The Tragedy of Burn Injuries at Work

The nastiest personal injuries are burns and they can happen anyplace, anytime, with devastating consequences.

Close to one million people in the US are affected every year by burn injuries, with many that have happened in the workplace. In fact, workplace injuries are not all that uncommon, and may happen in a number of ways.

The most common burn injuries are those that happen to people working with an open flame of some sort, used in making or destroying various commodities. A fairly high rate of burn injuries tends to take place in the metalworking industry, where workers are melting materials to manipulate them while they are soft.

Industries that are housed in aging buildings don’t always have proper protection in the event of a fire. They may not, despite being warned or cited, have fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems or even a fire alarm. The ramifications would be particularly devastating to those working in a facility like that.

While many people think a burn injury comes from a fire, there are other ways to be burned that don’t involve fire, such as chemicals and acids. These in themselves would cause even nastier burns than fire in terms of direct exposure. There are a number of larger manufacturing companies that use highly dangerous and caustic chemicals that pose a serious threat to workers if they aren’t trained properly to use them.

Some of the chemicals in a workplace may burn on contact or burn on inhalation. A burnt throat or lungs is incredibly painful and exceedingly dangerous. In all instances where workers are exposed to dangerous chemicals or other hazards that may affect their lives, the employer has a direct responsibility to provide a safe workplace.

The employees must be trained to handle dangerous materials, must have proper safety equipment, a means to clear out of the building in the event of a fire and actual fire equipment. Any injuries sustained as a result of a burn are highly complicated to treat. Medical expenses to treat burns are also very high, as most serious burns generally require skin grafting, among other things.

If you or someone you love has been badly burned on the job; contact an attorney who will be able to outline what is required to obtain a personal injury settlement and who will work with you to make sure you get justice.

Jeremiah Denslow is a Dayton Divorce Lawyer in Dayton Ohio with Denslow Law Firm. The firm specializes in family law. Jeremiah also practices Dayton criminal defense. To learn more about Dayton divorce lawyer, Dayton dui lawyer, Dayton defense lawyer, Dayton divorce attorney, Dayton dui attorney, Dayton defense attorney, Dayton attorney, Dayton lawyer, Dayton ohio, visit Denslowlaw.com.

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