JENKINTOWN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

If there is a fire in your workplace, it is important that you evacuate even if you aren’t near the flames. The fact is that the biggest danger in an industrial fire is the smoke, not the flames. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 80 percent of fire deaths are actually caused by smoke inhalation.

Major Dangers Associated With Smoke Inhalation

• A fire’s fuel is oxygen. There may not be enough oxygen to breathe.
• Fire produces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Inhaling these substances decreases your body‘s oxygen supply. You may think you are breathing, but you are actually suffocating your cells.
• Burning chemicals such as hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide can damage the mucous membranes and lungs and may cause respiratory distress.

You need oxygen. If your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, brain cells will begin to die. You may develop cerebral hypoxia, a condition that can cause permanent brain damage. The severity of the brain damage will depend on the amount of oxygen deprivation, the chemicals in the smoke, and the health of the victim. Cerebral hypoxia may cause:

• Chronic headache
• Loss of vision
• Loss of hearing
• Speech difficulties
• Loss of motor skills
• Mobility difficulties
• Memory problems
• Cognitive disabilities
• Loss of consciousness
• Coma
• Death

Workers’ compensation can provide long-term care for brain damage resulting from a workplace fire. To learn more about Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation, please call Mednick, Mezyk & Kredo, P.C., at 888-807-WORK (9675). Ask to schedule a free consultation.