A burn injury is quite painful, and the severity determines the level of pain a person would experience. A person can get a burn injury from a fiery car accident, chemical burn, scalding, or fire outbreak in a building. In any of these instances, the burn victim can recover damages if another person’s negligence caused the injury.

The nature of burn injury is such that it requires immediate medical treatment. If not treated immediately, the victim risks permanent injuries or a lifelong disability. This article looks at the treatment options available to a burn injury victim. As a burn victim, you can determine your legal options from our burn injury lawyers at Pinder Plotkin, LLC.

What Treatment Can You Get as a Burn Injury Victim? 

If you suffer a minor burn, you can treat it at home using the contents of your first aid kit; they usually heal within a couple of weeks. But things are more complex when it is a severe burn injury. Here, you would require treatment at a specialized burn center.

Below are some of the treatment options available.

Medical Treatment

After receiving first-aid treatment for a major burn wound, you need medications and products to foster healing. Some of the treatments are:

• Water-Based Treatments: It involves techniques like ultrasound mist therapy to clean and stimulate the wound tissue.
• Pain and Anxiety Medication: Burns are extremely painful, and you can’t manage the pain without medication. Your doctor would recommend morphine and anti-anxiety medications, especially for dressing changes.
• Burn Creams and Ointments: If you are not receiving treatment at a burn center, your medical provider might provide several topical healing products. This includes bacitracin and silver sulfadiazine (Silvadene). They prevent infection and help the wound close.
• Dressings: Your medical provider might also use various specialty wound dressings to help you heal. If you are at a burn center, you would most likely get covered in dry gauze only.

In addition to the above, your doctor can recommend intravenous (IV) fluids to prevent dehydration and organ failure. If you develop an infection, you will receive antibiotics IV. Lastly, if your physician deems it necessary, you will receive a tetanus shot.

Physical and Occupational Therapy

If the burn injury covers a large body area, including joints, you will need physical therapy. The therapy exercise would help stretch the skin so that the joints can remain flexible. Your therapist will also recommend other exercises for increased muscle strength and coordination. If you have difficulty carrying out everyday duties, occupational therapy will help.

Surgical and Other Procedures 

You might need to undergo one or more of the following:

• Skin Graft: In this surgical procedure, the surgeon takes healthy skin and uses it to replace the skin in places with scar tissue. Suppose you do not have enough healthy skin to harvest from; you can use pigs’ skin as a temporary solution. You can also use donor skin from a deceased person.
• Plastic Surgery: It is an option for people with severe burn scars. The reconstruction improves the appearance of the burn injury scars and the flexibility of joints affected by scarring.
• Feeding Tube: If your burn injury is severe, you might need a feeding tube to get you the much-needed nutrition support. Your doctor might thread one from your nose to your stomach.
• Breathing Assistance: If the burn is on the face or neck, your throat might swell shut. In this instance, you need breathing assistance. The doctor may insert a tube down your windpipe (trachea) to keep oxygen supplied to your lungs.

Can You Get Compensation for a Burn Injury? 

The simple answer to this question is YES. The fact remains that burn wounds require lengthy treatments that do not come cheap. As long as your burn injury resulted from another person’s negligence, you are entitled to damages.

Thus, if your car gets struck by another and catches fire afterward, the fault driver will pay you compensation. The compensation you’ll get is the same as other personal injury actions. It would cover medical bills, including that of physical therapy. You would also get compensated for lost wages, loss of earning capacity, mental anguish, and pain and suffering.

How Can a Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer Help You?

If you suffer a severe burn wound, you are sure to incur huge medical debts. You might also never return to the quality of life you had before the injury. With all the pain you have to go through and a possibly uncertain future, you deserve compensation.

At Pinder Plotkin, LLC, our personal injury lawyers know how hard it can be. Thus, we will focus on your case while you recover. Call us today for a free consultation on your case.