Category: Burn Injury

The first of the summer holidays, Memorial Day, is past, which means that families and friends throughout Kentucky will be gathering together to enjoy outdoor grilling, picnics, and other activities. Opportunities for great summer memories, however, can quickly turn sour if a defective grill part or a grilling-related accident causes injuries.

Each year, hundreds of Kentucky residents seek emergency medical care for burns related to outdoor grilling.  Grills that are improperly placed can also cause house fires or fires in outbuildings or other areas, which can cause additional injuries and severe property damage.

In Kentucky’s snowy winter weather, a hot bath or shower, a cup of steaming hot cocoa, a bowl of warm soup, or a cozy hot water bottle all sound comforting – but if the water is too hot, serious injuries can result. Scalding burns occur when hot liquid or steam comes into contact with the skin, causing a burn.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, infants and young children are at an especially high risk of scalding injuries. Their delicate skin is more easily injured at lower temperatures than that of adults, and they often don’t understand the dangers of hot baths or bubbling pans on a stove top, making them more likely to injure themselves while exploring.

The breathtaking and beautiful summers in Kentucky always present a number of opportunities to celebrate and enjoy time with friends and family, and fireworks are often a fun and exciting staple of this season’s celebrations. Sparklers are a perennial favorite for revelers across the Bluegrass State, and though these miniature visual delights are entertaining, they can also cause serious burn injuries if not handled with care.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 16 percent of all fireworks-related injuries are caused by sparklers burning hands and legs, with the majority occurring to small children. Sparklers can reach 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, which astonishingly is hot enough to melt gold, so it is imperative that not only adults learn how to safely handle these mini fireworks, but that parents and child caregivers teach children how to safely use sparklers in order to prevent a child injury in Kentucky.

The frosty air is a telltale sign that the holiday season is upon us. Though the holidays are a festive time to celebrate with those closest to you, it also presents unique dangers at home as the temperature outside drops. The following tips, offered by the University of Florida’s website Solutionsforyourlife.com, can help you prevent fires while at home this winter.

Holiday Trees

• If buying an artificial Christmas tree, make sure the label says “fire resistant”. If you will be putting gifts under a real tree, however, making sure the tree stays fresh, which will make it less of a fire hazard.
• Never use candles on or near trees, and make sure the tree is not placed next to any heating source, such as a fireplace.

As every experienced Louisville burn injury lawyer knows, fireworks injuries increase around the Fourth of July each summer, as families celebrate our nation’s independence with these exciting displays. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fireworks injuries send thousands of Americans to the emergency room each year and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses.

According to the CDC, 7,000 U.S. residents were injured and seven were killed by fireworks in 2008 alone. Children and teens are at the highest risk for fireworks-related injuries: nearly half of those injured each year are younger than twenty years old. People who are actively involved in setting off fireworks are more likely to be injured than people who are merely watching.