The Importance of Burn Centers After a Personal Injury Accident

In 2021, nearly 400,000 people received medical treatment for burn injuries in the U.S. Burns greatly range in severity, but the more serious burns are devastating; they can require months of hospitalization, multiple surgeries, and years of rehabilitation. Severe burns often cause permanent disfigurement and significant psychological and emotional pain and can result in disabilities.

Accidents that lead to burn injuries may involve exposure to or contact with heat, chemicals, radiation, or electricity, and can happen just about anywhere; car accidents, hazards at construction and industrial sites, oil rigs, and manufacturing plants, and offshore accidents can put people at risk of suffering different types of serious burns.

Burn centers are the best place for treatment and recovery. Between a comprehensive medical team with specialized training all in one place, the possible complications and complexity of burn injuries, and how long it takes to heal, regain mobility, and adjust to new limitations, burn centers are extremely important for victims of personal injury accidents. However, the costs of treatment and long recovery can cause significant financial strain and stress for the injured and their family.

At Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain, our burn injury lawyers have helped personal injury victims get the compensation they need to heal, without the stress of unpaid medical bills and uncertainty of the years to come. While our team investigates, builds your case, and files a burn injury lawsuit to protect your rights and financial stability, your focus can – and should – be on recovery and getting the best treatment. This is where burn centers come in.

What Happens at Burn Centers?

In 2022, more than 30,000 people with burn injuries required admission to burn centers and hospitals. Burn Centers are a crucial part of healing. They give patients the treatment and care needed for them to recover as much as possible.  

However, since only the more serious cases are admitted to these facilities, recovery looks much different than other types of injuries, and it takes much longer. It’s a complex process for several reasons, namely, the additional risks, affected organs, and numerous complications that may arise. A diverse team of medical professionals is needed to treat burn victims with serious injuries.

Places like the Burn Center at University Medical Center (UMC) in New Orleans provide critical care, surgical reconstruction, and rehabilitation for burn victims. The UMC Burn Center is the only verified burn center between Galveston and Tampa. They’re equipped with an operating room, a debridement room (to remove dead tissue), inpatient ICU beds, a therapy/rehabilitation room, and more.

A burn center team often consists of all or most of these professionals:

• Surgeons
• Occupational therapists
• Wound specialists
• Dieticians
• Physical therapists
• Pharmacists
• Psychiatrists or counselors

Preparing patients for life after discharge is another reason why burn centers are important. They identify the aides and care that’s needed, but also provide mental health services. A lot of burn injury victims suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression, experience significant stress and worry, and struggle with new limitations and the loss of independence. Treatment for all areas of patient health is addressed at burn centers. 

The location of these specialized facilities also matters because getting specific care quickly can help limit damage, and in the worst scenarios, be the difference between life and death. Burn centers equipped with the most effective tools and technology and staffed with medical professionals trained specifically for treating and managing all aspects of serious burns.

When to Go to a Burn Center

There are certain types and locations of burns that require specialized treatment outside of regular hospitals. In general, the criteria for when to go to a burn center include:

• Third-degree burns
• Burns covering more than ten percent of the body (total body surface area)
• Burns on the face, hands, feet, genitalia, or near major joints
• Electrical burns
• Chemical burns
• Victims with certain pre-existing conditions

Sadly, many burn injury victims don’t know the proper classifications of burns and don’t treat them properly, only to end up in burn centers with infected wounds. Their injuries can become much more serious, even require surgery, and complications may occur when this happens. The general rule of thumb is that if you’re not sure how bad a burn is, get it checked out.

Risks and Complications of Serious Burn Injuries

Our skin serves many purposes and protects other organs and systems from harm, so when personal injury accidents cause serious burns, victims can face life-threatening complications. Infections, blood loss, hypothermia, and organ, respiratory or cardiac failure are all possible when dealing with a severe burn.

Serious burn injuries usually also require skin grafts and other surgeries, and rehabilitation can take months, years, or longer. Permanent disfigurement is common, and limb amputation is needed in some cases. And then there’s the impact of accidents on the mental health of burn injury survivors. All of these factors reinforce why burn centers are so important for victims with personal injuries of this kind.

Why File a Burn Injury Lawsuit

Burn centers provide specialized, life-saving treatment. However, burn injuries are costly, not just because of the type and amount of medical treatment needed, but for how long it takes to recover. The care, surgeries, rehabilitation, medication, and medical aides and supports, not to mention time off work and loss of earning potential, can equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars, even millions.

The last thing burn injury victims and their families should be worrying about is how they’ll pay medical bills and manage the loss of income. And yet, so many experience this additional burden during the hardest time in their lives. The personal injury attorneys at HKGC can help.

When another party’s negligence causes or contributes to an accident and the victim suffers moderate to serious burns, we can help get the compensation needed to manage the immediate and lifelong costs of their injuries. Other examples of damages we can pursue in a burn injury lawsuit include pain and suffering, lost wages, scarring and disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life.

We work with medical experts and burn centers, such as the UMC Burn Center in New Orleans, to gather what’s needed to demonstrate the value of a claim – the type(s) and seriousness of injuries, treatments and surgeries required, long-term health effects, mental and emotional impact, and more. If the worst happens and a loved one dies, we can help surviving family members file a lawsuit on their behalf.  

If you or a loved one suffered a burn injury in a personal injury accident, contact us online or call 1-844-943-7626 for a free consultation.