Burns In Pediatrics

Published on: May 31, 2012

Pediatric Burns Suffered Inside Hospital; Incident Will Likely Result in Lawsuit Against Hospital

A California family is coming to Shriner’s Hospital in Sacramento as often as three times a month for treatment of third degree burns they say their baby incurred inside another hospital.

On March 28, 2012, Lylah’s parents, Tiffany Payne and Stanley Quezada, took the baby to Mercy Merced’s emergency room suffering from diarrhea and dehydration. According to Payne, a nurse tried to start an intravenous line, but was unable to do so. They then called a phlebotomist from the pediatric unit to come down and do it. But Quezada says they pricked the baby’s skin a total of 14 times.

The family attorney, Moseley Collins, says in an attempt to try to find the vein, a nurse held a bright light to Lylah’s left palm. However, the nurse did not realize the light was so hot it was causing third degree burns. “It was held up to the baby’s hand for about eight minutes,” Payne said. “She was screaming at the top of her lungs.”

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Published on: January 13, 2012

Third Degree Burns from Scalding Water is Too Common Among Children, Seniors and the Elderly

By Larry Kramer

Back in August 2011, a grandmother’s summer holiday at a luxury seaside hotel in Great Britain ended in tragedy when she was scalded to death in a hot bath.

Unfortunately, severe burns from scalding hot water happen too often among children and seniors alike. The worst part is that these incidents are almost always preventable.

Evelyn Cowley, 88 years old, was enjoying her annual family holiday when she took a bath in her hotel room. But for some reason, she immersed herself in water that had a temperature of more than 120 degrees Farenheit. As a result, she suffered third degree burns to half her body, mostly to her lower limbs and her back and arms.

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Published on: December 19, 2011

Gas Explosion Kills Man, Injures Six–Is There Negligence and Liability?

By Larry Kramer

A few weeks ago, the Associated Press reported that an explosion in a home in Fairborn, Ohio killed a 75-year-old man and caused debris injuries and severe burns to six others, including four children. The blast was so powerful that it also significantly damaged neighboring homes.

Both the gas and water service were turned off inside the home so repair crews could work on the water line. But the house exploded when the crew apparently hit the gas pipe while doing their work. The explosion sent debris and the victims literally flying through the yard, and a neighbor reported seeing a baby with burns, and bloodied from being hit with flying glass.

That 1-year-old baby was in fair condition while a 5-year-old child was in good condition by the next morning, said a spokesman for Dayton Children’s Medical Center. A third child, whose age wasn’t available, was treated and released the same day. But a 13-year-old was transferred in critical condition to Shriner’s Hospital for Children, one of about four hospitals in the country specializing in pediatric burns.

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Published on: October 13, 2011

A Lesson Learned: Child Suffers Severe Burns in Starbucks Accident

By Larry Kramer

In late September, a 13-month-old girl received severe burns from an accident at a Starbucks Coffee shop in Stuart, FL.

According to the local sheriff’s office, witnesses saw the mother of Lourdes Marsh place the infant in a clip-on tabletop chair that had been manually attached to the table. The chair has no legs that touch the ground, and such a chair is meant for children who are about Lourdes’ age. But for some reason, the weight of the child placed into the chair caused the table to fall over, sending a large cup of very hot coffee and another large cup of hot tea onto Lourdes.

Lourdes received second-degree burns to her face and upper torso. Witnesses said that skin was steaming, red, and coming off her body. A fire/rescue spokesman said the burns covered 20 percent of her body. For a child that small, 20 percent is a dangerously large portion of the body. What’s more, blistering of the skin from burns is a dangerous situation–not only does it require immediate professional medical care, but it makes it possible that the child will have permanent scars. While the child was being taken by helicopter to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami as a precaution, she was alert, which was a positive sign. And after a few days, Lourdes was recovering at home, although the extent of any permanent scarring will not be know for some time.

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Published on: August 12, 2011

A Moment of Inattention Brings a Lifetime of Dealing With a Severe Burn Injury

By Larry Kramer

Here are just two more examples of families suffering the mental anguish of an injured child because of a single moment of carelessness:

First, a toddler in a home outside Atlanta had to be flown to a burn unit at a hospital in the city after being scalded by a bowl of Ramen noodles she pulled off a table. The Times of Gainesville reported a helicopter took the 14-month-old girl to Grady Memorial Hospital. A county sheriff said the little girl suffered severe burns to her upper chest and abdomen, but that she’s expected to survive.

The sheriff added the girl was being cared for by a babysitter at the home when the incident happened around lunchtime. The family might now investigate whether the babysitter has legal liability for the toddler’s injuries.

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Published on: October 22, 2010

Burns In Pediatrics

By Larry Kramer

One of the most common causes of hospital admission of pediatric patients is burns. Most pediatric burns occur at home. The most common cause of burns in young children is exposure to hot liquids (scald injury) such as hot water. Contact with hot objects is the second most common cause of burn in young children. Pediatric burns differ from adult burns in many aspects.

Their skin is more sensitive and less resistant to heat and because it is harder for them to escape from the burning object, this may lead to longer exposure which may increase the burn severity.

Pediatrics have a smaller body size than adults with a greater body surface area in relation to their weight. Fluid loss is proportionally greater in young children when compared to the same percentage of burn in adults because of their smaller circulating volume and different distribution of body fluids leading to more rapid onset of fluid and electrolyte disturbance and imbalance. Therefore pediatrics especially infants develop hypovolemic shock faster and fluid replacement should be started as soon as possible which is calculated according to certain formulas.

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