At some point, most of us have gotten minor burns. For example, you might have accidentally touched a hot pan when cooking dinner. Alternatively, you might have spent way too long in the sun and gotten a sunburn.
Burns are tissue damage that can be caused by heat, the sun, liquids, chemicals, steam, and more. When a person suffers a burn injury, they often deal with both physical pain as well as emotional distress. This psychological harm can have a serious impact on a person’s life. In a burn injury case, emotional distress should always be part of a settlement or verdict at trial.
At Johnstone & Gabhart, we are dedicated to helping victims of all types of accidents get maximum compensation for their injuries. Whether you were burned in a car accident, a construction accident, or by a hazardous material, we will help you get justice. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation with a Charleston, WV burn injury attorney, reach out to our law offices today.
Psychological Distress After a Burn Injury
After a burn accident, most people will have obvious physical symptoms. Even relatively minor first-degree burns can result in redness, pain, and changes in skin color. More serious burns can leave significant scarring and require more intensive treatment.
One often overlooked aspect of burn injuries is the psychological harm that many people experience. Burns are often caused by traumatic events, such as an electrical shock or a fire. Both the trauma of the accident and coping with the ongoing reality of a burn injury can cause a lot of emotional struggles.
During the initial days and weeks after a burn, a person might be worried about the outcome. They might feel a lot of anxiety about the treatment and stress about the future. Some people also experience cognitive changes, like confusion or extreme drowsiness. During this initial critical stage, it isn’t uncommon to experience:
- Sleep disturbances
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Confusion and disorientation
During the next phase of recovery, a person may continue to undergo painful treatments, such as surgery. They may also start to grapple more with what happened to them and how it will affect their life.
According to research, burn patients experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD):
- Depression: Between 23 and 61% of people with serious burns experience depression. They may also struggle with guilt about the events that caused their burn. Patients with higher levels of pain and lower levels of social support experience higher rates of depression.
- Generalized anxiety: Between 13 and 47% of people with serious burns are diagnosed with anxiety.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: 30% of people with burn injuries experience signs of PTSD. They typically experience acute stress disorder during the first month, which develops into PTSD over time.
Depression, anxiety, and PTSD are all associated with sleep disturbances. Pain may make it hard to fall asleep, while nightmares and flashbacks can wake a person up from even a deep sleep. Lack of sleep can make other symptoms even more pronounced.
Many burn injury victims also deal with profound grief. Suffering any type of serious injury is a kind of loss. It can often take a fair amount of time to come to terms with the impact of burn injuries on their lives. This is particularly true for more serious burns that may lead to loss of physical ability or change a person’s appearance.
The treatment for emotional harm caused by burn injuries will usually consist of a combination of medication and therapy or counseling. Medications can be used to ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, or used to help a person sleep. Different types of therapy, including therapy geared towards trauma like Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), can also be helpful.
The most important thing to remember is that it is incredibly normal to suffer emotional distress after a burn injury. You might experience:
- Sadness
- Feelings of helplessness or hopelessness
- Anger at having to depend on others
- Isolation
- Jumpiness
- Irritability
- Intrusive thoughts
- Difficulty finding enjoyment in things that you used to enjoy
- Trouble falling or staying asleep
- Flashbacks
- Physical discomfort and pain
- Worry about the future
- Concern about finances
These reactions are all common among people who have experienced a burn injury. The emotional impact of this type of injury can be just as difficult as the physical pain and scarring. As Charleston burn injury lawyers, our goal is to help make sure that you get justice for your burn injury.
Compensation for Psychological and Emotional Harm After a Burn Injury
In a personal injury lawsuit, you may be able to recover financial compensation for all of your losses, including pain and suffering. While money won’t make you whole again, it can provide the financial stability that you need to move forward with your life.
There are 3 types of damages that you might be entitled to after a burn injury: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. Economic and non-economic damages are compensatory damages because they compensate you for your losses. Punitive damages punish someone who acted intentionally or recklessly.
Economic damages pay for your direct financial losses after an accident. Examples of economic damages include property damage, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, medical bills, and future medical treatment. For example, if you are unable to work in your same profession because of your burn injuries, then you could get compensation for not only your lost wages but the lower salary that you will earn because of the injuries.
Non-economic damages address the mental harm caused by burn injuries. This may include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional trauma, scarring, and disfigurement. For example, if you experienced scarring on your face from burns, you might be reluctant to do any activity where other people might be around, which leads to a much lower quality of life.
Insurance companies often try to downplay non-economic damages because they are harder to prove. After all, you don’t get a bill in the mail for sleepless nights or PTSD. Yet this type of emotional harm is a very real aspect of burn injuries.
Our law firm works hard to make sure that our clients are compensated for all of their injuries, including psychological and emotional harm. We work with highly respected experts in the field who can testify as to how these types of burn injuries affect a person. We will also gather other evidence to prove the extent of your losses, such as medical records, therapy records, statements from loved ones, your own notes or journal, and prescription records for medications like antidepressants.
We won’t accept a lowball settlement offer from the insurance company. We will aggressively advocate for your right to full compensation. If the insurance company won’t offer you a fair settlement that addresses ALL of your losses, including psychological harm, we will take your case to trial and ask the jury to return a verdict in your favor.
Help for West Virginia Burn Injury Victims
We know that burn injuries produce far more than just scars. For many people, the long-term psychological impact of a burn can be far more challenging to overcome. Our law firm will help you get compensation that addresses all aspects of your losses, including your pain and suffering and emotional distress.
At Johnstone & Gabhart, we represent West Virginians who have been hurt in all types of accidents. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis so that you’ll never pay a fee unless we recover money for you. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation with a West Virginia burn injury lawyer, call our law firm at 304-343-7100 or fill out our online contact form.
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