People involved in car crashes or other severe accidents can get a variety of injuries. Burns are among some of the most painful and expensive injuries possible. People often underestimate how expensive burn injuries can actually be.
Burn victims may decline to seek compensation from other parties or may settle insurance claims for far less than their total losses. Individuals who sustain second- or third-degree burns may need help predicting their future expenses to ensure that they secure an appropriate amount of compensation given their injuries.
What factors make burn injuries so expensive?
1. Trauma care costs
One of the main reasons that burn injuries are so expensive is that people typically need to undergo intensive and costly trauma care immediately after getting burned. They may need surgery for skin grafts and intensive medical support to prevent infections.
They may also require pain relief because of how excruciating burns can be. The initial medical care that people require when they sustain significant burns can cost far more than people anticipate.
2. Mental health consequences
Physical medical care isn’t the only expense for burn injury victims to cover. They also need to consider the likely mental health effects of significant burns. Chronic pain, which commonly follows extensive burn injuries, can affect an individual’s mental health. So can a loss of function and a change in appearance.
Individuals with significant burns may have an assortment of different mental health challenges to overcome. They may be at risk of depression. They might even develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to the incident that caused their burns. PTSD is notorious for being very difficult to treat. Those with burn injuries may require tens of thousands of dollars to move on with their lives after getting hurt.
3. Reduced earning potential
Treatment can allow people with extensive burns to return to work eventually. However, their earning potential may never go back to what it was before they got hurt. Scars from burns can cause functional limitations. People may no longer be able to move as freely as they did before.
If the burns are visible, workers may have a harder time advancing their careers. Appearance-based bias is common across all careers, but especially those with higher pay. Executives, sales professionals and managers may find that their appearance can influence their earning potential. Additionally, the mental health consequences of burn injuries can also affect job performance and earning potential.
Individuals with substantial burn injuries may need help seeking compensation. Understanding how expensive burn injuries can be may make it easier for people to see the value in seeking compensation after sustaining significant burns.
