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Risks of Burn Injuries in Fairfield

Jan 29, 2015

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Parents throughout Fairfield, New Canaan, Darien and Weston should be aware that burns are one of the leading causes of injuries to children. Burns, which often are very serious, in some cases can be fatal. In others, it can necessitate skin grafting, which can be painful and expensive. Children are often left with permanent scarring or disfigurement after a burn incident occurs. Parents need to consult with a personal injury lawyer in Fairfield County to take legal action if this happens to their kids. 

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Burn Injuries Common Among Young Children

According to Yahoo News, there are approximately 440,000 annual visits to emergency rooms and care centers each year due to children sustaining burns. The younger the children are, the more likely it is that they will suffer a burn injury.

One study in the United Kingdom involved investigating 1,215 incidents in which children got medical help for burns over a two-year period. A total of 72 percent of the children who sought medical help because of burn injuries were under age five at the time when the incident occurred.

Scalding is a common cause of injury both for young kids and for older children and teens. More than 700 of the children in the UK study had been scalded. Scalding can occur because of exposure to hot water or because of exposure to hot beverages. Landlords can be held liable if kids are exposed to hot water if the landlord have the thermostats in the home turned to a dangerously high level. Restaurants and stores can sometimes be responsible if kids are served food that is so hot as to cause burn.

One famous case of a restaurant being held liable for a burn incident is the McDonald's coffee case. A lot of people believe this was a frivolous lawsuit and that it was ridiculous for the plaintiff to recover compensation after she was burned by coffee. Learning the facts paints a very different picture.

McDonald's was serving coffee at 180 degrees, which can result in third-degree burns occurring in as little as 15 seconds. More than 700 people had complained to McDonald's about the excessively hot coffee but the restaurant did not do anything. The plaintiff who won the McDonald's coffee case was badly burned on 16 percent of her body because of the excessively hot coffee and the jury based its compensation on what McDonald's coffee sales were, according to the Daily Mail.

Coffee and tea are not the only problem for children in restaurants either. Hot soup can be served to kids in Styrofoam containers. These containers can then become hot, causing kids to drop them and burn their legs or trunk. If the soup within the container has noodles in it, then the noodles often stick to the skin. This can cause third degree burns. A 2007 study revealed that a person burned by noodle soup would, on average, be in the hospital for significantly longer than someone burned by another type of soup.

Parents need to know about these risks to their kids and need to know about their rights if a child is hurt due to negligence.

A Fairfield County personal injury lawyer at Vishno Law Firm can help after a collision. Call 888-222-1688 today.

Jan 29, 2015

2 min read

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