Legal Guidance After a Thermal Burn Injury at a Plant or Refinery
Burn injuries from work are all too common, and can have devastating consequences to the victim. Approximately 25% of adult burn injuries are work-related.
Texas has a high number of individuals working in potentially hazardous workplaces, particularly various types of industrial plants and oil refineries, that carry the risk of thermal or heat-related burn injuries. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a thermal burn injury at work, it’s crucial to understand best practices after an incident like this and what your legal rights are for pursuing compensation for your injuries.
Types of Plant and Refinery Burns
In industrial settings like plants or refineries, workers are vulnerable to many types of burns, including thermal burns, which are caused by contact with hot surfaces, liquids, steam, or other heated materials. Understanding the nature of your burn injury is essential for pursuing appropriate legal action. While this article focuses on thermal burns, experienced Texas burn injury lawyers understand and handle cases related to all types of burns that could happen in a potentially dangerous workplace environment, including:
- Thermal burns from excessive heat
- Chemical burns from exposure to corrosive substances
- Electrical burns from contact with live electrical wires, or broken/faulty equipment
- Friction burns from the skin being rubbed with an abrasive substance
What to Do After You Experience a Thermal Burn
- Seek medical care. After any workplace injury, your first priority should be to seek medical attention. Even if you feel okay after a thermal burn, always seek medical attention promptly. Adrenaline after accidents and injuries can mask our ability to properly gauge pain and damage to our own bodies. Seeking medical attention will help protect your rights if you decide to pursue a personal injury case to recover costs or damages from those who are at fault for your accident. Delaying treatment may later signal to insurance adjusters or the court that your injuries were not severe enough to require compensation. Protect your rights and head to the hospital or urgent care after any workplace accident.
- Report the incident to your employer through the required methods to create a formal record of your injury. This will serve to document important details of your accident that will help form evidence in your case, including the date and time of the incident, who else was present, where you were in the plant or refinery, what the working conditions were like, what you were doing at the time of the accident, what happened to cause the burn, and eyewitness statements. If you could not take photographs or video at the time of your accident, your employers may ask you to do so as part of filing the formal accident report.
Living With a Thermal Burn
Burn injuries can be incredibly painful, and recovery can be lengthy. Living with a thermal burn can be physically and emotionally challenging and could cause depression, trouble sleeping, and incredible discomfort. You may undergo repeated, extensive medical treatments and suffer long-term complications such as scarring, disfigurement, or even loss of limb. The recovery process includes rehabilitation and therapy to regain functionality and cope with the psychological impact of the burn.
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer vs. Handling a Thermal Burn Case Alone
You may not want to “make waves” at work by filing a personal injury lawsuit, but Texas state law gives you the right to pursue compensation for your injuries when you experience a thermal burn at a plant or refinery. While you may be embarrassed about your injury and want to get the circumstances wrapped up quickly, your company’s insurance company may not offer you a just and fair settlement. We encourage workplace burn victims to be cautious in their discussions with insurance representatives and not to accept a settlement offer, especially if they feel pressured.