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It’s very difficult to quantify the damages caused by burns in general and any resulting scarring in particular. The biggest factors are the severity of the injury, the intentions of the person who caused the burns, the extent of any scarring, and the extent to which a defendant can pay a settlement. Burn injuries tend to have a higher settlement value due to the pain and permanent scarring, but your Atlanta burn injury attorney can advise once we have all the details about your accident.

Recoverable damages for personal injuries include cosmetic damage. Scarring, especially in obvious and noticeable areas of the body, such as the face, neck, arms, and even legs, are particularly harmful cosmetic damages. You may recover for the societal and physical effects of permanent cosmetic damage, such as scarring or disfigurement, as well as the impact of any physical impairment.

If the “freak” accident was someone else’s fault, we can help. Generally, recovering damages for a personal injury requires that a reasonable person would have foreseen the accident could occur. So, even “freak” accidents can be grounds for a personal injury claim if the party responsible for the injury should have foreseen that such an accident could occur.

Still, this question of foreseeability can be a complicated issue, and often requires a skilled advocate to convince a judge or jury that your accident was foreseeable. You need the help of an Atlanta burn injury attorney to argue your side for you. 

Generally, you can distinguish between the different degrees of burns by the symptoms they exhibit. First-degree burns affect the top layer of skin, and the symptoms include redness, painful to the touch, and mild swelling.

Second-degree burns affect the top two layers of skin, and the symptoms include deep reddening of the skin, pain, blisters, a glossy appearance from leaking fluid, and possible loss of some skin.

Third-degree burns penetrate the entire thickness of the skin and permanently destroy tissue, and the symptoms include loss of skin layers, often a lack of pain, although pain may be caused by patches of first- and second-degree burns that often surround third-degree burns, dry and leathery skin, and skin that may appear charred or have patches that appear white, brown or black.

Some burns can be cared for at home with common sense and first aid, other burns can be quite serious and require medical attention. Generally, first-degree burns can be treated at home by immediately cooling the burn with cold water or ice, non-stick bandages and protection from the sun. Surprisingly, common sour cream can be used to provide immediate pain relief.

However, second- and third-degree burns require examination and treatment by medical care personnel, and often what appears at first to be a first-degree burn may be revealed to be more serious within the first 48 hours. Furthermore, the bigger the burn, the more serious it can be, and burns to the hands are particularly dangerous. Every Atlanta burn injury attorney at our firm will advise that you seek medical care to ensure you are healing properly.

Minor burns, like first-degree burns, heal in much the same way cuts do. Often a blister forms, which covers the injured area. Beneath the blister, white blood cells arrive to attack the bacteria and a new layer of skin grows in from the edges of the burn. This process typically takes about a week.

Second- and third-degree burns, when properly treated, typically take about two to four weeks to heal, providing they do not become infected.

It may be difficult to tell when a burn has healed because although it will have a different coloration from your regular skin, healed skin will look dry. The exception is full-thickness burns, which will appear dry from the start. If you’ve had a burn you’ve been treating for more than a week and it isn’t healing, you should seek medical care. Burns that still haven’t healed after two weeks may need a skin graft.