Cases involving burn injuries are very serious. Such injuries can happen in New York homes, convalescent facilities or hospitals, businesses or various other types of
The devastating apartment building fire in the Bronx killed 17 people and critically injured many more. At Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff, LLP, our team of accomplished New York City fire accident attorneys is offering free counsel to the victims and their families to help protect their rights. We are determined to hold the negligent parties liable for damages in order to obtain maximum possible compensation for wrongful death and personal injury claims.
Exposure to heat, chemicals, electricity, or some types of radiation can cause tissue damage. If this type of damage causes tissue death, the injury is considered a burn injury. Burn injuries are far more common than most people realize and they are known to be a major cause of unintentional injuries that may even lead to death. Data from the CDC shows that about 1.1 million Americans suffer burn injuries that are serious enough to warrant medical attention.
New York City witnessed 88 fatalities caused by fires in 2018 alone, according to FDNY Commissioner, Daniel Nigro. The figure is the highest recorded for any year in the last decade, with only 2007 reporting more fire-related deaths of 95.
The number of deaths caused by fires was about 73 in 2017. In 2016, only 48 fire-related deaths happened in NYC, which was the lowest recorded in a hundred years. Nigro termed the surge in the number as a ‘concerning development’ while testifying before the New York City Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management about the $2.1 billion FDNY budget.
A former Manhattan student was awarded around $60 million in 2019 as compensation for a 2014 incident where the student suffered agonizing burns during a chemistry-class’ nitrate demonstration experiment. The judge upheld the jury’s verdict of $60 million in pain and suffering damages to the victim, the now 21-year-old Alonzo Yanes. The student was 16-year-old and in 10th grade at the time of the horrifying accident at the Beacon High School.
We tend to think of burns as something that can occur due to a fire but may be avoided by staying away from an open flame and avoiding potential harm. However, many burn injuries do not involve contact with open flames. In fact, some people may not even realize that skin actually burns more quickly when applied to hot surfaces than it does in most open flames. So what really causes the average burn scenario? Having knowledge of the different types of common burn events will help injury victims to understand why these types of accidents happen and how they can be avoided.
The term “burn injury” encompasses many different types of scenarios and situations. While some of these happen in public spaces, many of them happen in the private living spaces of the injury victims. There are also various types of burn injuries that individuals can sustain, some of which result in emergency scenarios, while others are routinely caused by mis-calibrations of equipment or home appliances. Can kitchen tap water become hot enough to burn? Of course it can. It’s simply a question of how boilers and water heaters are set up. People tend to immediately think of scalding as something that happens in bathtubs, but scalding water certainly can come out of any faucet. And leaving a young child alone in the kitchen for even a short time can lead to a scalding incident, particularly if the water systems themselves weren’t established by a technician or engineer who understands water temperature safety.
You will be surprised to know that fire accidents are among the leading causes of domestic deaths as well as industrial deaths in the United States. Close to 180,000 deaths due to fire are reported each year. It is older people and young children that are most vulnerable to injuries due to scalding and burns. Burns and scalds can be sustained in virtually any setting. The most commonly reported domestic incidents are due to fires from portable stoves, short circuits, butane grills, and scalding due to hot steam. Burn can also occur due to defective products as well as workplace irregularities. It is needless to say that burns and scalds are very painful and can take several weeks to heal. If the burns are very severe, the treatment will be more complicated and expensive. Listed below are a few things you must be aware of while filing a claim if you or someone you know of, has sustained grievous burn injuries.
