National Burn Awareness Week
Feb. 4-10, 2018 is National Burn Awareness Week promoted by the American Burn Association. With burn injuries being one of the leading causes of unintentional death and injury in the United States burn awareness is a worthy cause. While 96.7% of those treated for burn injuries in burn centers survive, many will still suffer serious scarring, life-altering physical disabilities and challenges adjusting back to their lives.
If you or a loved one was seriously disfigured or otherwise injured by a burn injury through no fault of your own you may benefit from a free consultation with a burn injury lawyer in your area. He or she will assess your accident and injuries and let you know your legal rights.
Burn injury facts
Burn injury facts from the American Burn Association:
- Between 2011 and 2015, approximately 486,000 people with fire or burn injuries were taken to the emergency room for treatment.
- On average seventy-three percent of burn injuries happen in the home. In 2016, 3,390 people were killed in fires. This breaks down into 2,800 deaths from residential home structure fires, 150 deaths from non-residential structure fires, 355 from vehicle fires and 85 from outside and other unclassified fires.
- Twenty-four percent of all burn injuries are suffered by children under the age of 15. Between 2011 and 2015, children under the age of five were 2.4 times as likely as the general population to suffer burn injuries that required treatment in an emergency room.
- Young adults between the ages of 20-29 have a 1.5 times higher risk of burn injury than the general population.
- In 2015 unintentional fire or burn injuries where the fifth leading cause of injury deaths in the United States for children age 1-4, and the 3rd for those age 5-9. In people under the age of 65 burn injuries were the eighth leading cause of death.
Burn injury prevention tips
The main causes of burn injury are fire flames, scalds, and contact with hot objects, electrical wiring or chemicals. To prevent burns from fires and scalding use these burn injury prevention tips from the CDC:
- Make sure to have a smoke alarm setup on every floor of your house and near rooms that each person sleeps in. Replace batteries every six months and test monthly to ensure they are working.
- Keep your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower to avoid scalding injuries.
- Replace frayed or damaged electrical wiring.
- Keep dangerous chemicals locked up and away from children’s reach.
- Never leave cooking food unattended. Watch kids carefully if they are cooking or using the microwave.
- Create a family escape plan. Especially if you have small children, discuss and practice an escape plan to get out of the house if a fire alarms go off. Identify a central meeting place outside and how a person could escape from each room in the house.
If you or a loved one is dealing with an accident or injury through no fault of your own, you have enough on your plate. Let an experienced accident attorney fight for the full compensation that you deserve. It is not uncommon to receive a settlement from the insurance company that is five to ten times bigger with the help of a lawyer. Call the caring accident attorneys at Tario & Associates, P.S. in Bellingham, WA today for a FREE consultation! We have been representing residents of Whatcom County, Skagit County, Island County and Snohomish County since 1979. You will pay nothing up front and no attorney fees at all unless we recover damages for you!
