New Jersey Injury Attorney Blog

Burn injuries occur more often than most people realize. Approximately 40,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for the treatment of severe burns and 25,000 are admitted to specialized burn centers, according to the American Burn Association. A burn injury can bring about significant pain and emotional trauma and requires extensive medical care and treatment to help prevent permanent scarring and disfigurement. Becoming more familiar with some common causes of burn injuries is a helpful preventative measure to keep you and your loved ones safe.

• Flammable products - include clothing, materials, or furniture that can cause burn injury under certain circumstances or due to a lack of proper warning labeling on the product.
• Electrocution - causes burns on internal organs and tissues from an electrical current passing through the body either through an electrical outlet or another electricity source.
• House fires - occur as a result of cooking accidents, smoking or children playing with fire or flammable items. An estimated 3,500 people are killed each year because of residential fires in the United States.
• Electrical wiring - is responsible for sudden burns or fires that can begin and spread within seconds.
• Motor vehicle collisions - often lead to severe burn injuries due to gas tanks exploding or hot vehicle components or fluids coming in contact with vehicle occupants.
• Workplace/Construction accidents - can cause burn injuries resulting from unsafe working environments or improper employee training.
• Explosion accidents - typically relate to workplace hazards where workers are exposed to flammable or pressurized materials (i.e. tanks, pipelines).
• Chemical/Toxin exposure - is extremely hazardous in causing burn injury in that no heat source is necessary and there is often little or no warning due to most chemicals being odorless, invisible, and/or tasteless.
• Hot water scalding - affects people of all ages in the home or workforce when hot fluids or gases are mishandled or when water or steam temperatures are greater than a person realizes.

Individuals who have endured burn injuries as a result of another person’s negligence have valid legal rights that deserve to be protected. The New Jersey burn injury lawyers at Lependorf & Silverstein help burn injury victims hold negligent parties responsible so that compensation can be obtained for medical treatment, loss of wages, pain and suffering, and more. To find out how our experienced personal injury attorneys can assist you, please call 609-240- 0040 for a free consultation.

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury

Bookmark:

Burn injuries are often caused by traumatic experiences. These incidents may inflict severe physical pain, distress and psychological devastation upon a victim. A burn injury victim may need constant psychological counseling because of severe scarring that may occur from the injuries or follow-up skin grafts. Skin graft surgeries can also result in deadly infections if post-operative care is inadequate.

Although some burn injuries in New Jersey may be less serious than others, several instances of burn injury are the result of auto, truck or other vehicular accidents. However, burn injuries may also take place on-the-job, at home or while on the premises of a business. Burn injuries may be caused by defective products or as the result of exposure to dangerous chemicals.

Whatever the cause of a burn injury, the result is typically catastrophic, particularly leading to skin and nerve damage that can leave a person scarred – physically and emotionally – for life.

Victims of burn injuries in New Jersey have legal rights. If you, or, a loved one has sustained serious or catastrophic burn injuries as a result of someone else's reckless, careless or deliberate behavior, you have the right to hold the negligent parties or wrongdoers responsible for the damages they have caused.

The New Jersey burn injury lawyers of Lependorf & Silverstein have helped thousands of New Jersey residents secure financial compensation for catastrophic injuries, and, wrongful deaths. We have extensive experience with complex medical, and, financial issues surrounding serious personal injury cases. Call us today at (609) 240-0040 for a New Jersey burn injury case evaluation at no cost to you.

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury

Bookmark:

Based on an nj.com article, a 16-unit building at a Newton apartment complex burned down, killing an 83-year-old female resident. The fire was reported at 4:03 a.m. on January 22, 2010. When police officers and firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the second-story apartment on the front corner of one apartment building engulfed in flames and smoke. While authorities think that the fire may have began in the deceased woman’s apartment, the cause of this fatal fire is still under investigation.

According to the article, a neighbor was yelling to try to awaken residents of the building as well as going door-to-door to warn them. Sadly, the elderly woman’s apartment was the only one that neighbors couldn’t get into because her door had been locked with the deadbolt. Neighbors also tried to access her apartment from the front through the second-story balcony of her apartment, but the blaze’s heat was too powerful. There were no other injuries from the fire aside from one firefighter sustaining a minor hand injury after slipping on ice.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that deaths from fires and burns are the fifth most common cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, and the third leading cause of fatal home injury. In 2008 alone, one person died in a fire about every 158 minutes and someone was injured every 31 minutes.

