It’s a terrible fact of life, but a frightening number of kids suffer burn injuries each year, not just here in Phoenix but across the entire United States.  We’ve come across differing facts and figures that claim wildly different numbers, but a study published in the Journal of Burn Care and Researchestimated that about 10,000 children were hospitalized in the year 2000 due to burn injuries. That number may have risen, but even if it is still 10,000, that’s 27 kids every day, or more than one child admitted to hospital with a burn injury every hour.

If we, as a community, have a greater understanding of the most common causes of burn injuries in children then together we might be able to reduce these numbers.  The first step in helping to reduce the number of children burned each year is to understand the most common causes of burns in children:

1. Scalding is the most common cause of burn injury for younger children, those aged 4 and under. Most scalding incidents and accidents occur in the kitchen, or around other places where food is served and prepared. Most burns are caused by steam, spilled hot coffee or hot chocolate, hot food or cooking oil.  The bathroom can also be a dangerous place for young children; scalding hot tap water is linked with more deaths and hospitalizations than any other hot liquid burns, and burns from hot tap water can often be more extensive than other scald burns due to immersion.
2. Contact Burns or Thermal burns (from touching hot objects) are the most common injuries in older children aged 5 to 15. Playing with fireworks, touching the stove or oven, the fireplace or a room heater, or household items like irons or hair curlers, are incidents where burns frequently occur.
3. Chemical burns can either be internal caused by either swallowing chemicals like drain cleaner or batteries, or external caused by spilling chemicals like bleach or acid onto the skin.
4. The majority of electrical burn cases (around 75%) involve electrical wires, extension cords and electrical outlets; kids injure themselves by biting cords, wires or sticking fingers or random things they find into power outlets.
5. Perhaps more common here in Phoenix Arizona than in other parts of the country, overexposure to the sun is also a danger to young children and can result in severe burns to the skin.

The burn injury attorneys and our support staff at Cunningham Law in Phoenix have huge amounts of experience working with burn cases, especially those involving children.  We even have a court appointed staff member who acts as a case manager for severely injured children, often where language is a barrier for the families.

Our knowledge of available resources and the processes involved, particularly when dealing with children, is a great comfort to our Spanish speaking clients in particular.  Our burn injury lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis; that means our clients owe nothing unless we obtain a recovery for them. Contact us today to arrange your free consultation.

Statements on Cunninghamlawfirm.com is not meant as legal or medical advice. Consult with your health care provider for diagnosis or treatment.