Were You Burned By Chemicals? Get Help From a Personal Injury Lawyer
Toxic chemicals are insidious substances - often without a bad smell or clear visual warning, chemicals can cause serious physical harm to unsuspecting victims. Chemical burns can happen quickly and be immediately painful, but they can also happen slowly over time and cause damage that is hard to detect and prevent. Depending on the source of the chemical and which organization or individual was responsible for its unsafe handling, victims of toxic chemical contact may want to take action to recover financial compensation for their injuries and pursue justice.
Where Do Chemical Injuries Frequently Occur?
Chemical injuries are categorized into four groups: Acid, alkali, phosphorus, and chemical injection injuries. The most common chemical that burns people is sulfuric acid and chemical burns most often occur in the workplace, but they can also happen at work, school, or on the premises of restaurants, grocery stores, and home improvement stores. Even seemingly harmless substances like paint can cause external tissue damage and should be avoided when the source and substance are not well known.
People are also often injured when chemicals are improperly stored, such as when holding tanks leak, rupture, or overflow. Industrial plants that handle chemicals on a large scale may not store chemicals or their by-products safely, causing them to leech into the ground and contaminate rivers, drinking water, and other elements of the nearby environment.
What Kind of Injuries Can Chemicals Cause?
Most chemical injuries occur when someone is handling chemical substances, causing the hands and upper extremities to be affected by chemical burns the most often. Other common injuries include:
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Burns to the legs and feet
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Cancer, including skin cancer, organ cancer, and esophagus cancer
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Esophageal narrowing, often due to scarring from inhaled chemicals
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Perforations in the stomach, esophagus, or eye
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Scarring
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Skin discoloration and scarring
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Vision loss
While burns caused by momentary exposure to heat can cause immediate tissue damage, tissue necrosis caused by chemical exposure happens more slowly and will continue until the offending chemical agent is removed. This means that chemical damage often occurs over long periods of time and may require an extensive background investigation to find out who is responsible.
Meet with a Grand Rapids Workplace Chemical Injury Lawyer
Contact with toxic chemicals can have long-term health consequences. If you have been exposed to dangerous chemicals in your home or your workplace, schedule a free consultation with a Kent County chemical injury attorney. We conduct thorough investigations and help our clients aggressively pursue the compensation to which they are entitled. Call John D. Tallman, PLC, Attorney at Law at 616-361-8850 today.
Source:
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/public/docs/Health%20Effects%20of%20Chemical%20Exposure%20FS.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/chemical-injury
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