Articles Posted in Burn Injuries

Some Tassimo coffee brewers and coffee pads have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer, after reports of burn injuries caused by the appliances. In total, about 1.7 million coffee makers and 4 million espresso coffee pads with the Tassimo brand name have been recalled this week. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 140 of users of the products have been sprayed with hot tea or coffee when using the appliances. A reported 37 victims have sustained serious burn injuries as a result.

The manufacturer of the appliances is BSH Home Appliance Corp., of Irvine, California. According to the company website, the T disc, or a plastic disc inside the machine, are what appear to be malfunctioning in the burn incidents. The disc holds the hot liquid but in some cases has sprayed and burst hot liquid.

The items recalled include brewers sold under the Bosch or Tassimo brand name. The affected machines have codes FD8806 through FD9109. Tassimo Professional brewers with codes of FD8905 through FD9109 have also been recalled. The appliances were sold between June 2008 and February 2012. They were made in China and Slovenia and cost between $100 and $250, depending on the model. Customers can find out more by visiting the Tassimo website. The manufacturer has asked anyone with an effected model to stop using the product and to order a free T Disc replacement from the company.

Also recalled are Tassimo espresso coffee pads, made by Kraft Foods Global Inc., of Northfield, Illinois under the brand name Tassimo espresso T Discs. These items are pre-ground and pre-packaged coffee grounds encased in a filter. According to Kraft Foods Global Inc., the discs, like the brewers, can get clogged and as a result can spray hot liquid. About 2.1 packages of the discs have been recalled in the US. There have been 21 reports of injuries related to these discs, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and four of those injuries involved second-degree burns. The espresso pads are sold with Nabob, Maxwell House, and Gevalia pre-ground coffee inside and come with codes 11213 through 12020. Any customers with the products are asked to stop using them and are asked to contact Kraft Foods Global Inc. for a refund.

The recall will hopefully come in time to prevent some serious Miami burn injuries. However, the recall is also an important reminder that any household appliances and devices, no matter how seemingly innocuous, can cause serious injuries. Each year, Florida residents suffer serious Miami brain injuries, eye injuries, and other serious injuries due to defective products. If you have an appliance that does not seem to be functioning as it should, stop using the product and contact the manufacturer to report the problem. If you have been injured by a product that you feel is defective, contact a qualified Miami personal injury attorney to discuss your case. You may have a Miami products liability case. The manufacturer, distributors, and retailers of products that injure customers can be held liable for injuries.

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Unfortunately, in many communities, the holidays are a time of many fires and burns. Holiday lights, decorations, meals, and candles all pose Miami burn injury hazards at this time of year. To prevent this type of Miami personal injury, follow these simple tips for the holiday season:

1) Be careful when hanging holiday lights and decorations. Any lights and decorations with electrical wire need to be checked carefully for damage. Any frayed or worn cords should be replaced promptly. When plugging in lights, check manufacturer instructions to ensure that you are using the right lights and the right plug for your needs. You should never, for example, hand indoor lights outdoors. Check lights occasionally to ensure that they are not too close to heaters or any flammable materials (such as curtains).

2) Be very vigilant about candles. Candles lead to a large proportion of Miami holiday fires. If you like the look of candles, consider battery-operated candle-like decorations, which pose a smaller risk of fire. These decorations can be an especially good idea if you have small children or pets, who can easily get burn injuries or can cause a fire by playing with candles. If you do decide to use candles, ensure that they are placed far from any flammable materials and keep them well supervised. Extinguish your candles before heading outdoors to errands.

3) Do a quick walk-through of your home before leaving for extended periods of time. If you are heading out for hours of shopping, to a holiday party, or are leaving for the holidays, stroll through the house to ensure that there are no obvious fire hazards. Make sure that holiday lights are out, candles are extinguished, and that your stovetop is off. At this time of year, many of us are a little rushed, and it’s easy to make mistakes or to overlook an obvious hazard. A quick check before you leave can help save your home.

4) If you have children and guests visiting your home, check your home for obvious hazards. If your guests are injured in your home, you could be subject to a Miami premises liability claim. Be especially careful about fireplaces, space heaters, and any burn hazards. While these may pose no threat to adults, they can cause serious injury to small, curious children. For the same reason, if you have a pool, you will want to take steps to ensure that the pool area is not accessible for small children. Lock the pool area securely and ensure that no one can get in. Miami pool accidents and drowning can still occur during the holidays when curious children wander into a pool area.

