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Accommodating an employee with burn injuries returning to work depends on many factors which include the total body surface area involved in the burn, the extent of the burn, the degree of the scaring that affected the patient and the limitations that resulted because of these scars. (see preventing and dealing with scars I, II)

An employer should consider what limitations an employee with a burn injury has; to what extent do the limitations affect the work performance; and the specific job tasks that are problematic as a result of these limitations. The burned person has to inquire about the available accommodations to decrease or eliminate the problems that he/she are facing as a result of the injury. The burned person should meet with his/her supervisor or employer to discuss the effectiveness of the accommodations and to determine whether or not other accommodations or services are needed.

Motor impairment which often result from contracture, may lead to difficulty in walking and standing. Burns affecting the arms and hands can lead to difficulty in lifting and carrying things, difficulty in reaching for objects and compromise of fine motor movement such as writing and grasping. The following accommodations can be made for people with gross and fine motor impairment.

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What employers can do to reduce the risk of scaled burn injury:

  • Place microwaves at a safe height within easy reach for all users to avoid spills. The face of the person using the microwave should always be higher than the front of the door.
  • Provide splash screens for frying foods.
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In my previous post two days ago, I wrote about the need to be aware of fire hazards not just inside your home, but surrounding your home as well. The reason: Careless neighbors can cause a fire that spreads to where you live too. Such a situation nearly happened to me not long ago, and my neighbor almost got burned badly because she tried to put the fire she started rather than calling firefighters to let them do it.

Sure enough, a story appeared in a London newspaper the next day, January 17, about a British man there who did the same thing as my neighbor. Unfortunately, that man now has third-degree burns and smoke-inhalation injuries to his lungs that threaten his life. Here is part of that article:

“A man barely escaped with his life after an early-morning fire Monday in an apartment in London’s east end. The man was cooking and likely fell asleep, only to be woken up by his smoke detector. ‘He tried to put the fire out himself but sustained burns to his face, his forearms, and hands, plus he suffered some smoke inhalation,’ district chief Jeff Adams reported.”

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A woman awoke in the early morning hours to a neighbor pounding on her door who was screaming “there is a fire you need to get out”. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her toddler and her 3 year old. She woke up her 6 year old and said follow me, we have to get out. She ran down the stairs from the 3rd floor to the sidewalk carrying the 2 younger children. When she got out of the building she put the kids down and she turned around only to discover that her 6 year old had not followed her. With the strength of a mother’s love for her child, she broke free from the grasp and ignored the warnings of her neighbors as she braved the fire and ran back to her 3rd floor apartment. Her son was petrified and frozen in the kitchen.

With the fire now engulfing the stairs she and her son were trapped. She did the first thing that came to her mind. She went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. That was the last thing she remembered. She turned on the shower because she knew that the fire department was on their way and she only needed to buy a little time. Unfortunately the ceiling collapsed because of the fire and she suffered severe third degree burns. Fortunately she survived. Unfortunately her son died several days later from smoke inhalation. His funeral was held while his mother was in a medically induced coma.

As it turned out the fire was started as the result of a dispute between a drug dealer and the very neighbor who knocked on the door alerting the family. If there was any good fortune in this most horrible circumstance she retained me, Larry Kramer of Kramer and Pollack, LLP to represent her. While comforting family members at the hospital burn center, the neighbor who knocked on her door arrived with a woman claiming to be a community activist. This “activist” was nothing more than a runner trying to steer the family to an attorney that she worked for! The family wisely and firmly declined the help offered by the activist and sent her on her way.

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Sometimes, it does not matter how much precaution you take in keeping your home safe from a fire. Here’s a situation that recently affected my own family:

We have small fire extinguishers in the corner of each bedroom, plus one in the hallway closet that’s between the kitchen and the front door. Each fire extinguisher is rated ABC (so it’s effective on just about every type of house fire–electrical, cooking, etc.). Each one cost us about $40, and is useful for about three years. We know ours are still good because the gauge on top of each extinguisher shows us how much firefighting chemical is left in the extinguisher. Once the gauge points to the red zone, it’s time to discard or refill the extinguisher. And even though the instructions for use are printed on each extinguisher, we’ve all learned how to use it so no time is wasted during an emergency.

So we thought we were fully prepared to handle any fire situations involving the home. Problem is, we live in an apartment building, and one of our neighbors is not as careful about fire safety as we are–she’s an elderly woman who likes to smoke. One night, we heard fire trucks outside our building, and when I opened our apartment door to step into the hallway, I could see and smell acrid smoke coming from under the door of our neighbor’s unit.

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Scaled burns are one of the most common causes of burns in restaurants. They occur when the skin comes into contact with hot liquids or steam. Scalds with hot oil are generally more severe than those from hot water because oil heats to higher temperatures than water and oil is thicker so it may remain on the skin for a longer period of time. Scalds from water are very frequent in the restaurant industry and can cause third degree burns, (see also third degree burns part II) almost instantaneously if the water is boiling or simmering.

Job site hazards:

  • Slip or trip hazards can cause workers to stumble or fall. Slips, trips and falls are common events leading to restaurant worker burns. Many serious burns occur when employees slip and reach to steady themselves. This action often knocks hot liquids off of counters/stovetops on to the worker.
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When someone suffers a burn injury, their immediate concern is their health, well being and what the future holds. The burn victim and their family should also consider whether or not the burns were the result of negligence. This question is best analyzed, considered and answered by a lawyer who has a considerable amount of experience in handling burn injury accident cases. One firm has a reputation of being very knowledgeable, diligent and savvy in this particular area of the law, that firm is Kramer & Pollack, LLP.. They have handled various burn cases resulting from fires, scalding water, stove tip overs, explosions, electrocutions , etc (here are some of the cases they have been involved with). They have been there for many families in the hours and days following catastrophic burns suffered by children and adults alike. They have held the hands of parents as their children lie trembling in pain in the burn unit. Their advice and guidance has been priceless and cherished by so many people.

We will ask Mr. Kramer to comment on different burn cases regarding liability or negligence. Liability or negligence means fault. In other words, Mr. Kramer will analyze different burn cases with respect to the role or responsibility other people or entities may have had which led to or could have avoided the burn injury. Most of the analysis will deal with 3rd degree burns (see also third degree burns part II).

You may think at first that the facts leading up to a burn injury are not sufficient to form the basis of a lawsuit. For example if you learned that someone was burned in a fire started as the result of a drug dispute you might think… how could the landlord be responsible. Or in another situation you may learn that a fire was started by a child who was playing with matches. If you thought in both situations that there was no case you would be wrong. These and many other cases will be analyzed in upcoming posts.

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Are chemical solutions that are used to slough off and peel off the damaged outer layer to improve and smooth the texture of facial skin. Chemical peels can be used for facial blemishes, wrinkles and uneven skin pigmentation. It can also be used to remove precancerous skin growth and soften and reduce acne scaring. Chemical peels are most commonly performed for cosmetic purposes.

Formulas used as chemical peels include Alphahydroxy acids (AHAs), Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and phenol.

Alphahydroxy acids: such as glycolic acid, salicylic acid and fruit acid, are considered as light chemical peels that may be used to treat areas of dryness, fine wrinkling, pigmentation which is uneven and acne.

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