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There are numerous types and degrees of burns, and it’s unexpected for many employees that they could be burned at work. Getting burned does not always require fire, but it is more common in physically demanding and openly hazardous positions. Burn injuries can also be much more serious than employers let on. The restaurant industry, for example, is quite infamous for downplaying burns and even suggesting employees self-treat burns with mustard. If you’ve been injured by a burn at work, contact an experienced Cincinnati workers’ compensation attorney right away.
Types of Burns
Burns can impact your skin, muscles, tissue, and even bones. Some will require long-term medical treatment, and others may require months of surgeries and corrective procedures. Common causes of workplace burns are so widespread the tit’s difficult to make employees really aware of the risk they take at work.
Friction burns, for example, happen when an object rubs against your skin at high speed, with substantial force, or with heat. Friction burns are something you would get from a sanding belt, and it’s an abrasion as well as a heat burn. Unlike road rash, a common example of an abrasion-type injury, a friction burn does involve heat.
Not necessarily that the item was hot but that the friction itself generated heat. Carpet burn is one example of a friction burn that is an abrasion and had heat involved in the injury.
Cold burns, more commonly called frostbite, is the injury of your skin experiencing temperatures so cold that it begins to replicate the damage of a burn. The skin cells and underlying muscle will die and take on an extreme injury.
Thermal burns are the most common in restaurant workplaces. Scalding liquids, hot metals, and fryers all pose a danger. Even steam can cause substantial thermal burns. These burns are common and what people typically think of when they imagine a burn. Most people’s first experience with burns happen in the kitchen, and it’s no surprise that people make it seem as if thermal burns aren’t so serious as they are irritating.
Chemical burns are common among many industrial workplaces. Anywhere that works with chemicals or detergents are susceptible to chemical burns. The issue with these types of burns is that unlike thermal or cold burns, there are few solutions available to ease the discomfort and stop the perpetuation of the injury.
The Severity and Extent of the Burn Damage
Part of the possible compensation will include an understanding of gross negligence. Often the question isn’t whether the accident happened; it’s whether the accident was preventable or very preventable. Then they’ll look at the severity and extent of the damage.
Not only does the burn damage include scarring, disfigurement, loss of nerve damage, and other physical aspects, but mental damages too. Pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and PTSD that can come from serious burns are considered during a personal injury case. It’s likely that after your workers’ comp claim covers your time lost at work and medical treatment that you can pursue compensation for other damages too.
In situations of gross negligence, you may need to go through a separate civil case to seek out financial loss and damages that your workers’ compensation claim wouldn’t cover. It’s even possible to seek out punitive damages in some cases.
Is SSDI an Option Too?
If you were hurt on the job and the injury was so severe that you met the requirements for SSDI as well, then you can receive both workers’ comp and SSDI. Because burns can be severe, it’s likely that you could miss a substantial amount of work. However, burns don’t often warrant missing work for a year or more.
SSDI benefits are meant to help families and individuals through long-term disability, whereas workers’ compensation exists to aid injured employees through a difficult time of recovery. Because these serve two extremely different functions, you can access both programs.
Always speak with a Cincinnati workers’ compensation attorney about pairing these in situations where the workers’ comp company may try to downplay your injuries. Your workers’ compensation doctor’s determination may impact your ability to benefit from SSDI.
Reach out to a Cincinnati Workers’ Compensation Attorney
At Young, Reverman & Mazzei, we help workers’ comp victims that would otherwise struggle through the system on their own. Everyone with a workers’ comp claim needs legal guidance. Your workers’ compensation claim will come with a ton of questions and concerns.
After a burn injury, you’ll need to carefully work with your medical team to map out your recovery plan. That means you’ll likely miss a ton of work and have a substantial amount of medical debt. How much of that should workers’ comp cover? Contact our firm and speak with a Cincinnati workers’ compensation attorney to find out what you should expect for your claim.
