A Burn Injury Has Varied Causes

Palm Beach, FLA burn injury is most often associated with a fire. However, there are numerous other types of injuries from other sources of heat that can negatively impact the skin in much the same way as open flame. Electrical burns, for example, either from a live wire carrying high voltage, to a lightning strike.

Then there is the chemical burn, with the latter barreling into the public consciousness this week via the horrific details of a child endangerment case in the Sunshine State.

As reported February 17 in the Miami Herald, two 10-year-old twins—a boy and a girl—were doused with an unknown chemical allegedly by their adoptive father. The partially decomposed body of Nubia Barahona was found in the back of Jorge Barahona's pickup truck on the side of Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Nubia's twin brother Victor was found to be suffering from burns due to a chemical injury that was spreading. As the Herald reported, the 10-year-old boy was reported to be in critical condition as of February 16 in the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Doctors reported that the chemical burns were continuing to spread across the boy's body. Treatment was complicated due to the doctor's inability to identify what chemicals may have been used on the boy.

Barahona, the adoptive father, had not identified as of February 17 what the chemical may have been. As of that date he had not been charged. Meanwhile, along with the continued spreading of the chemical burn injury, doctors were reporting that Victor's kidneys had shown signs of failing. NBC Miami reported that as of yesterday the boy was still in critical condition. The TV station had referenced acid in describing the boy's chemical burns, and noted that Jorge Barahona was passed out when state troopers found his truck with Barahona and a distressed Victor inside.

As sad as this story is, fire injury is the most common and can sometimes lead to death. The Commercial Appeal, based in Memphis, reported earlier this month that a house fire Christmas Day took the death toll from fires for 2010 to 23 in the Tennessee city. So far this year, a mother and her two toddlers, together with a 2-year-old girl from another family had already perished in house fires.

The Memphis Fire Department noted that working smoke detectors could increase by 50 percent the chances of surviving a fire. Some communities are taking that one step further by embracing sprinkler systems—most commonly used in large buildings—for residential use.

Rental properties are notorious for not having working fire detection systems. Any tenant impacted by burn injury from a fire allowed to take hold in the absence of a functional detection system, might consider the services of a burn injury attorney.