Intentional burns are less frequent than accidental burns but can happen. They are either burns that are caused by the person to him/herself or burns caused by one person to another one. Children and elderly are susceptible to abuse by burns. In children scald and contact burn injuries are the most common type of intentional burn injury. These injuries have a higher death rate than accidental burns and require a longer stay period in the hospital. Elderly cases are reported with much less frequency than children due to embarrassment or fearing that the person who is causing the injury will repeat it again. Things that raise a suspicion of abuse are:
- The story given doesn’t go along with the injury that happened.
- Giving different explanations about how the accident happened.