The explosion after a semi-truck slams into your vehicle. The searing pain as flames engulf your body. In an instant, a truck accident can leave you fighting for your life—and facing an agonizing recovery from devastating burn injuries.
When catastrophe strikes, you need more than expert medical care. You need an experienced legal advocate to stand up for your rights. The skilled St. Louis truck accident lawyers at Finney Injury Law are here to guide you through this overwhelming time and pursue the compensation your healing depends on.
What Types of Burn Injuries Occur in Truck Accidents?
Trucks carrying hazardous chemicals, flammable cargo, or large fuel tanks can trigger massive fires and explosions in a wreck. The resulting burns are often far more severe than injuries from car accidents.
Truck accident burn injuries frequently occur due to:
- Fuel tank ruptures and fires
- Tanker trucks leaking flammable liquids
- Electrical system sparks igniting fumes
- Trucks carrying explosive or corrosive materials
- Contact with scalding steam, oil, or radiator fluid
When a massive vehicle packed with combustible cargo crashes, the risk of catastrophic burns soars. Victims may suffer direct contact with flames, chemical exposure, or superheated air inhalation.
Degrees of Burn Severity
- First-degree burns. These damage the outer skin layer, causing redness and pain. With minor treatment, most heal within a week.
- Second-degree burns. Reaching the lower skin layer, these painful burns blister and swell. Proper wound care usually allows healing within weeks.
- Third-degree burns. Destroying both skin layers and underlying tissue, these cause white or charred skin that may be numb—a serious sign. Surgery and skin grafts are often required.
- Fourth-degree burns. The most catastrophic, these burn through skin, fat, muscle, and bone. Permanent disfigurement and disability usually result.
Severe truck accident burn injuries are not only excruciating, but they are also life-threatening. Extensive treatment, rehabilitation, and emotional support are essential for survival and recovery.
The Extensive Treatment Required for Catastrophic Burn Injuries
For third- and fourth-degree burns, emergency responders will prioritize protecting your airway, since inhalation injuries from smoke and heat can be fatal. Once stabilized, you'll need intensive care and an array of treatments:
- IV fluids to prevent shock and organ failure from dehydration
- Antibiotics and antiseptics to ward off infection
- Tetanus shots and pain medication
- Burn creams and dressings
- Ongoing wound cleaning and debridement to remove dead tissue
- Skin grafts and plastic surgery
- Physical therapy and occupational therapy
- Counseling to process trauma and grief
Paying for a Lifetime of Burn Injury Care
Severe burn treatment often requires multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, and months of follow-up and therapy. For many families, the resulting mountain of medical bills is overwhelming.
That's why it's crucial to consult an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. While you focus on healing, your attorney can:
- Investigate the truck driver's record and the trucking company's practices
- Gather evidence of negligence, such as logbook violations or improper cargo loading
- Handle all communication with the trucking and insurance companies
- Fight tirelessly for the compensation you need to cover medical expenses, lost income, future treatment, and your pain and suffering
Compensation Available for Truck Accident Burn Victims
If you suffered severe burns due to a truck driver or trucking company's negligence, you may be entitled to significant damages, including:
- Past, current, and future medical expenses related to your burns
- Lost wages for time missed at work
- Reduced future earning capacity if you cannot return to your previous job
- Costs of rehabilitation, therapy, and long-term care
- Home and vehicle modifications for any resulting disability
- Compensation for disfigurement and scarring
- Emotional distress damages
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages if the defendant's actions were particularly egregious
An accomplished truck accident attorney can assess your case, calculate your losses, and aggressively pursue the maximum compensation possible. You should not have to bear the staggering financial burden of catastrophic injuries that were not your fault.
Getting Help After a Truck Accident Burn Injury
After a catastrophic truck crash, you may feel lost, angry, and alone. But you don't have to carry this burden by yourself.
At Finney Injury Law, we understand the devastation of severe burn injuries—and we know what it takes to help victims rebuild their lives. We'll guide you through the physical, emotional, and legal challenges ahead with the strategy and support you need.