that follow. For instance, the need to remove dead skin cells from the burn area can be incomprehensibly excruciating for the child burn victim, even with pain medication.
For severe burns (second degree – fourth degree), the child will face especially acute pain and trauma. There is a high risk of infection both during the initial hospitalization and during the course of treatment.
Infection alone can be life-threatening. Multiple surgeries may be necessary over an extended period of time.
Additionally, children who suffer burns in an accident will have burn scars as scar tissue develops. These can be serious disfigurements that change both their physical appearance and their ability to function. The burn scars are likely to impact their mental health as well.
These young burn accident victims will face serious physical challenges from their burn injuries. They will also face severe psychological injuries. Child burn victims, particularly those with facial scarring, will sustain psychological injuries alongside their bodily injuries.
Treatment for a child suffering serious burns in an accident can include:
- Surgery (including skin grafts)
- Plastic Surgery
- Pain Relief
- Psychological Treatment (for depression, anxiety, etc.)
- Nutritional Counseling
- Hydrotherapy
- Rehabilitation Therapy
- Special Equipment (including pressure bandages, special baths, chairs, walkers, etc.).
Family Members: Accident Burn Injuries in Children
Parents need to be considered in these scenarios, as well. Mothers and fathers who have a child with serious burn injuries suffered in an accident may have their own personal damages, too.
Parents can suffer from psychological trauma in these situations, both in the immediacy of the accident as well as in the long term as treatment progresses. They will also face financial consequences, since the treatment and care of a young burn victim can be very expensive.
See: Bäckström, Josefin, et al. “Being a family member of a burn survivor–Experiences and needs.” Burns Open 2.4 (2018): 193-198.
Accident Victim Claims for Damages: Child Burn Injuries
For child burn victims and their families, a variety of health care professionals will be necessary. From a medical perspective, this is coordinated as a “multidisciplinary plan,” where everyone from plastic surgeons to social workers forms as a team to help the injured child.
State laws of Indiana and Illinois provide avenues for justice for child burn victims who have suffered bodily injury and sustained severe burns. Parents can pursue claims on behalf of the child, as well as their own individual claims, against those who are responsible for the accident.
When a young child is the victim of a severe burn injury, the reality is there will be extremely high costs involved in their long-term “multidisciplinary” care and treatment.
For more, read our discussion in “Burn Injury Accident Claims: Calculating Justice for Burn Victims.” These cases necessitate vigorous and aggressive demands for justice alongside a thorough investigation of the accident and everyone who may share legal responsibility for what has happened.
Employers must be considered as potentially liable when employees are involved in an accident where a child has sustained serious burn injuries. Also, manufacturers and distributors of products must be investigated for their possible contribution to the tragedy. All too often, companies put profits over people and innocent victims suffer the consequences.
There is nothing more tragic that a child who suffers a serious, life-altering burn injury in an accident caused by the negligence of another. Please be careful out there!
