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Preventing Holiday Fires

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The holidays should be a time of celebration, but things can take a deadly turn when fire enters the equation. So this year, educate yourself about holiday fire prevention to help ensure that you and those you love are safe to enjoy all the season has to offer.

How to Celebrate Safely

Let’s talk about lights and electronic displays. First and foremost, make sure you use these in the appropriate space. Not all electronics, including lights, are safe for outdoor use. If a product is not explicitly labeled for outdoor use, assume it’s not, and use it inside instead.

Ensure all your cords are free of kinks, holes, and defects. Again, use outdoor cords outside and those not marked for outdoor use inside. Make sure you have the correct length for the job, so you don’t have to plug cords into one another. And always keep cords away from water.

Be careful not to overload outlets or plug multiple extension cords into a power strip. If you need additional outlets to supply power for your holiday display, call a licensed election and have outlets added to your home.

Defective lights and faulty cords cause 25% of Christmas tree fires, and many of these fires lead to serious burn injuries. So check your lights and all cords to ensure they are in proper working order before placing them on your tree.

In addition to making sure your electric displays are safe, you can help prevent fires this holiday season by:

  • Not leaving stoves unattended
  • Placing candles away from flammables
  • Never leaving a fire to burn unattended
  • Shutting off your displays when you go to bed

Taking these steps can help prevent your causing a fire due to recklessness. However, they may not be enough to prevent you from injury in a fire caused by a defective product or other issues beyond your control.

Have You Been Injured?

If you are injured or a loved one suffers a fatal injury due to a holiday fire that you had no control over, you may be entitled to seek compensation through legal action. The best way to learn about your rights is through a free case review with a qualified attorney.

To find an experienced lawyer in your area, find your state on our attorney locator today.

Fire Prevention Week is Coming

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Fire Prevention Week begins on October 9th and ends on October 15th. Knowing how to prevent fires is one of the best ways to avoid a severe and debilitating burn injury. However, it is equally important to understand how to become alerted to a fire before it causes harm.

Fire Prevention

You can help prevent fires at home by:

  • Watching stoves when they are in use
  • Keeping flammables away from portable heaters
  • Updating your wiring (particularly if you have aluminum wiring)
  • Using a fire screen or closing the glass on your fireplace
  • Smoking outside, on concrete or dirt

These steps can help prevent a fire from starting but won’t necessarily protect you when a fire starts in your home. Having an escape plan and practicing it with your family is an excellent way to know how to react in these unfortunate situations.

Smoke Alarms

One of the easiest ways to avoid injury in the case of a fire is being alerted to the fire before it has a chance to harm you. Hardwired smoke alarms are the best way to do this in your home. However, relying on hardwiring alone is not entirely safe. Fires often impact wiring and can disable smoke alarms that do not have a battery backup. Therefore, check the batteries in your smoke alarms every month.

Smoke alarms should be installed:

  • Inside Each Bedroom
  • Outside of All Sleeping Areas
  • On Every Level of the Home
  • In All Stairways
  • In the Basement
  • In the Garage
  • In the Attic

It is a good idea to install carbon monoxide detectors in sleeping areas and on every level of the home as well. These may need to be installed lower on the wall in areas with appliances that use gas, such as water heaters. Natural gas is lighter than air and will rise, but propane will settle near the ground. Choose the best option based on the type of appliances and gas in your home uses.

Combination smoke/carbon monoxide detectors can be hardwired for optimal effect. Do your research, and don’t cut costs. Not all of these devices are similarly effective. If you rent, insist that your landlord install the safest and most effective models available.

What to do When You’re Injured

If you or a loved one suffers an injury in a fire and suspect factors beyond your control caused it, you may be entitled to compensation. If you are a renter and your injury was related to faulty, inadequate, or missing equipment, you may also be entitled to seek compensation. The best way to learn is through a one-on-one consultation with a qualified personal injury attorney.

Have you been hurt? Use the lawyer locator on this page to find an established and experienced burn injury attorney in your area right away.

The Dark Side Of 4th of July Celebrations: Fireworks Injuries

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Celebrating the 4th of July with fireworks is a beloved American tradition. Unfortunately, too many fireworks users do not handle them safely. Intoxication, lack of understanding of how to use them properly, and failure to supervise children and guests are among the many causes of fireworks accidents. Fireworks can go off in the hand of the users, they are sometimes dropped on or thrown at others, either intentionally or unintentionally, and a dangerous setup can lead to the unintentional ignition of an entire box of fireworks. Fireworks accidents can lead to house fires, wildfires and more. If you have suffered serious burns as a result of a fireworks accident please talk to an experienced injury attorney today.

Fireworks Injury Liability

Liability for injuries, death, and property damage caused by fireworks accidents typically depends on the cause of the accident. It can include negligent users of fireworks including individuals or the companies, organizations, and other entities holding large displays whether a professional pyrotechnics company, a municipality, or another type of organization. Adults who allow children to use fireworks may be held liable as can those who fail to properly supervise children or guests at home or at private gatherings.

Manufacturers and sellers of defective fireworks can also be held liable for the injuries their products cause, whether due to malfunction or due to inadequate warning labels and instructions.

It is worth noting that the majority of fireworks injuries are caused by legal fireworks.

