Burn injuries at work in Allentown warehouses happen more often than you might think. In 2020 alone, over 60,000 Pennsylvanians suffered workplace burn injuries, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported more than 1,500 workers hospitalized from burns caused by heat, chemicals, fire, or electrical accidents. These injuries can change your life, causing severe pain, costly medical bills, and emotional trauma.
Burn injuries vary in severity and often involve complications similar to neck and back injuries. You might not realize how serious a burn is right away, as symptoms can develop over several days. While some burns heal with home care, severe workplace burns often require medical procedures, disability benefits, and rehabilitation.
If you or a loved one suffered a burn injury at work, you’re not alone. The Allentown workers’ compensation attorneys at Munley Law understand your pain and financial stress.
Contact Munley Law today for a free consultation. There’s no fee unless we win your claim.
Common Types of Workplace Burn Injuries
There is a major difference between spilling a drop of your coffee in the morning, versus working with hazardous materials. There are three primary categories for differentiating the severity of burns:
- 1st-degree burn – You may feel redness and discomfort to the outer layer of the skin.
- 2nd-degree burn – This can cause swelling and splotchy skin. Sometimes blisters can develop and the pain is severe. This will often lead to scarring as the burn itself damages the first and second layer of the skin.
- 3rd-degree burn – The burn area may be black, brown or white and cause the skin to appear leathery. This can cause numbness and ultimately destroy nerves as the impact of the burn can reach the fat layer under the skin.
As for the type of burn, these are the most common causations:
- Light burns – Caused by sunlight or ultraviolet light.
- Chemical burns – Caused by an acid, alkali, or chemical explosion/incident.
- Thermal burns – Caused by fire, steam, hot liquids, or other sources of extreme heat.
- Electrical burns – Caused by an electrical current.
- Radiation burns – Caused by contact with nuclear radiation.
Consequences of Severe Burn Injuries at Work
Complications of deep or widespread burns can include:
- Bacterial infection.
- Fluid loss.
- Dangerously low body temperature.
- Breathing problems from the intake of smoke.
- Scarring.
- Amputation, though rare, can be required for particularly serious electrical burns.
The Risk of Skin Cancer:
Many outdoor jobs and employment types can put employees and contractors at higher risk of sunburn. While initial sunburn symptoms often include short-term pain, redness, and discomfort, lasting damage can remain even after treatment. Chronic exposure to sunburn and other hazards can lead to occupational illnesses, increased skin aging, and serious suffering, including higher risks of basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma—the most life-threatening form of skin cancer. If your employer failed to provide proper attention to sun safety, you might have a valid claim or lawsuit for damages, including lost wages and medical costs.
Medical Costs and Damages from Workplace Burn Injuries
The cost in treating a burn injury can be overwhelming for the patient and the patient’s family. The worst case scenario is that someone is injured due to negligence of another party, but they still are left to pay the immense medical bills.
Burn injuries are easily susceptible to infections. This can add up to $120,000 in costs. Skin grafts can be anywhere up to $110,000 while the treatment of fragile skin and skin breakdown can run to $107,000. Aside from the physical damages that can lead to expensive treatment, the PDST and mental health repercussions can add up to $75,000 in some cases.
Getting to know the Workers Compensation process at Munley can help you avoid any of these crippling fees.
How a Workers’ Compensation Benefits Helps Cover Disability Expenses and Rehabilitation Costs
A severe burn injury sustained on the job often means overwhelming medical bills, ongoing rehabilitation costs, and extended periods of disability. Employees in Allentown frequently face surgeries, extensive hospital stays, and costly treatments, which is why workers’ compensation disability benefits are essential that can rapidly exhaust personal finances and insurance coverage provided by the employer or insurance company.
Workers’ compensation exists precisely to alleviate these financial burdens. By filing a claim, an injured employee or contractor can obtain financial assistance for medical treatment, disability benefits to cover lost wages, and resources for long-term rehabilitation.
Additionally, if your workplace accident resulted from negligence by a third-party company or defective equipment, you may also have grounds to file a lawsuit. Filing such a lawsuit could provide additional compensation beyond the standard workers’ comp claim.
Navigating workers’ comp claims involving third-party negligence can be complicated, but the experienced burn injury attorneys at Munley Law will give your case the personal attention it deserves, helping ensure your path to healing and recovery is financially secure.
Was Employer Negligence a Factor in Your Burn Injury?
Sometimes, burn injuries are caused by one party’s negligence or lack of care. These are the common parties that could be at fault for a negligent practice that resulted in any workplace burn injury:
- A company or employer.
- A product that is defective.
- Premises liability, for instance in the case of a building fire.
If you suspect that negligence played a role in your injury, we can evaluate the full facts of the case.
Workers’ Compensation Claims vs. Third-Party Lawsuits for Burn Injuries
If you suffered an injury at work, you will most likely want to pursue workers’ compensation. This state mandated insurance system is set up to help victims of workplace injuries cover the costs of medical bills, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation. In order to be eligible to receive remuneration, you should report your burn injury to your employer as soon as possible, as waiting to do so can impact your ability to receive compensation. It’s always best to navigate the complex process with an experienced attorney who can advocate for you as you focus on recovery, so you should seek a Munley workers’ comp lawyer as soon as possible as well.
In most cases, workers’ comp is set up so that no one is in the awkward position of needing to sue an employer or coworker. However, there can be a suit filed against a third party if we believe that the injury was due to the negligence of a third party company. For instance, if the injury was due to a faulty piece of machinery, it might be appropriate to sue the machinery manufacturer.
Filing a third party claim is usually the right step if compensation might be higher than typical Allentown workers’ compensation settlements. Get in touch with a Munley personal injury lawyer today to assess your case and figure out what’s best for you.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits for Burn Injury Victims
If you and your attorney decide to pursue the case, there are some regulations around what amount of compensation you can receive and for how long. In most cases, you will receive compensation for the vast majority of your medical bills. In addition to that, most burn victims who pursue workers’ compensation receive wage loss payments at a weekly rate of ⅔ of their pre-injury salary.
No matter where the burn is on the body, the injury can be grounds for total disability or partial disability claims. For scarring, the maximum duration of time to receive benefits is 275 weeks. The Judge will weigh in on the severity of the scarring in order to determine how long these payments last.
In the state of Pennsylvania, the burn must have been suffered on the head, face, neck or caused the loss of a limb or body part in order to be considered for specific loss benefits.
At Munley Law , we are ready to ensure that you are satisfied with our services to get your Burn Injury case handled. Jeffrey, a Personal Injury Client at Munley, gushed about the ‘professionalism’ that his attorney showed. He said his representation was ‘not missing a detail about the facts of the case’ before obtaining the ‘very fair settlement’. Here is where to find our information regarding the Burn Injury Lawyer for you.
Why Choose a Munley Law Burn Injury Attorney for Your Compensation Claim?
At Munley Law, our dedicated burn injury attorneys are committed to obtaining fair compensation for you and your loved ones. Whether you’re an employee or contractor, our lawyers focus on easing your suffering, securing lost wages, covering rehabilitation costs, and guiding you through the procedures of your workers’ compensation claim. We’ll also evaluate if your workplace accident warrants a lawsuit for additional damages. You pay no fees unless we win your case, ensuring you can confidently plan your healing journey without financial stress.
Take the first step toward justice today—use our contact form to start your workers’ compensation claim.
