February 6 to 12 is National Burn Awareness Week. Here in Portland, Safe Kids Oregon (a project of the Oregon Public Health Division) opens its website promoting burn awareness with a particularly startling fact related to injuries to Oregon children: a “young child’s skin is thinner than older children and adults, and their skin burns at lower temperatures and more deeply.”
As the site goes on to note there are numerous ways that burns can happen in and around the home. We are all aware, for example, of kitchen dangers: steam, open flames, burners that look cool when they are not, etc. And most people with small children are aware that they should block sockets and replace frayed cords to lessen the risk of electrical burns. It is worth remembering, however, that burns can happen anywhere in the home. Safe Kids Oregon’s Burn Awareness Week web page, for example, includes a very useful section on bathroom hazards.
As the website notes, “accidental childhood injury” is “the leading killer of children 14 and under.”
With that in mind it is important that all of us, as adults, do everything in our power to prevent Oregon bicycle accidents, Oregon car accidents and other potential disasters that can leave children seriously injured – in some cases scarred for life. Taking this time to focus on the particular dangers posed by burns is especially useful.
When tragedy strikes and injuries do occur it is also important that parents understand the choices they face as they attempt to restore a sense of justice and balance to their family lives. A Portland child injury lawyer with expertise in personal injury and burn law can be an invaluable ally for parents coping with a family disaster and seeking a path back to normalcy.