Severe Burn Injuries from Medical Malpractice in Philadelphia

Severe Burn InjuriesHave you or someone you love suffered severe burns as the result of improper medical care? If so, you deserve accountability, and a medical malpractice burn injury attorney from Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. can help you demand it.

Severe burn injuries from medical malpractice are among the most traumatic injuries a person can experience, often resulting in extremely painful recovery and permanent scarring. Burn injuries can be devastating, causing not only physical pain but also emotional and financial distress.

Contact us now for your free consultation, and find out how we’ve recovered more than $4 billion on behalf of clients like you.

Understanding Burn Injuries

Burn injuries are among the most devastating and painful types of trauma a person can experience. Burns are classified by degrees, which indicate the depth and severity of the injury. A first-degree burn affects only the outer layer of the skin, causing redness and pain. Second-degree burns penetrate deeper, damaging both the outer and underlying layers and often resulting in blisters and more intense pain. Third-degree burns destroy all layers of the skin and can damage nerve endings, sweat glands, and blood flow, sometimes leading to permanent scarring or disability. The most severe, fourth-degree burns, extend through skin and underlying tissues, reaching muscle and bone, and can be life-threatening.

Understanding the severity and causes of burn injuries is essential for ensuring proper medical treatment and for pursuing a legal claim when negligence is involved. Burn injury lawyers play a crucial role in guiding burn victims through the legal process, helping them secure the compensation they need to recover from their injuries and rebuild their lives.

Medical Aspects of Burn Injuries

The medical aspects of burn injuries are highly complex and demand specialized care from experienced medical professionals. Burn victims often endure intense pain, a high risk of infections, and significant scarring, all of which can lead to long-term physical limitations and psychological trauma. Medical professionals assess burn injuries by evaluating both the depth of the burn and the total body surface area (TBSA) affected, which helps determine the appropriate course of medical treatment.

Treatment for burn injuries can be extensive and may include wound care, surgical interventions such as skin grafting, reconstructive surgery, and ongoing physical therapy to restore mobility and function. In addition to the physical challenges, burn injury victims frequently require psychological support to cope with the emotional distress and trauma associated with their injuries. Serious complications, such as respiratory distress, cardiac arrest, and infections, can arise, especially in cases involving large or deep burns.

The road to recovery for burn injury victims is often long and requires continuous medical care and rehabilitation over an extended period. The medical costs associated with treating severe burn injuries can be overwhelming, making it essential for victims to seek compensation to cover both immediate and future medical expenses.

How Our Medical Malpractice Burn Injury Lawyer Can Help You

If you’ve suffered a burn during a medical procedure, test, or surgery, you need a medical malpractice attorney who can pursue the compensation you need and the accountability you deserve. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. is well-equipped to handle complex, catastrophic injury cases. We offer world-class representation, dedicating our considerable resources to every case we handle and only charging a fee if and when we win.

While you focus on healing, our experienced medical malpractice lawyers can:

  • Investigate the cause of your burn injury
  • Identify the at-fault parties
  • Gather evidence that supports your case
  • Engage experts in medicine, life-care planning, and economics
  • Seek out witnesses and obtain their testimony
  • Obtain a certificate of merit from a qualified medical expert confirming that your claim is legitimate
  • Determine the total impact of the burn injury on your life and calculate the full value of your personal injury claim
  • Represent you in court by presenting a persuasive argument for the compensation you deserve

Contact us today to take advantage of a free and confidential consultation.

Types of Burns That Can Occur During Medical Procedures

Burns can arise from unexpected sources during medical procedures, such as:

  • Electrosurgical equipment: These devices use electrical currents to coagulate blood or cut tissue. If they are faulty or improperly used, patients can get burned.
  • Thermal devices: Heating pads or warming blankets can burn patients when not properly monitored during and after surgery.
  • Radiation exposure: Improper shielding or excessive radiation in therapeutic or diagnostic procedures may result in burns.
  • Flammable materials: Alcohol-based disinfectants, which are flammable, can combust when used near electrical equipment or open flames during cauterization.
  • Surgical fires: The oxygen-rich environment of a surgical suite, combined with fuel such as surgical drapes, gowns, human tissue, and hair, can result in fires when heated by high-intensity surgical lights.
  • MRI thermal exposure: MRIs can result in thermal burns if the equipment malfunctions or the technician makes an error. Radiological currents heat the skin and may leave permanent scarring. One individual suffered significant burns because the jogging pants they wore during an MRI contained tiny metal fibers.
  • Malfunctioning equipment: Defective, damaged, or poorly maintained equipment may cause electrical surges that burn patients upon whom the equipment is used.
  • Lasers: An improperly calibrated laser or a mistimed procedure can cause thermal burns deep within a patient’s tissue, while the unit itself can become a burn hazard if technicians do not cool the housing correctly.

Long-Term Effects of Severe Burns on Patients

Severe burn injuries can leave people with life-altering impairment. In severe cases, amputations may be required if burns have affected the deepest tissues and bones of the limbs. Severe burn injuries can require home modifications and assistive technologies.

Significant burns can result in visible scarring, nerve damage, permanent disability, and permanent disfigurement. Burnt tissue isn’t as supple as unburned skin, so contractures can develop, making movement difficult or impossible in some parts of the body.

Other long-lasting effects can include sexual dysfunction and temperature sensitivity. All of these burn results can leave an injured person in need of long-term psychological treatment.

Burn injuries have secondary effects, as well. The injured person may have an increased risk of cancer, nervous system disorders, and cardiovascular disease.

Significant burn injuries can change your life. If you suffered burns in a medical setting, you need an experienced Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer to fight for the financial compensation you deserve.

Proving Medical Negligence in Burn Injury Cases

A burn victim must demonstrate several key elements to prove their catastrophic burn injuries in a medical negligence case. First, they must show that a patient-healthcare provider relationship existed, and that the provider had a duty of care to treat them as a reasonably competent medical professional would in similar circumstances. Reasonably competent treatment would include following the appropriate safety standards, which are in place to prevent injuries.

Next, the injured party must show that their burns resulted from the medical provider’s actions. They can use their medical records and expert medical testimony to prove a direct connection between the healthcare provider’s error and the injured party’s burns. Finally, the injured party must demonstrate the harm and losses they suffered as a result of the healthcare provider’s negligence.

An experienced attorney from our nationally recognized catastrophic injury law firm can help identify and present the evidence necessary to establish these legal elements.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Burn Injuries

Depending on where and how your injury occurred, more than one party could potentially be liable for your injury-related losses. Those parties could include:

  • Surgeons and operating room staff: If any of these people provided care that fell below the accepted standard of care, they could be held liable for your injuries.
  • Nurses and hospital technicians: These medical professionals are required to be attentive to patients in their care. They can be held responsible if their inattention causes people to be hurt.
  • Hospitals and surgical centers: A hospital negligence burn injury or one that occurs in a surgical center could be the responsibility of the facility, particularly if they didn’t properly screen their employees or failed to put proper safety procedures in place.
  • Manufacturers of defective medical devices: When faulty devices cause injuries, the company that made them could be held accountable for the resulting harm.

Contact a Medical Malpractice Burn Injury Lawyer

Did you suffer a severe burn during a medical procedure? You need a seasoned Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer to take on your case. You shouldn’t have to worry about anything but healing. Let us do all the legal work.

We know your faith in the medical profession has been shaken. You can trust us to protect your legal rights and pursue justice from those who harmed you. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. is here to stand by you for life’s toughest trials. Call us or contact us online today for your free consultation. We can discuss how to move forward with your case.

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Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C.
1634 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
Phone: (215) 585-2814
Email: info@erlegal.com