Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Second Degree Burns:
Attorney for Investigation and Lawsuit

Attorney David Szerlag is a former fire fighter with training in advanced life support and hazardous material. For a free consultation with a second degree burns attorney, please call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or submit our free consultation form.

Second-Degree Burn Victim Compensation

When someone sustains second-degree burns due to the negligence of another, the burn victim can sue the negligent party and others who are liable under the law for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distess, disability, disfigurement, loss of quality of life and other damages.

The amount of compensation for second-degree burns is based in part on the severity of the initial burns and any complications from those burns.

Second-Degree Burn Complications

Complications from superficial second-degree burns are rare.  These burns usually heal spontaneously in 10-14 days unless they become infected. (Note: superficial second-degree burns are injuries that should be compensated. They are not "superficial" to the victim and cause pain and suffering, emotional distress and disfigurement) 

Deep second-degree burns (burns that damage the dermis) can heal in 25-35 days.  Because the dermis was damaged, new skin covering the wound is weak, prone to blistering and breakdown.  Wound areas can undergo severe scarring, with treatment lasting for at least a year. 

Burn InfectionIn a significant number of second-degree burn cases, bacterial infection causes partial thickness burns to become full thickness (third-degree burns).  Infection of the wound area can lead to sepsis and septic shock.  Septic shock is extremely dangerous for the patient, because their blood pressure begins to drop rapidly.

Circumferential second-degree burns can lead to compartment syndrome, where swelling in the tissues below the burn injury results in a tourniquet effect, stopping blood flow.  This is treated with escharaotomy, an incision in the hard, dead dermal tissue covering the wound. 

Fluid loss poses a problem for second-degree burn patients, because under-resuscitation and over-resuscitation can both result in serious complications.  Consequences of under-resuscitation are kidney failure and multiple systems organ failure.  Consequences of over-resuscitation are edema and local tissue hypoxia or airway obstruction in severe cases. 

The major cause of death after burns is respiratory tract injury or complications in the respiratory tract.  These include:

  • Inhalation injury
  • Aspiration in unconscious patients
  • Bacterial pneumonia
  • Pulmonary edema
  • Posttraumatic pulmonary insufficiency

Free Consultation with Attorney

To contact an attorney at Pritzker Olsen law firm about a fire and burn injury lawsuit and second-degree burn compensation, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), e-mail our lawyers or submit our free case consultation form.

Source: Cohn, Stephen M.  (2008). Complications in Surgery and Trauma.  New York: Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. 

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Information on a burn injury lawsuit, including liability of any of the following:

  • An employer
  • A property owner
  • The owner of a vehicle
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