Articles Posted in Burn Injuries

Children in Encinitas can suffer injuries from encounters with consumer products and other objects that adults may know to avoid. Depending upon the circumstances of a burn injury, the designer, manufacturer, or retailer of the product could be liable. In addition, other parties such as daycare centers and schools may also be liable if they do not take proper precautions and develop safety procedures to ensure that young children are not burned while under their care. Whether you are a parent or caregiver, you may be wondering how pediatric burn injuries tend to happen and what else you should know. Our Encinitas personal injury attorneys can provide you with more information.

Learning More About Pediatric Burn Injuries

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, unintentional injuries more broadly are the leading cause of death among children under the age of 14, and burn injuries are currently the “fifth most common cause of accidental death in children.” Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that about 75% of all scald-related burns in children are preventable injuries, and young children and toddlers are those who are most likely to suffer these types of burns.

louis-reed-JeInkKlI2Po-unsplash-copy-300x200When young students are required to use certain devices or objects in science classes for experiments, those students could be at risk of suffering a serious burn injury. Anytime science classroom experiments require students to use flammable materials, a serious fire could start and students could suffer disfiguring and severe burn injuries. A recent report from CBS 8 San Diego discusses a burn injury case in which a sixth-grader in the Encinitas Union School District sustained life-threatening burn injuries. That student’s family recently filed a lawsuit against the school, and that claim highlights the serious dangers of particular classroom activities. 

Science Classroom Experiment Resulted in Face and Neck Burn Injuries

According to the CBS 8 San Diego report, the recent claim against Encinitas Union School District centers around a 13-year-old student, Priest Rivera, who “suffered burns to his face, neck, and chest after a school experiment allegedly went wrong.” The family alleges that the Encinitas Union School District is responsible for the injuries according to legal theories of negligence, and negligent supervision and training. As a result of the injuries, the student required four surgeries and spent one week in the burn unit at UCSD. The student’s complaint alleges that he ultimately suffered “severe and permanent injuries.” How did the burn injuries happen?

paolo-bendandi-678730-unsplash-copy-300x200Instant Pot multicookers have become extremely popular over the last year, but do they pose a risk of burn injury? Articles have emphasized that the pressure cookers can make almost anything, from stews to wines. However, according to a recent report from WebMD, certain Instant Pot models may have a safety defect that could result in the unit overheating and, ultimately, starting a fire. If you own an Instant Pot and regularly use it to make dinner in Rancho Bernardo, do you need to stop using the pressure cooker altogether? We will discuss the recall associated with defective pressure cookers and how the defect could cause burn injuries.

Getting the Facts About the Recalled Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker

According to the report, the problem exists in some models of the Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker. Many were sold at Walmart and by other popular retail outlets, and they are now being recalled. Double Insight, the company that currently imports these Instant Pot models from China, has received to date more than 100 separate reports of the Instant Pot “overheating and melting on the bottom.” In at least five cases, consumers have sustained property damage. An overheating kitchen device can pose a serious risk of burn injuries and fire damage to your home.

joao-victor-xavier-304057-copy-300x169Is high school football in San Marcos really as dangerous as scientists and physicians have been suggesting? Does playing high school football increase young athletes’ risk for sports-related concussions and more serious traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), in addition to placing them in danger of developing the degenerative brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? Most physicians would say, in general, yes. However, according to a new study published in JAMA Neurology, not all high school football players appear to have sustained long-term damage from playing the sport in their youth. High school football players in the 1950s did not, on the whole, show signs of cognitive impairment.

This study appears to call into question some of the recent research on TBIs and high school football. What are the key takeaways from this study, and should this research change the way we manage the risk of brain injuries in contact sports?

Study Explores Link Between Youth Sports-Related Concussions and Long-Term Cognitive Health

Samsung_Galaxy_Note_7_Bulletin_30365292175-225x300For many San Diego County residents, it is now old news that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was recalled in massive numbers due to a safety defect and the related risk of a lithium-ion battery causing fires and serious burn injuries. For instance, if you traveled via airplane recently, you likely heard warnings about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 aboard the aircraft and the requirement that any of these devices on any passengers be turned off and stowed to avoid causing personal injuries to anyone on board.

A recent article in Forbes Magazine sought to assure consumers that its other products, such as the Galaxy S7, is safe for use. Indeed, in an official statement issued earlier this month, the company said, “Samsung stands behind the quality and safety of the Galaxy S7 family,” and it emphasized that “there have been no confirmed cases of internal battery failures with these devices among the more than 10 million devices being used by consumers in the United States.” Yet the product defects associated with the recalled smartphones have safety advocates at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wondering whether recall practices need to be changed in order to keep consumers safe, according to a recent article from NPR.

Defective Lithium-Ion Batteries Present a Problem That Goes Beyond Smartphones

800px-FIRE_01This holiday season in Riverside County and throughout Southern California, it is important for families to be aware of steps they can take to prevent house fires and burn injuries. From outdoor lights to cooking to Christmas trees, there are many activities that Southern California families enjoy that actually can pose serious risks of fires and burn injuries. According to a fact sheet from the American Red Cross, almost 47,000 house fires occur during the winter holiday season each year, and they result in approximately 2,200 injuries and 500 fatalities annually. In addition to severe and life-threatening burn injuries, holiday home fires also cause approximately $554 million in property damage.

What do you need to know in order to keep your home and your family free from a holiday home fire and serious burn injuries?

Being Careful with Christmas Trees

TW20130206_38th_Dupont_House_Fire_0075_(15239776124)According to a recent report from The San Diego Union-Tribune, a student at UC San Diego suffered critical burn injuries in a fire at an apartment complex traditionally housing transfer students to the university. When home fires start in an apartment complex, many apartments can be at risk of sustaining fire and smoke-related damage, while residents in other apartments, too, can be at risk of suffering serious burn injuries. How often do fires and burn injuries impact college students and other young adults? What can we do to prevent injuries related to house fires?

Details of the Fire Near UC San Diego

As the report explains, the fire in this instance was relatively small, but the student involved did suffer critical burn injuries. The fire began at around 1:25 p.m., and it began in a ninth-floor apartment at The Village at Torrey Pines. On the La Jolla campus, this is an apartment complex where transfer students typically reside. Currently, investigators suspect that the injured student set the fire herself. What do investigators know thus far? Some type of flammable liquid served as an accelerant and played a role in setting the fire.

flames-300x200Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems, have been “promoted as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes,” according to a fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. However, as a recent article in Scientific American explains, e-cigarettes have been linked to serious burn injuries caused by the explosion of these devices. While we do not yet have enough information to know about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes, we do know that they can cause serious burns to the hands and mouth, and in some cases can cause fractures and paralysis.

What else do you need to know about e-cigarettes and serious injuries? Can injury victims seek compensation by filing a lawsuit?

Learning More About Electronic Cigarettes

_DSC6907Typically, fictionalized film versions of real-life events often do not have a significant impact on the way youth athletes play football or make decisions about sports-related concussions. However, according to a recent report from NPR, the movie Concussion is seriously affecting decisions made by high school football players and their families. The film details the traumatic brain injury (TBI) research of Dr. Bennet Omalu, “the doctor who was the first to publish research on the degenerative brain disease he called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.”

High School Athletes Deciding Against Future Play


For Californians who have not heard of CTE or its effects, it is a degenerative disease of the brain that appears to develop as a result of multiple hits to the head that cause concussions. Given that football players commonly experience multiple concussions over their careers, CTE has become known as a serious risk for professional athletes. Nw, it looks as though youth players are also reconsidering the risks inherent in contact sports.

A Fresno firefighter, Pete Dern, 49, recently suffered life-threatening burn injuries after being involved in a dangerous roof collapse, according to a recent article in the Fresno Bee. While his burns are treatable, the risk of infection associated with these types of injuries makes the firefighter’s condition particularly serious. How did the burn injuries occur? And how can we help to prevent severe and fatal burn injuries in the future?

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Intensive Treatment for Severe Burns

According to the article, Dern had been “leading several firefighters across a roof to provide ventilation for the safety of attack crews when the roof collapsed” on a house in flames. The firefighter fell through the roof of the garage. His fellow firefighters rescued him within minutes, which “was critical to his survival,” according to Dr. William Dominic, director of the Leon S. Peters Burn Center in Fresno, where Dern currently is receiving care.

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