Sparklers

Sparklers, which are often mistaken as safe and appropriate for use by children, are responsible for nearly one-third of all fireworks injuries. Because they are not explosive, too may people underestimate the damage they can cause. Sparklers burn at temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. They can cause severe burns on their own and often ignite clothing and hair of the holder or those near them, causing burns all over the body. Sparklers can be dropped, igniting other objects and other fireworks.

If you have suffered serious burns or lost someone you love as a result of a fireworks accident, you may be able to recover substantial compensation for your losses, including pain and suffering. Please search our directory for an experienced burn injury attorney in your state.

Accidents Involving Trucks Carrying Hazardous Materials

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When any type of truck crashes, the consequences can be devastating, and trucks carrying hazardous materials pose even greater dangers. Hazardous materials truck accidents can turn into far reaching events harming hundreds of people, causing fires and explosions and even evacuations. Among the many types of injuries which can occur in hazardous materials accident are burns from fires and explosions and chemical burns. Hazardous materials truck accident cases are complex and you need the help of an experienced truck accident attorney to win.

The Wide-Ranging Consequences of Hazardous Materials Accidents

Hazardous materials accidents can result in all of the injuries and damage that other types of trucking accidents cause and more including:

  • Chemical spills
  • Fires
  • Explosions
  • Bridge and overpass collapse
  • Damage to nearby buildings and homes
  • Release of toxic gases
  • Water contamination
  • Soil contamination
  • Evacuations

In addition to the injuries commonly sustained in truck accidents, hazardous materials truck accidents can cause:

  • Severe thermal burns
  • Chemical burns
  • Respiratory injury due to inhaling toxic gases
  • Neurotoxicity due to inhaling toxic gases
  • Injuries to pedestrians and people in nearby buildings

Victims of Hazardous Materials Truck Accidents

Victims of hazardous materials accidents can be numerous, sometimes in the hundreds, and can include:

  • Truck driver and their passengers
  • Occupants of other vehicles directly involved in the crash
  • Drivers on overpasses, bridges, underpasses, in tunnels, on other roads and in parking lots and parking structures near the accident
  • Pedestrians
  • People in nearby buildings damaged or otherwise affected by fire or explosion
  • People within miles of the accident who are exposed to toxic gases
  • Property owners

Hazardous Materials Transport Has Special Regulations

Examples of some of the regulations applying to hazardous materials (hazmat) transport include:

  • Hazmat truck drivers are required to have special licensing and extensive training above and beyond what is required for a basic commercial driver’s license (CDL).
  • Hazmat drivers are never to leave their trucks unattended.
  • There are very strict rules for how hazardous materials are to be secured to prevent spills and accidents as well as theft by terrorists.
  • Hazmat trucks are not allowed to travel near open fires, park near fires, or carry flares.
  • Trucks carrying explosive materials may not park within 300 feet of houses, tunnels, bridges, or places where people congregate.
  • Hazmat drivers must be given documentation of what they are carrying and what actions to take if something goes wrong.
  • There are additional regulations specific to the various types of hazardous material.

If you have been injured in a hazardous materials truck accident please search our directory for an experienced burn injury attorney in your state.

Road Rash

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Road rash is often thought of as a minor injury, but it can be very severe, disfiguring and life-threatening. Road rash is a friction burn, both an abrasion and heat burn. Like other types of burns, it is categorized by degrees. When serious, road rash is often treated in burn centers or burn units. The biggest danger is usually infection after-the-fact, but in some cases road rash can cause life-threatening bleeding, and road rash can be so severe the body parts, such as finger, are ground off entirely. Most commonly the result of motorcycle accidents, severe road rash can also occur in bicycle accidents and in motor vehicle accidents where ejection occurs.

Dangers of Road Rash

Road rash is a very painful injury, even when it’s mild. And it tends to scar, even when it’s mild. Serious road rash can come with serious complications, including life-threatening infections and permanently debilitating damage to tissues. The treatment for serious road rash is very painful as well, often involving debridement.

Some of the consequences you can suffer from road rash include:

  • Shock
  • Infection
  • Sepsis
  • Nerve damage
  • Soft tissue damage
  • Scarring
  • Traumatic tattoo
  • Disfigurement
  • Amputation
  • Permanent impairment

Severe road rash can require skin grafts and/or a lengthy hospital stay. Infections are a common complication of road rash. Dirt, grime, asphalt and other debris are ground into the wound. Cleaning road rash is a slow and painful process and it is not always possible to remove all of the debris. Debris left behind can become permanently embedded in the skin and causing discoloration known as traumatic tattoo.

Amputation from road rash is most often the result of infection, but it can occur as part of the initial injury. In cases where there is no amputation, road rash can still tear through muscle, nerves and soft tissue causing permanent impairment.

Accidents Resulting in Road Rash

Motorcycle, bicycle and skating accidents are most commonly known for causing road rash. In motorcycle accidents, road rash tends to be severe due to the higher speeds. In bicycle and skating accidents, lack of protective gear can lead to severe road rash even though they normally happen at lower speeds.

Road rash can also occur in motor vehicle accidents when there is ejection or partial ejection.

If you have suffered severe road rash as a result of someone else’s negligence, contact an experienced burn injury attorney in your state today.