Why are burns so expensive?
May 10, 2019
It is no exaggeration to say that a burn over a large part of your body could end up costing you almost a million dollars in Texas. According to the Industrial Safety and Hygiene News website, an electruction, on average, could have you in the hospital for almost two months and carry a cost of just below $800,000 for a burn that covers about half of your body.
If you have ever seen these forces at work, you know how easy it is for a high-voltage electrical source to cause extensive damage to your skin, nerves and even your organs. Here are some of the reasons that hospitalization and treatment for these injuries could cost so much compared to other types of issues.
Many people who suffer electrical burns have damage across large portions of their bodies. This is because electricity would seek to ground itself when it enters you. If the shortest path to the ground were from your hand to feet, for example, the electricity might travel that way through your body, burning skin as it goes.
For severe burns, sometimes caused at the contact point for the electrocution, you may also suffer nerve and muscle damage. Depending on the extent of the injury, doctors may attempt to provide various therapies for this type of issue over the course of several weeks of treatment.
Another problem with electrocution is that there is virtually no limit to the amount of damage these types of injuries could cause you. They could affect your bones, your heart, your muscles or any other part of your body. Doctors would have to identify the full extent of your electrocution related problems and spend the time to treat them effectively.
In short, electrocution could cause nerve damage, organ failure and widespread skin burns. Since there is almost no way to determine the full cost of lifelong treatment for one of these injuries, it is almost never a good idea to accept an initial offer of compensation from an insurance company or third-party of any kind. Electrocutions are very volatile and each one is different. Therefore, please think of this only as general information. It is not legal advice.
