Burn Injury
Prevent Burn Injuries This Winter
Winter is one of the riskiest seasons for household fires and burn injuries from household items, according to the United States Fire Administration (USFA).
Cooking-related fires top the list of household fire causes year-round, and they are a significant source of serious burn injuries, especially in young children. During the winter months, however, fires and burn injuries caused by household heating equipment also start to play a significant role in endangering Oklahoma families, as every Oklahoma City personal injury lawyer has seen.
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How the McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case Changed Our Lives
More than 20 years ago, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old grandmother from Albuquerque, N.M., drew the wrath and ridicule of an entire nation when a jury awarded her $2.7 million after she spilled hot coffee from McDonald’s on her lap and suffered third-degree burns. However, a recent documentary made by The New York Times, brings to light the facts of the case, which never quite made it to the public eye.
Liebeck didn’t pass away until 2004 at age 91. But her family says she suffered emotionally until she died because she was ridiculed and held up as an example of what is wrong with the American legal system. The facts were so badly mangled by the media in her case that the truth got lost between the headlines and punch lines.
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What Types of Burn Injuries are Commonly Suffered in Car Accidents?
There are a number of reasons why a car can catch on fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 49 percent of all car fires result from a mechanical failure. Approximately 23 percent of all vehicle fires involve an electrical failure or malfunction and three percent result from a crash or a rollover accident. The majority of fatal vehicles fires (58 percent) occur as a result of car crashes and not due to mechanical or electrical failures.
According to the NFPA, there were 184,500 vehicle fires in the year 2010. In those accidents, 285 civilians were killed and 1,440 were injured. In the year 2009, 190,500 vehicle fires resulted in 260 fatalities and 1,455 injuries. Between the years 2003 and 2007, an average of 287,000 vehicle fires resulted in the death of 480 civilians and 1,525 injuries.
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