Direct skin contact with concrete can lead to debilitating burns that can become disabling. Anytime work has been done with concrete, signage and barrier tape should be placed to limit direct exposure to the harmful substance.  Negligence can lead to someone coming in contact with wet concrete, which can result in severe injuries and, therefore, a personal injury lawsuit.

If you've been injured by wet concrete due to someone's carelessness, you can seek compensation for your injuries. Here's what you need to know. 

Concrete is highly alkaline and can cause extreme burns  

Unless you work with concrete on a regular basis, you may not know that concrete contains lime, which is highly alkaline. Materials that are highly alkaline are extremely caustic, which means exposure to bodily tissues can cause severe burns. The important thing to understand about direct skin and bodily contact with lime is that it will continue to cause damage to the tissues until it is properly removed by washing it away. 

Concrete burns can continue and worsen 

The problem with washing all of the caustic substance away is that it can get into the tiny cracks and openings in the skin. The burn causes more openings and cracks in the skin, which causes the lime to reach deep within the flesh. The chemical burn can continue to worsen until the caustic substance is irrigated from the skin in a medical setting. This does mean that the burn can continue all the way to the bone. This is what is referred to in the concrete industry as the sneak attack. 

Warnings regarding this type of chemical burn is listed on all packaging that contains concrete, cement, and other lime containing building materials. The property owner and/or their contractor or other individual working with the concrete had the responsibility of placing signage and barriers to help people avoid coming into contact with the substance and getting injured. 

You'll need to prove the defense was negligent in their duty of care 

Injuries of this severity require extensive medical care and treatment and may also result in the inability to remain gainfully employed. Because of this, you should consider seeking compensation for your injuries and loss of income by filing an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit. Either way, you will need to prove negligence on behalf of the property owner and/or the concrete contractor and that they had a duty to warn others of the potential hazard. 

One way to do this is to prove that no warning signs or barriers were in place at the time of your exposure to concrete. Hopefully, you had taken photographs of the location immediately after coming in contact with the concrete. If not, perhaps there are surveillance cameras in the area that may show a lack of appropriate signage. A personal injury lawyer can help you obtain footage from surveillance cameras if any are in the immediate area. 

The defense may say you are culpable  

Should you seek compensation in a personal injury lawsuit, one of the challenges you may face is proving that you were not culpable for your injuries as well. The defendant may try to prove that you allowed your condition to become severe because you didn't wash the concrete away or seek prompt medical treatment to irrigate the caustic substance from deep within your skin.

However, unless you were familiar with the dangers prior to this particular experience, you likely would not have known what to do after coming in direct contact with concrete. Speak with a personal injury lawyer for more information about seeking compensation for your concrete burn. 

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