When young students are required to use certain devices or objects in science classes for experiments, those students could be at risk of suffering a serious burn injury. Anytime science classroom experiments require students to use flammable materials, a serious fire could start and students could suffer disfiguring and severe burn injuries. A recent report from CBS 8 San Diego discusses a burn injury case in which a sixth-grader in the Encinitas Union School District sustained life-threatening burn injuries. That student’s family recently filed a lawsuit against the school, and that claim highlights the serious dangers of particular classroom activities.

Science Classroom Experiment Resulted in Face and Neck Burn Injuries

According to the CBS 8 San Diego report, the recent claim against Encinitas Union School District centers around a 13-year-old student, Priest Rivera, who “suffered burns to his face, neck, and chest after a school experiment allegedly went wrong.” The family alleges that the Encinitas Union School District is responsible for the injuries according to legal theories of negligence, and negligent supervision and training. As a result of the injuries, the student required four surgeries and spent one week in the burn unit at UCSD. The student’s complaint alleges that he ultimately suffered “severe and permanent injuries.” How did the burn injuries happen?

The 13-year-old student was in a Capri Elementary sixth-grade classroom shortly before school let out for the summer last June. The student and his other classmates were participating in a science experiment that is commonly known as “black snake” or “carbon snake.” The experiment involves igniting a mixture of baking soda and sugar, which results in the melted sugar pushing out and “forming a snake-like ash.” According to the student, the experiment was not working as it was intended, and he indicated that “the science teacher kept pouring more rubbing alcohol to make the flame build up more.” The student’s head and neck caught on fire, and students around him reportedly said, “he’s on fire.”

Burn Injuries can Occur in Any Science Classroom When Precautions are Not Taken

While this Encinitas case highlights a serious accident that happened right in Encinitas, it is certainly not the first of its kind. Shortly after Priest Rivera suffered burn injuries in Encinitas last June, a former high school student in New York won a $60 million verdict for a burn injury claim arising out of a chemistry classroom experiment. According to an article in The New York Times, in July 2019, a Manhattan jury found the New York City Department of Education and the student’s teacher “liable for an accident that left much of his body scarred from third-degree burns.

In a Beacon High School chemistry classroom, “a large fireball exploded when an experienced science teacher, Anna Poole, conducted an experiment intended to show how salts change color when exposed to methanol.” The experiment is commonly known as “the Rainbow,” and it is known to have caused at least two other accidents in science classrooms across the U.S. in recent years. The accident caused a large fire, and the student who won the lawsuit was “caught in the flames.” The third-degree burns were so severe that the student “is no longer able to sweat through some parts of his body.” He required “Extensive skin graft surgeries” and spent a total of five months in the hospital.

Contact a Burn Injury Lawyer in Encinitas

Burn injuries can have a variety of causes. If you suffered burn injuries caused by another party’s negligence, you should speak with a burn injury lawyer about your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about filing a claim.

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News reports state that a contractor working on the house damaged a natural gas line, requiring the presence of Southern California Gas Co. workers. Apparently, the contractor was working on solar panels on the home. The explosion killed one of the workers the other was transported to the hospital.

All others injured were transported to the hospital for evaluation.

Potential Liability: If it’s true that the contractor damaged the gas line, leading to his tragic event, then the contractor would bear responsibility. If the utility workers contributed to the danger, then it is possible that both the contractor and the utility workers would be responsibility. There is no doubt that California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be investigating this case thoroughly.

Based in North County San Diego, Walton Law Firm is a respected personal injury law firm whose injury lawyers represent individuals and families in San Diego and Riverside County impacted by accidents of all types, including construction and industrial accidents. Consultations for cases are always free of charge. The firm can be reached at (760) 571-5500. Update (7/16/19): It is being reported that the Southern California Gas Company employee who died in yesterday’s explosion in Murrieta was 31-year-ol Wade Kilpatrick. Mr. Kilpatrick was a longtime SCGC employee and leaves behind a very large family.

An ongoing investigation into the incident has revealed that the explosion was connected to a gas leak that Mr. Kilpatrick was attempting to repair on the property that had been damaged by a private solar contractor. According to SCGC, the contractor did not call 811 to determine if there were any utility lines nearby. This report suggests that the solar company might have some, if not all, the liability in any claims or lawsuits that might arise from the incident.

Mobile Home Fire Causes Serious and Fatal Injuries

The victim of the recent fire-related death was in her 60s, and emergency responders found her inside her bathtub. She and her husband lived in a mobile home at Lamplighter Mobile Home Park on North River Road in Oceanside. According to reports, firefighters arrived at the mobile home park at around 6:30 p.m. after receiving reports of “a double-wide home on fire” with “three people inside.”

Members of the fire department found a man inside the mobile home who suffered serious burn injuries and smoke inhalation. He was identified as the husband of the deceased, and he was rushed to the burn unit at UC San Diego Medical Center. Felipe Rodriguez, the Oceanside Battalion Chief, reported that the man “was in serious condition but was expected to survive.”

The adult son of the deceased was also reported to have been in the mobile home at the time of the fire, but emergency responders did not locate him. Two dogs also were found underneath the home and had suffered from burns, but they’re expected to survive.

The Oceanside police department, along with fire officials, are investigating the cause of the fire. In addition to the serious and fatal bodily injuries that occurred in the blaze, authorities predict that the home fire caused approximately $150,000 in financial damage, as the “mobile home was determined to be a complete loss.”

Home Fire Statistics

How often do home fires result in serious and fatal personal injuries? And, how frequently do these blazes lead to other significant damage? According to a news release from the U.S. Fire Administration, the total number of deaths and injuries from home fires has declined in recent years. However, the numbers are still higher than you might think:

• In 2011, nearly 1.4 million home fires occurred throughout the country. That number actually shows a significant decrease from just a decade prior, when nearly 20 percent more home fires were reported.
• Fire-related deaths have decreased by more than 20 percent in the last decade, yet more than 3,000 people die each year from fire-related injuries.
• The total number of serious (but not fatal) fire-related injuries hasn’t declined as sharply (only by about 5 percent over the last decade). More than 17,000 Americans suffer injuries each year in fires.
• Home fires result in billions of dollars of damage. Indeed, fires lead to more than $11 billion in damages annually.

What causes home fires? The U.S. Fire Administration lists the following as the most frequent causes of fatal home fires:

• Cooking;
• Smoking;
• Heating; and
• Electrical malfunctions.

Fire-related injuries and deaths often result from a homeowner’s or renter’s own negligence, but they also happen because of another party’s negligence. If you or a loved one has been injured in a home fire and has suffered serious burn injuries, it’s important to discuss your case with an experienced San Diego personal injury lawyer.

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