Throughout history Hell, the place where sinners are sentenced to eternal damnation, has been depicted as a world of fire and brimstone. This is largely because the human mind cannot imagine a worse fate than the pain and suffering associated with burn injuries. Pain from burns does not go away. Suffering is never ending. Death is often imminent but if death is avoided the burn survivor is left with a life of treatment, permanent disfigurement and painful rehabilitation. Pain and suffering are the burn survivor’s constant companions.
Burn injuries vary as much as the people who receive them. The severity of a burn injury is dependent on the amount of heat energy the victim is exposed to multiplied by the duration of exposure. Increasing the heat energy or time of exposure geometrically increases the severity of the burn injury. Burns primarily effect our skin. Skin is the body’s largest organ. Skin serves as a barrier between us and our environment. Skin is the body’s radiator. Skin allows us to sense hot and cold, pleasure and pain. Our skin effects how others perceive us and how we feel about ourselves. Without skin, we cannot survive.
St. Louis Injury Lawyers: Burn Injuries Classification
Burn injuries are classified and treated by the degree of damage caused to the skin. Minor burns are referred to as superficial burns because the damage is confined to the outermost layer of skin known as the epidermis. Superficial burns will usually self-repair without medical attention. More severe burns are referred to as partial thickness burns because they involve partial damage to the dermis. The dermis lies beneath the epidermis and is the heart and sole of skin because it contains nerve endings, sweat and oil glands, hair follicles and blood vessels. Partial-thickness burns are self-repairing with scar tissue but require medical treatment to promote healing and avoid infection. Full thickness burns completely damage and destroy the epidermis and dermis and are not self-repairing.These burns have in the past been referred to as third degree burns. The damaged skin must be replaced with skin grafts harvested from and unburned area of the burn victim’s body. Burn injury lawyers must understand the full nature of burn injuries and treatment as well as the immediate and long term consequences to the burn injury survivor. If you or someone you know has received a burn injuries contact personal injury lawyer Anthony Bruning for a free consultation at 618-212-0052. Currently we are handling burn injury cases in Missouri and Illinois.
