Burn injuries in Florida, be careful of these common causes.

Burn injuries in Florida can prove at a minimum painful. Depending on the degree of the burn, your harm can include irritation, swelling, redness, blisters, or more serious consequences such as deep-layer skin damage. Your injuries could prove long-lasting, if not permanent, and debilitating.

Many activities and products can produce burns. The University of Florida has ranked the top five causes of burns as follows:

Fires

You might expect that fires lead the way in causes of burn injuries. According to the Insurance Information Institute, an estimated 15,200 people were injured in fires in 2018. Nearly 3,400 of those injured lived in apartments.

Gas explosions generate many fires that lead to serious personal injuries. Sparks from cigarettes, friction, or other sources ignite this flammable matter. The culprits of these incidents fail to exercise reasonable care in preventing leaks and other escape of liquid or invisible gas. An attorney for burn injuries may purse negligence claims based upon:

• Improperly secured hoses, clamps, and pipes
• Leaks or openings in gas appliances
• Unattended gas tankers or fuel-delivery equipment
• Negligent driving, especially by drivers of commercial gas tankers
• Poor installation, manufacturing, or maintenance of gas appliances or gas lines

Tenants may suffer fire burns thanks to the lack of properly-operating fire sprinklers, fire extinguishers, or smoke detectors. The absence of sufficient exits or signs clearly indicating the exit prolongs the time tenants, hotel guests or store occupants take to escape burning structures. Careless residents who fall asleep without putting out smoking butts can create fires that injure fellow tenants or guests. You might suffer burn injuries from an explosion caused by a motor vehicle collision.

Hot Steam and Liquids

While fires may char the skin, steam and hot water or coffee inflict scalding injuries to victims’ skin. It does not take long for high-temperature steam or liquid to cause third-degree burns. At 156 degrees Fahrenheit, one second is enough. Victims can get third-degree burns after only 15 seconds of exposure to 133-degree water. With just three seconds in 140-degree water, you may encounter a trip to the operating room.

Even when you know or should know that hot coffee can scald you, those who serve it to you can still face liability for negligence. Coffee is often served at 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Here, personal injury attorneys focus upon how the drive-through server or waiter or waitress delivered the hot stuff to you. Negligence can arise from dropping or overfilling the cup or not placing the lid securely on it. You may have a claim due to the careless pouring of the hot liquids.

Between 85 to 90 percent of scalding incidents occur in the service or drinking of or cooking with hot liquids. In the category of hot cooking liquids like oil as well as boiling or hot water. Burn injuries in Florida of the steam or liquid variety also result from improper installation or manufacture of hot water heaters or establishments that do not correctly control the temperature of water in public showers, saunas, hot tubs, or spas.

Touching Hot Objects

Serious burn injuries may arise when the victim touches hot objects, such as an iron, stove, or a cast-iron pot or pan that has just been used. Often, young children suffer burns by touching hot items. In these cases, the fault often lies with an adult who has failed to supervise the child or has intentionally committed abuse. You might need an attorney for Florida burn injuries in cases where you suspect abuse or negligent hiring or selection of child care employees.

With hot plates abounding in restaurants, servers must exercise care in not dropping hot food or hot plates on diners. Patrons also may face injury if a waiter fails to warn that the plate is hot.

Electrical Burns

In an electrical burn, your body comes into contact with electrical currents. Water and steel are common conductors of these high-energy currents. When you suffer an electrical current, the damage may occur more severely and extensively to internal organs and nerves than to your skin.

Occupational hazards often cause electrical burns in adults. These dangerous conditions include exposed wires, power lines, worn electrical cords, and uncovered outlets and sockets. Employees may suffer accidents when poles touch power lines. If you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, you may have a claim for electrical burns if a careless driver hits a power pole and causes the power lines to fall upon your vehicle.

As with burns from hot objects, electrical burns in children often arise in the home. Unsupervised children may stick their hands or other objects in sockets or play with hair dryers or other electronics in a tub or sink.

Chemical Burns

Irritants such as bleach, ammonia, and cleaners trigger reactions with your skin, eyes, lips, mouth, and internal organs. Those who come into contact with these substances encounter blackened skin, redness, burning sensations, itching, pain, and blindness. Beyond these harms, chemical exposure can result in breathing problems, nausea, heart attacks, seizures, coughing, and dizziness.

These chemical burns arise often from acids or bases in these substances. Often, the cleaners used in restaurants and other commercial establishments are industrial grades, meaning these products are stronger than their household counterparts. Employees and others should use gloves and eye-protective gear to avoid exposure. Restaurant customers may suffer serious personal injuries by drinking cleaning solutions thinking they are beverages such as water and tea. Negligent acts by restaurant workers or owners that cause these injuries may include failing to keep cleaning solutions in places separate from beverages, not labeling containers with cleaning products, and improperly training service staff.

Whatever the type of burn, the negligence that leads to these injuries can inflict physical, mental, and financial pain upon you. The pain and suffering can last years. Your physical and mental inability to work may cause lost wages and lost earning capacity. Medical bills for past and future medical treatments are likely to accumulate and stress your finances. Contact an attorney for Florida burn injuries if you have suffered burns on the job, at the restaurant, your rental, or while driving or riding on the road.