Detroit car accidents can result in various injuries, including head trauma, broken bones, and lacerations. However, one type of injury that is often less spoken of but still just as serious is a burn injury.
While burn injuries are not as common in car accidents, when they do happen, they can be severe and even life-threatening. These types of injuries can also leave a person severely scarred and disfigured, which can be emotionally traumatizing.
However, despite how awful burn injuries can be, it is not uncommon for insurance companies to downplay these injuries in an effort to reduce what they have to pay to accident victims. For this reason, it is beneficial to work with a burn injury attorney.
With an attorney handling your case, you are more likely to get the full and fair compensation you deserve to help cover your losses and your suffering. An experienced attorney will fight hard to protect your rights and handle negotiations with the insurance company to ensure they award you the full amount you deserve.
Causes of Burn Injuries From a Detroit Car Accident
Despite what you may think, not all burns come from fire. Burning car accidents are not that common, but there are many ways a person can sustain a burn injury even if their car doesn’t go up in flames.
Yes, automobile fires and even explosions can cause burns, and they do happen now and then, but other causes of burn injuries in a car accident can include:
- Exposure to hot metal
- Hot steam coming from the engine or other parts of the car
- Road rash burns (when the body and skin drag and scrape along the ground)
- Contact with car chemicals
Common Types of Burns From Car Accidents
Most burn injuries from car accidents are generally classified into three different types or categories:
- First Degree: This degree of burn is limited to the top or outermost layer of the skin, meaning the skin is not broken open. These kinds of burns in car accidents can happen when parts of the skin are roughly rubbed against another surface, such as a seatbelt or an airbag.
- Second Degree: This degree of burn affects the second layer of the skin, known as the dermis. These burns can affect the blood vessels and lead to pain, blisters, and some scarring. Second-degree burns in car accidents often happen when the skin comes into contact with hot metal.
- Third Degree: This level of burn is severe and damages the outer and innermost layers of the skin, including the fatty tissues, muscles, and even nerves. The skin, in these cases, is often charred, blistered, and incredibly painful and typically leaves behind severe scarring. These burns can be so bad that they leave a person impaired and disfigured.
While first-degree burns can easily heal on their own, second and third-degree burns can be very painful and can even lead to complications. Third-degree burns are especially dangerous as they affect more layers of the skin. Such complications can lead to catastrophic injuries and include bacterial infections, significant blood loss, respiratory problems, limited mobility, amputation, permanent scarring and disfigurement, and impairment.
Why You Need a Detroit Burn Injury Attorney
A personal injury attorney can be beneficial in any type of injury case. However, an attorney that has experience handling burn cases can be particularly helpful if you suffer from burn injuries after a car accident. This is because insurance companies may try to downplay the severity of burns.
For example, if someone breaks their leg in an accident or even loses their leg, the insurance company can more easily understand how losing the ability to use that leg can affect that person’s life. However, burns are often viewed more as a cosmetic problem by some insurance companies. They know they look bad, but they might try to argue that the victim can still function normally with a burn.
Of course, burns can be much worse than just looking unattractive. Significant scarring, for example, can damage the nerves and affect mobility and even certain bodily functions. And if the burns are severe enough, they can also require an amputation.
And while scarring and disfigurement might only seem like a cosmetic issue, it can be incredibly devastating emotionally for a person to deal with, which can lead to severe mental trauma. And just because mental trauma is not visible on the surface does not mean it doesn’t play a major role in a person’s life.
An attorney can help you prove all of the many ways that a burn injury is affecting your life, including financially, physically, and emotionally. They can protect your rights, help you gather evidence, handle negotiations with the insurance company, and ensure you are awarded the full and fair settlement you deserve for all that you have suffered.
The Lee Steinberg Law Firm: Detroit Burn Injury Attorneys
At The Lee Steinberg Law Firm, our burn injury attorneys have years of experience handling Detroit car accident claims that involve burn injuries. We understand how devastating a burn injury can be and are dedicated to helping our clients get the compensation they need and deserve to pay for their medical bills, other financial losses, and their pain & suffering.
Call our Michigan car accident attorneys at 1-800-LEE-FREE (1-800-533-3733). You’ll pay nothing until we settle your case.
