Common Causes of Burn Injuries
Serious burns come from four sources: heat, electricity, chemicals, and radiation. Vehicle fires, workplace explosions, defective products, and unsafe rental properties produce most of the burn cases Hughes Law encounters in personal injury litigation across the Midlands.
The Four Sources of Burn Trauma
Emergency physicians classify burns by mechanism of injury because the source of the injury affects both treatment and potential legal issues. Most serious burns in South Carolina fall into one of four categories:
- Thermal burns: Caused by flames, hot surfaces, scalding liquids, or steam. These are the most common types of serious burns.
- Electrical burns: Occur when electrical current passes through the body, often damaging muscles, nerves, and internal tissue beneath the skin that may appear only lightly injured.
- Chemical burns: Result from exposure to acids, alkalis, or other corrosive substances that continue damaging tissue until they are thoroughly flushed away or neutralized.
- Radiological burns: Caused by radiation exposure, including industrial accidents, medical treatment errors, or prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Alkali burns often prove more destructive than acid burns because they penetrate deeper before pain fully registers. Victims frequently underestimate chemical exposure in the first minutes, which delays the flushing that limits permanent damage.
Which Accidents Lead to Burn Injuries Most Often?
The burn source explains the medical side of the case, while the underlying accident explains who may be liable for compensation. Burn litigation in South Carolina courtrooms most frequently begins with events, such as:
- Car and truck crashes with fuel-fed fires
- Apartment fires that are tied to faulty wiring or missing smoke detectors
- Industrial and construction site explosions
- Defective lithium-ion batteries in consumer devices
- Scalding incidents in restaurants, salons, and care facilities
- Gas leaks in homes and commercial buildings
Landlord cases carry particular weight in Columbia’s large student and rental housing market. A unit fire involving missing smoke detectors or known wiring problems raises immediate questions about the property owner’s maintenance record.
Who Answers for a Burn Injury?
Liability depends on what caused the fire or exposure. A negligent driver, a property owner who ignored known electrical hazards, a contractor, or a product manufacturer may all be responsible.
Product liability claims also follow different rules. Under S.C. Code § 15-73-10, a company that sells an unreasonably dangerous defective product may be held liable for the resulting injuries even without proof that it acted negligently.
Why Severity Changes Everything About the Case
The severity of a burn largely determines both the treatment required and the value of a legal claim, ranging from first-degree burns to third-degree injuries that destroy skin and nerve tissue. Many patients in the Midlands with severe burns are transferred to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, about 75 miles from Columbia, for specialized care.
Severe burns also mean skin grafts, compression garments, infection risk, and scarring that carries psychological weight for decades afterward. Claims must account for future revision surgeries and counseling, not just the first hospitalization.
Bring Your Burn Case to Hughes Law
Hughes Law has a record of recovering millions for injured clients, and burn cases receive the same unhurried preparation as every serious matter the firm accepts.
Our Columbia burn injury lawyer examines the fire’s origin, the product’s history, or the property’s inspection record before insurers frame the story their way. Call (803) 704-1004 or contact us online, and let the first step be a conversation, not a fight.