Philadelphia Injury Lawyer Blog

Tragedy struck a hometown 4th of July celebration when 11 people suffered personal injuries in a fireworks accident in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, northeast of Harrisburg. Palmyra residents had gathered for an evening fireworks display to celebrate our nation's Independence Day and the borough's 250th anniversary. Shortly after being lit, one of the fireworks misfired and exploded, peppering the watching crowd with burning chemicals. Eleven people suffered personal injuries and had to be treated at the hospital. Two people, including a child, remain hospitalized with more serious burn injuries.

The gun powder and flammable chemicals used to create the stunning pyrotechnic displays we love to watch on the 4th of July make fireworks extremely hazardous to both workers and bystanders. Every year numerous people, often fireworks workers, suffer serious burn injuries during municipal Independence Day fireworks displays. Most fireworks injuries, however, are associated with home fireworks. In 2009, burns and explosions from fireworks sent 9,000 Americans to the emergency room and killed two people, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Fireworks distributors say national standards have resulted in safer fireworks; however, Philadelphia medical professionals and Philadelphia fire marshals every year warn residents about the potential risk of serious personal injury inherent in using consumer fireworks. Most fireworks accidents to children involve firecrackers and bottle rockets; but sparklers, which many Philadelphia parents consider benign, cause one-third of the eye injuries suffered by children under the age of 5, according to Prevent Blindness America. Sparklers burn at 2,000 degrees; hot enough to melt gold.

Fireworks injuries can result in permanent disfiguration, traumatic amputation of digits or hands and debilitating loss of use injuries. When traumatic injuries occur, Philadelphia personal injury attorneys can advise victims of their rights and aggressively pursue the compensation you are entitled to.

A 3-year-old Philadelphia boy died yesterday from severe burn injuries suffered in a tragic home fire that sent four other family members to area hospitals with smoke inhalation damage and serious burn injuries. Nicholas Budzilo was trapped with his 5-year-old older brother in an upstairs bedroom when fire raced through their Port Richmond home. Their grandfather and pregnant mother were able to escape the burning home with 1-year-old toddler Jacob. Both the mother and grandfather made repeated attempts to reenter the house and rescue the older boys but were repelled by the blaze.

When Philadelphia firefighters arrived on the scene they were able to rescue the boys, but the injuries sustained by Nicholas' small body were too great and he died early yesterday morning. His brothers remain in stable condition at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; his mother and grandfather, also in stable condition, at Temple University Hospital.

The fire which left the home gutted and uninhabitable is under investigation. Neighbors said it appeared that the blaze might have started in a second story bedroom, and one man speculated that a room air conditioner may have overheated in Philadelphia's record-setting heat.

Loss from fire is traumatic. This Philadelphia family lost a son and their home. The four surviving family members face a long, painful, expensive recovery. Burn injuries are the most painful of traumatic personal injuries, requiring a slow, painful rehabilitation that often involves multiple surgeries and skin grafts. Recovery can take months, even years. Even after recovery, nerve damage can cause lifelong pain, loss of function and disfiguring scarring that cannot be repaired.

Expert legal advice from a Philadelphia personal injury attorney experienced with burn injury claims is critical in recovering damages for medical and hospital bills, ongoing health care, future surgeries, pain and suffering, counseling, loss of income and other issues burn victims and their families will have to deal with for years to come.