Continue reading "Woman Killed and Apartment Destroyed in Newton Fire" »

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury , Personal Injury , Wrongful death

Bookmark:

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) provides particular rules and regulations for employers and contractors to follow when teaching employees how to handle and work near flammable and combustible liquids. These safety standards are elaborate and should be enforced, monitored, and maintained to the best of employee and employer ability in order to prevent incidents of explosion or fire and subsequent burn injuries, lung damage, or other serious injury.

An explosion took place recently at a former gas station located on the corner of Vauxhall Road and Millburn Avenue. According to reports, a contractor was cutting tubular metal barriers with a gas-powered saw when sparks set off lingering gasoline vapors in underground tanks. The worker and two others were treated by fire department personnel at the scene of the explosion. The worker was transported to a local hospital with shock symptoms and possible internal injuries which were said to be non-life threatening. The two other hurt individuals suffered minor injuries.

The blast shattered storefront windows at two neighboring businesses, Center Cleaners and Livingston Mart, but no other injuries or structural damage to additional businesses or residents resulted as a consequence.

Continue reading "Gas Station Explosion Injures Construction Worker" »

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury , Explosion Accident , On the Job Injury , Personal Injury , Workers Compensation

Bookmark:

In the early morning hours of August 21, 2009, a small plane headed towards New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport crashed in a parking lot located off of route 46 after clipping a 35-foot tree while trying to abort a landing. Miraculously, the pilot and co-pilot survived the fiery crash but unfortunately suffered serious burn injuries, according to an nj.com report. The men were taken to the St. Barnabus Burn Center, and have been diagnosed with severe burns.

The burn facility’s medical director stated, “A burn that covers more than 20 percent of the surface area is considered severe.” The director also explained that those who endure such a degree of burn are “at risk of having life-threatening complications.”

A Bergen County lieutenant said the men’s eyebrows and eyelashes were singed off when she arrived at the scene, but both were conscious and communicating even though they appeared to be in shock.

Continue reading "Two Men Lucky to Be Alive: Burn Injuries Sustained after New Jersey Small Plane Crash" »

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury , Personal Injury

Bookmark:

A 23-year-old, Bloomfield man lost control of his car at 12:09am on August 6, 2009 and crashed on the northbound side of Route 287 in Harding Township. The car accident in New Jersey was a single-vehicle incident but none the less serious considering that the man’s 1997 Audi caught fire after hitting a tree off the highway’s shoulder. Fortunately for the driver, a passing motorist pulled him from the burning vehicle. However, the man still suffered multiple injuries and burns as a result of the accident and is listed in critical condition.

Although it is unknown at this time what caused the man to lose control of his car, many factors, such as dangerous road conditions, inclement weather, obstructions in the highway, or a defective auto part, can influence a driver’s ability to keep his or her vehicle on the road. One of the most preventable reasons for a driver to lose control of the car is driver inattention or distraction, sometimes even caused by another passenger in the vehicle. Unfortunately speed is another factor that forces things to get out of hand in the blink of an eye. A National Highway Transportation Safety Administration study revealed that 5.973 million traffic accidents were reported in 2006 with 2.575 million people suffering injuries and 42,642 fatalities taking place.

Continue reading "Car Catches Fire in Harding Township Single Vehicle Accident" »

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Auto Accidents , Burn Injury , Personal Injury

Bookmark:

It was reported in a phillyburbs.com article on Tuesday August 11, 2009 that an employee at Central Power & Light suffered serious burn injuries in New Jersey at a utility substation. A captain with the Plumsted Township Fire District and New Egypt Emergency Squad said the worker suffered burns on close to 50 percent of his body. Apparently, the employee was repairing electrical fixtures when the burns ensued, which more than likely resulted in electrical burns. However, it has not been made public as to how the worker’s injuries came about.

After being treated at the scene by firefighters and paramedics, the injured worker was transported in critical condition by helicopter to the burn center at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. No one else at the substation was injured or suffered any burns. The incident caused approximately 19,000 customers in North Hanover, Springfield, New Hanover, Plumsted, and Pemberton Township, to be without power for over an hour. An investigation by North Hanover police and Jersey Central is ongoing, according to officials.

Employers are required by law to create and maintain safe working environments, and are responsible for properly training employees on how to operate machinery, handle chemicals and toxins, and perform any other work-related tasks. Injuries on the job may result in minimal rehabilitation, or can require lifelong treatment, depending on the degree of the accident. If an employee sustains an injury while on the job, he or she may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim to receive monetary payment to help cover the costs of medical bills, recovery treatment, loss of wages, or other expenses associated with the on the job injury.

Continue reading "North Hanover Employee Suffers Serious Burn Injury" »

Posted by Lependorf & Silverstein | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Burn Injury , On the Job Injury , Personal Injury , Workers Compensation

Bookmark: