Burn Injury Incidence, Fatalities on Decline
According to the American Burn Association (ABA) Fact Sheet, the frequency and fatality rate of burn injury is declining in the United States. This comprehensive report, released in 2000 but used as the baseline today, compared burn data from 1993 to data collected from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1957-1961. During that time, the number of burns dropped from 2 million to about 1.1 million per year. In terms of per-person injuries, the rate fell from 10 people in 10,000 to 4.2 in 10,000.
It is estimated that there are about 4,500 deaths related to burn injury every year, including 3,750 from fires and 750 associated with car and airplane crashes. Still, when taking into consideration a population growth of 25%, that represents a 60% drop over about two decades. Every year, there are 45,000 burn related hospital admissions, with about half going to the 125 specialized burn units and half to the 5,000 general hospitals in the country.
Severity of burns has also decreased during this time. Over half of those admitted have burns on 10% or less of their body, compared to just a quarter of those admitted in 1965. At the other end of the scale, admissions with burns over 60% or more of the body have decreased from 10% to just 4%. Currently, the average of Total Body Surface Area burn injury admitted to hospital is 14%.
This notable decrease can be contributed to a number of different trends. Electrical appliances are safer, the rate of smoking is decreasing, work places are becoming safer, and vehicles are generally less likely to catch fire. However, the demographics of burn injury victims remain the same. Those under the age of 5 and over the age of 65 are still at most risk. For young children, scalds from hot liquids including coffee, boiling water on the stove, and even hot tap water are the most frequent burn injury. In fact, over half of all burns are a result of scalding.
Burn injury occurs every 25 seconds in this country, and can lead to serious consequences. Third-degree burns, the worst type, can damage several layers of skin, tendons, blood vessels, nerves, and even bone. But the greatest risk is from infection. The skin is a natural barrier between the internal workings of the body and the foreign organisms like bacteria. Even with the greatest of burn care, victims can still develop life-threatening infections as their bodies heal. According to the ABA, 6% of those admitted to burn centers do not survive their injuries.
If you have been in an accident involving burns, your recuperation time and subsequent medical bills could be mounting. Often burn injury results from the negligence of someone else’s actions. Whether you received your injuries on the job, in a car accident, or at some other location, contact Florida personal injury David I. Fuchs at 800-570-2858 to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation.