Florida residents who work in industrial settings can be in danger of injuries from steam burns. This is an occupational hazard for many kitchen workers as well as firefighters who ironically can get steam burns from their own sweat evaporating while they battle the flames.
One thing to keep in mind with a steam burn at work is that the burn can continue damaging the victim’s inner skin layers even when the skin’s surface looks nearly undamaged.
That means that you could be a dishwasher in a Coral Gables kitchen and get a sudden blast of hot steam vapor on your arm. You might jump and cry out in momentary pain before brushing off the seemingly brief and mild injury as you continue to work.
But researchers have found that “steam penetrates through the skin pores onto the lower skin layer, the dermis.” It then condenses and releases its considerable thermal energy onto the dermis, causing second-degree burns.
The damage may be somewhat mitigated by extended immersion of the injured body part in an ice bath. If you wind up injured by a workplace steam burn, you should notify your supervisor immediately so that cooling measures can be immediately begun.
An industrial steam burn could leave you out of work and with costly medical bills. Filing for workers’ compensation benefits can get you the medical and financial assistance you will need to get through your recuperation period. Don’t wait to take action, thinking that the burn is too minor to make a claim. You could be far more seriously injured than you realize.
