Burn Injuries Caused by Car Accidents

September 23, 2022

While many people might not associate serious burn injuries with motor vehicle crashes, they are more common than one might think. Accident survivors who have them can face significant pain, disfigurations, and long-term recoveries – not to mention overwhelming medical expenses. These kinds of burns are often compounded by other issues like broken bones, lacerations, and traumatic brain injuries, which can make a prognosis even more unfortunate.

How Can a Motor Vehicle Crash Cause People to Get Burned?

You have likely seen fiery car and truck crashes on television and in movies, and they are much more traumatic in real life as they can happen in high-speed, high-impact collisions. A gas tank or other fuel delivery system can rupture on impact, and gasoline can ignite when it makes contact with just one little spark. Any occupants in the vehicle could experience devastating burns if they are not rescued in time.

These kinds of explosions do not happen that often, so burns are more likely to be experienced through exposure to very hot debris and surfaces. They can also happen from exposure to a live current, a nearby explosion, or airbag deployment (airbags have chemicals in them). Other sources of burns include scalding hot steam, hot liquids like oil, or other kinds of chemical burns.

Types of Burns

There are four kinds of burns, and they are always listed from the least to most serious as follows:

• First-Degree (Superficial) Burns: These cause minor damage to the skin’s outer layer and generally heal in a few days. Still, they can painful enough to affect your daily routine. These burns present with minor inflammation, redness, pain, and sometimes peeling and dry skin after a few days.
• Second-Degree Burns: Second-degree burns also affect the skin’s outer layer, but the second layer under it as well. Symptoms include redness, soreness, swelling, and blisters. These usually heal, and then the skin forms thick, soft scabs that fall off or peel away afterwards.
• Third-Degree Burns: Severe third-degree burns impact all the skin’s layers, down to the layers of fat beneath it. This can lead to nerve damage, making it hard to feel the pain. The skin can look swollen, waxy, dry, and charred.
• Fourth-Degree Burns: As the most serious kinds of burns, these can affect skin, nerves, muscles, and bones. They are also the most likely to cause fatalities, but it is possible survive after extensive medical treatments and surgeries.

Can I Sue for Auto Accident-Related Burn Injuries?

Every case is different, but plaintiffs in auto accident cases have successfully sued responsible parties for burn injuries. In general, it would involve pursuing a negligence claim against another party or even a product. To do this, you would need to prove that a defendant owed you (the plaintiff) a duty to act with reasonable care in the set of circumstances, and that their behavior breached that owed duty. In addition to that, it must be shown that the breach was directly linked to the burns and that you suffered actual damage (medical bills, lost time from work, pain, and suffering).

With other burn cases, plaintiffs have claimed that product liability led to their damages. This might involve a defective air bag or fuel tank that is deemed to be unreasonably dangerous, leading to the injuries. The defect could be from a design flaw or a problem during manufacturing. These cases can be challenging to prove, but juries that grant plaintiffs with burn injuries damages sometimes award significant amounts because of the considerable pain, medical procedures, and mental anguish involved.

The Delaware Car Accident Lawyers at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. Help Car Accident Survivors Who Have Suffered Burn Injuries

Serious burns are known to be some of the most extensive and painful kinds of injuries out there, and the compassionate, skilled Delaware car accident lawyers from Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. are experienced with these kinds of cases. For a free consultation, contact our Wilmington and Millsboro, Delaware offices at 302-656-5445 or complete our online form. We proudly serve clients in Dover, New Castle County, and Sussex County.