How a car crash can give you catastrophic burns

On Behalf of | Jul 1, 2019 | Car Accidents |

At Hall Ricketts Schuller & Gurbacki PC in New York, we spend a good deal of time representing clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries as the result of a car accident. We therefore know that one such injury you could sustain is that of a catastrophic burn.

The American Burn Association sets out the following four burn types you most likely will suffer during a fiery car crash

  1. Thermal burns resulting from your skin coming into contact with the fire’s flames themselves or with an exceedingly hot interior surface of your car
  2. Scald burns resulting from your skin coming into contact with an exceedingly hot liquid such as coffee, gasoline, etc.
  3. Electrical burns resulting from your skin coming into contact with such things as one of your car’s electrical wires or a low-hanging power line
  4. Chemical burns resulting from your skin coming into contact with a caustic substance such as your car’s antifreeze, steering fluid, transmission fluid, etc.

Burn seriousness

You may not be aware of the fact that burns range in severity from first degree to fourth degree. First- and second-degree burns represent the least serious ones and usually result from too much sun exposure that results in your receiving a sunburn. While you may feel a burning sensation in your skin and your skin may even eventually peel away as the sunburn heals, nevertheless these types of burns almost always resolve on their own without any medical intervention.

Unfortunately, virtually all car crash burns are far more serious third- or fourth-degree burns, both of which put you in a life-threatening situation requiring immediate emergency assistance and medical intervention. You may not even realize how seriously you have been burned because third- and fourth-degree burns not only singe your skin, they also burn your underlying tissues, including your nerves that allow you to feel pain.

As you might expect, a catastrophic third- or fourth-degree burn will put you in your hospital’s burn unit for a considerable period of time. You will face painful debridement procedures as well as multiple surgeries your surgeons will perform in an attempt to reduce the amount of disfiguring scarring that a serious burn always leaves.

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