Burn Injuries: Second Degree Burns

Burn injury cases take special consideration because the consequences of your burn might impact the rest of your life. While there are certainly more severe burns that are possible than a second degree burn, this is still a serious injury and needs to be properly handled in order to heal correctly. If you've incurred medical expenses from a second-degree burn due to someone's negligence, you deserve to have those monies restored to you.

To learn more about other types of burn injuries, check out our Burn Injury Overvew article that goes more in-depth.

In this article we'll look at the symptoms of a second degree burns, the evidence you need to win your claim, and how to take the first step towards recovering your losses.

Questions answered on this page

• What are the symptoms of second-degree burns?
• What evidence do you need for a second-degree burn case?
• How can attorney help me if I was burned after an accident?

Symptoms of Second-Degree Burns

Second degree burns have some variations in how they manifest. Generally you can classify a second degree burn if you see these characteristics:

• Partial thickness
  • Blisters can be present
  • Involve the entire epidermis and upper layers of the dermis
  • Wound will be pink, red in color, painful and wet appearing
  • Wound will blanch when pressure is applied
  • Should heal in several seeks (10-21 days) without grafting, scarring is usually minimal
• Full thickness
  • Can be red or white in appearance, but will appear dry
  • Involves the destruction of the entire epidermis and most of the dermis
  • Sensation can be present, but diminished
  • Blanching is sluggish or absent
  • Full thickness will most likely need excision and skin grafting to heal

Burns can occur in many ways. We get cases resulting from open flames, chemical burns, electric burns, etc. How and where the burn injury occurs is important because the degree of the defendant's liability (how bad the situation looks, in other words) can affect how much a jury might be willing to award to you in a trial. Obviously, there is no one kind of burn injury case. They can happen in a variety of ways, including workplace injuries, product defects, arson or other intentional burning, and any kind of accident caused by negligence.

Evidence Needed To Win

As with any personal injury case, you need to prove up your damages. This is especially important with burn injuries, because the value of a claim is so subjective. The jury cannot feel what you felt, know the pain you endured, etc. We have to share your story with them through documentation and evidence to put you in the best possible position to recover your damages. There are many kinds of evidence that would be helpful in your case. Let's look at a few examples.

Demonstrative aids tend to be help in a personal injury case. These include things like pictures of your injuries, pictures of the healing process, if you have scarring showing them your scars, maybe even videos of the procedures you had to endure, etc. These are integral to telling your story.

Expert witnesses have been very helpful to us in the past. We can present the testimony of various doctors who can give in depth insight into the kinds of care needed, and bolster your claim. It's always helpful to have the word of an expert corroborate your testimony.

And of course presenting your medical records and bill are tangible proof of the kinds of losses you endured.

The Personal Injury Attorneys At Grossman Law Offices Can Help

We know how intimidating it can be to try and figure out what to do, where to go with a personal injury claim. We care about our clients, and we want to help. If you have questions or want to talk to someone about your claim, feel free to call us at any time. We have experienced attorneys available to speak with you 24/7. At Grossman Law Offices, we have over 25 years of experience handling personal injury claims. We've won thousands of cases, and we're confident we can assist you with yours. Give us a call at (855) 326-0000.

Related Articles for Further Reading:

• What Does an Attorney Mean When They Talk About Discovery?
• Explaining How Modified Comparative Fault Works in Texas
• How Does Sovereign Immunity Affect Your Personal Injury Case?