5) Check your chimneys and fireplaces for safety. While a roaring fire can help you set the stage of a holiday event, chimneys and fireplaces are unsafe if they are not correctly maintained. If you hope to have a roaring fire, make sure that your fireplace is checked for safety and cleaned correctly first.

6) Make sure that your smoke detectors are working correctly. During the holiday season, you are probably buying batteries for gifts and toys, so buy a few extra for your smoke detectors if it has been some time since the batteries were replaced.

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Every holiday season, Florida burn injuries spike. Ranging from mild burns to life-altering severe burns that affect mobility as well as appearance, burn injuries are a devastating injury. These burns can lead to severe pain as well as disfigurement. Worse, many insurance companies refuse to compensate Florida burn injury patients for skin grafts and other treatments, since such procedures are considered “cosmetic.” In order to prevent these types of injuries, it is important to know the risks of burn injuries:

1) Candles. Many people choose to decorate with holiday candles during this time of year, but candles are a fire hazard. They also cause many Florida injuries to minors and children each year, as children are often curious about candles and draw too near the flame. A better option is to light electric ornaments in the shape of candles. If you do decide to use candles, select quality candles that contain no lead and only burn them for short periods of time, when you can supervise the candles closely. Take extra care to extinguish the candles before leaving the room and the house.

2) Holiday lights and displays. While holiday lights and electric displays may be safer than candles, they still do pose a serious risk of Florida personal injuries. Always read the instructions that come with your holiday decorations carefully. If an electric display is intended for indoor use, for example, it is important to never use it outdoors – moisture and rain can pose an electric hazard. As well, check periodically to make sure that your holiday lights do not burn too hot. Older holiday lights, especially, sometimes do burn hot enough to pose a fire hazard. Periodically check for any damage to your lights and displays. Any frayed or worn cords should be replaced at once.

3) Cooking. During the holidays, many of us cook more and often cook in unusual ways. For example, we may cook outdoors as well as indoors to accommodate a large crowd or we may add hotplates to our kitchen to cook more dishes. When cooking that special holiday meal, make sure that the kitchen is well supervised. As well, if you are using several cooking surfaces – such as outdoor surfaces, for example – check all the cooking areas regularly to make sure no fire starts. Set up good detectors in your home and ensure that they work well.

4) Absences from home. When you drive out to visit friends and family, you need to ensure that stoves, fireplaces, candles, and other hazards are not in use. Walk through your home, ensuring that you have not left anything on which might be a hazard. Consider turning off your holiday light displays, too, since these can burn hot if you leave them in for days at a time.

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Every year in Florida, burn injuries cause serious suffering and even fatalities. Burn injuries to minors and children can be especially devastating and can cut short a life of promise. Summer is a peak time for Florida burn injuries of all types, from minor sun burns to life-threatening facial and body burns caused by fires. Barbecue grills and fireworks are the leading causes of fires and burn injuries in the summer, but in many cases the injuries they cause are preventable.

Barbecue grills can cause burn injuries and other serious injuries two ways: by igniting a home or by causing direct burns. To prevent your grill from starting a fire, make sure to keep your barbeque at least ten feet away from eaves, siding, and any flammable areas (such as trees or bushes). Never use a fire pit, grill, or barbeque in an enclosed area, such as a garage.

A well-maintained and correctly working barbeque is less likely to cause burn injuries than a fault one, so before each use, check your barbecue over carefully. Check for leaks in the connections and hoses and ensure that there are no blockages in the venturi tubes where air and gas mix. Make sure that your propane tank is filled correctly (not overfilled) and free of leaks. Use a tank that has a three-pronged valve, as this protects you from overfilling your propane tank.

Summer time is a great time to kick back and enjoy the warm weather. Unfortunately, summer is also a dangerous time for burn injuries. Hot surfaces, grills, summertime fireworks, and campfires can pose real risks. Children and minors are especially subject to summertime burn injuries. Among the offenders at this time of year:

1) Campfires. Everyone loves toasting hot dogs, marshmallows, and s’mores around a roaring campfire while telling ghost stories. Make sure that your campfire memories are all positive ones, however. Never allow children or teenagers to light their own fires unsupervised. Have an adult present at all campfires and keep a bucket of water as well as other extinguishers nearby to properly extinguish the fire and to keep it in check. Avoid having very young children around a campfire – they will be curious about the flames and may not know to avoid the fire.

2) Fireworks. Fireworks injuries cause not only burn injuries but also facial and head injuries each year. Fireworks are powerful enough to cause amputations and serious life-threatening injuries. Rather than having your own fireworks (which will necessitate having fireworks at home), visit a public fireworks display, where professionals work to ensure a safe fireworks display for everyone.

Now that the warmer weather has arrived, many people are getting ready to start grilling food at the barbecue. In summer months, grilling is a tasty, fun, and inexpensive way to prepare food. It gets us out of the house, allows us to enjoy the weather, and gives us unique new options for preparing our food. However, barbecues and grills produce high heat as well as open flame and do pose a risk of burn injury. There are several things you can do to help prevent burn injuries caused by grills and barbecues:

1) Carefully read all the instructions that came with your barbecue. While it may not be exciting reading, the instruction manual which comes with your barbecue provides important safety instructions and tips. This is a good time to review those tips for safe grilling. Also, review proper use of your barbecue. Incorrect use of your grill can increase the chances of a fire or explosion.

2) Store barbecue implements, accessories, and fuel carefully. Many barbecue implements and accessories – including tongs and grill cleaning brushes – have very sharp edges which can cause injuries to children. As well, propane tanks can leak and even lead to explosions. Check propane tanks regularly for leaks and store them in a safe area outside your home, out of the reach of children. Lighter fluid, charcoal, and barbecue lighters can likewise pose a temptation for children, so store them in a safe area well out of sight.

If you have sustained a serious burn injury as a result of a chemical burn, car accident, fire, or other incident, you will need the best care possible in order to recover from your injury. Burn injuries require a complex series of treatments in many cases, because these injuries can be complex. You will generally require immediate treatment to try to minimize the damage. If you have been burned, you will also usually need treatment for pain management as well as treatment to repair damaged skin and tissue. If you have a very severe burn, part of your treatment will inevitably involve rehabilitation to regain mobility in the affected area. You will also generally need cosmetic surgery to restore the look of your skin.

Burn injuries are a very difficult and traumatic injury and recovery can take months or years, depending on the location or the severity of the burn. Many burns leave permanent injuries as well. For example, burns to the facial area may result in loss of sight, hearing, or other sensory functions. Severe burns to the limbs can permanently affect a person’s mobility and ability to work.

After a burn injury, one of your main priorities will be to secure the best care possible. The better medical treatment you are able to secure, the better your chances of recovering fully from your injury. However, knowing where and how to secure the best treatment can be daunting. Most patients have multiple treatment options and knowing which options to select can be challenging. As well, information available about burn injuries is very detailed and technical. It is possible to get lost in all the data when trying to make an informed decision through research.

Severe burn injuries cause by car accidents, workplace accidents, truck accidents, and fires often require hospitalization. In the hospital, burn injury victims often receive several types of treatment to deal with the several ways that burn injuries affect the BODY:

1) Topical treatments with antibiotics. Skin is the first line of defense the skin has in protecting the body against viruses and bacteria. Burned skin, however, does not offer this protection and in fact becomes vulnerable to infection, especially when it is bandaged and kept wrapped up during the healing process. For this reason, topical antibiotic creams are often applied to the skin to help with rapid healing and to help prevent infection and scarring.

2) Barriers and bandages. Most serious burns need to be wrapped in order to protect the skin from infection and in order to allow wounds to remain clear of fluids and pus. Bandages are minimize pain for the patient and help keep the skin and limbs in place during the healing process.

Although many people see burn injuries as mostly a cosmetic problem, burn injuries in fact cause about 300 000 fatalities worldwide and about 4000 fatalities in America each year. In the United States, burn injuries are the third cause of death by accident. Often, burn injuries become fatal when a burn affects major organs after penetrating through the skin and tissue. As well, millions of people are seriously or permanently injured each year around the world by burn injuries. Often, serious and permanent injuries occur when burn damage goes deep beyond the first few layers of skin, permanently injuring muscle and other tissue. This can cause loss of feeling as well as loss of mobility.

Burn injuries can occur a number of ways. Car and truck accidents are a common cause of burn injuries, since vehicles colliding can cause enough force to cause an explosion. As well, many vehicles contain significant amounts of flammable materials (such as gasoline) which can easily ignite in a collision. At home, children are the most likely victims of burn injuries caused by fire, hot water, and even chemicals. Workers compensation claims are filled with incidents of burn injuries caused by electrical problems, workplace accidents, and other situations.

Burns vary widely, from fatal to barely noticeable. How severe a burn injury is depends mainly on two things: how long the burn lasts and how hot the skin is heated. A very hot fire (caused by a chemical fire, for example), can heat the skin to a higher temperature and therefore cause more damage. If a victim does not receive immediate help in extinguishing the flames and the burn continues second after second, the injuries get more severe as time passes.