Neural Pain Messages After a Burn

Burn injuries are among the most horrific and excruciating one can endure. As the skin is the largest organ of the body, it possesses billions of neuron receptors—or nerves as they are commonly known—that signal feelings such as temperature or pain.
When functioning as normal, these neuron receptors on the skin send signals like “too cold” or “too hot” to the brain and the individual acts appropriately: putting on or taking off a sweater, jumping in a pool, drinking some hot coffee, and so on.

Minor Burn Injuries

Normally, the pain response triggers a reflex as the affected area tries to avoid damage. In the event of a minor burn, or medically known as a first-degree burn injury, the outer layer of the skin, or the epidermis, is damaged. Burned individuals might treat the wound simply by pouring cold water over the hurt area. However, the damage is usually superficial and may leave little more than a minor scar.

Burn Injuries

Serious Second or Third Degree Burn Injuries

However, in terms of more serious burn injuries, such as those caused by second-degree or third-degree burns, skin layers beneath the epidermis are affected. It is also possible that bone or organ tissues can be impacted as well, leading to serious and potentially-fatal circumstances.

Causes of Burn Injuries

The most common causes of burn injuries are as follows:

  • Structure fires (such as homes or workplaces)
  • Car accidents
  • Industrial work-related incidents
  • Thermal burns or chemical burns
  • Electrocution or electrical burns

Structure Fires and Burn Injuries

Structure fires are commonly the cause of fire deaths or injuries in either a residential or office setting. Oftentimes, these fires start from faulty electrical or heating equipment, sometimes as a result of poor maintenance routines.

Flammable Clothing Burn Injuries

Most clothing is especially susceptible to fire, which can trap individuals in spreading flames. While clothing sold in the USA is meant to comply with the Flammable Fabrics Act, injuries from burning clothing are still very possible.

Automobile Fires and Burn Injuries

Automobile fires usually start as a result of an auto accident. This can include gas or engine block explosions and fires started as a result of a collision. Trapped or unconscious individuals may be especially at risk of injury.

Chemical Burn Injuries

Chemical burns are most often caused by acids or strong base chemicals. Laboratories and chemical factories are the most common places for such incidents to occur, though household chemicals can be potent enough as well.
In most chemical burns, the skin is dissolved upon contact and even vigorous washing may not rid the affected areas of dangerous chemicals, causing further damage.

Thermal Burn Injuries

Thermal burns occur most often after an individual is exposed to steam, flames, or hot surfaces or liquids. More broadly, coming into contact with anything exceeding a temperature of 115 degrees has the potential to cause a thermal burn.

Electrical Burn Injuries

Electrical burns occur when an individual is exposed to high voltage electricity. Most commonly, these injuries are work-related. Highly dangerous, electricity flows through the body in search of the easiest path of resistance towards a ground. This can cause exit wounds in addition to the initial point of contact, stop organs from functioning, and damage all surrounding tissue; any of which can cause death.

Consequences of Serious Burn Injuries

Skin damaged from any type of burn can permanently lose some or all function, in addition to experiencing potentially-severe scarring. Individuals may no longer be able to:

  • Regrow skin: The affected skin may no longer be able to regrow. Depending on the severity and location of the burn, surgeons may conduct a skin graft operation, which moves healthy skin to the affected area. Alternatively, medical advances have allowed for new treatments such as the use of artificial skin.
  • Retain skin elasticity: Healthy skin is highly elastic; otherwise, it would easily tear. Even minor burns can hinder or prevent the skin from retaining its elasticity.
  • Retain their sense of feeling: Because burns tend to destroy nerve endings in victims, the skin may lose some or all sense of feeling, including touch and temperature.
  • Perspire: The ability for an affected individual to perspire can also be hampered or lost. Depending on the size and location of the burn, this can prevent the body from being able to adequately regulate its temperature, making individuals far more susceptible to hyperthermia or hypothermia (dangerously high or low body temperature).
  • Endure hot weather: Burned skin loses its natural ability to protect the individual from sun damage and will need to be protected from the elements.
  • Prevent infection: Burned skin not only loses its ability to protect an individual from infection, it makes it far more likely as bacteria and other pathogens pool around dead skin. This necessitates new healthy skin to be grafted to the area else the risk of infection remains excessively high.


Dealing with a Serious Burn Injury

Burns, regardless of their point of origin, can result in shocking injuries, or even death. Medical treatment can be extensive and painful, often requiring multiple skin graft operations. Unfortunately, because there are so many different potential causes for burn injuries, there are no broad-sweeping standards for who may be liable in the event of a burn injury or fatality. Burn victims, or in the case of death, the families of burn victims, should seek legal counsel.

Burn Injury Lawyer

Kamran Yadidi Law Group’s professional team has significant experience with cases that relate to burn injuries. The firm was founded in 1996 by Kamran Yadidi, a well-known burn injury lawyer. The veteran attorneys at Kamran Yadidi Law Group have worked on over 10,000 personal injury cases, including numerous cases where clients have unfairly been subjected to burn injuries. Over $200 million in verdicts have been awarded to clients and the firm maintains a formidable success rate of 98 percent. One element of the success of this firm is due to Mr. Yadidi’s commitment to only selecting cases that have legal merit—the firm will not take on losing cases simply to make a dime. That dedication to living up to a high ethical standard earns Mr. Yadidi a strong reputation amongst judges, jurors, and even opposing legal teams. Such a reputation, as you can see, has earned strong and just settlements for the clients of Kamran Yadidi Law Group.