Williston, North Dakota Shop Explosion Injures Two People
A Williston, North Dakota shop explosion injured two people on Wednesday, February 13. According to Sergeant Detective Caleb Fry of the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, the explosion happened in the 5300 block of 151st Avenue NW.
The two injured people were taken to CHI St. Alexius in Williston. Their medical condition is not yet known.
Williston, North Dakota shop explosion highlights explosion dangers
We don’t know the cause of the Williston, North Dakota shop explosion. We also don’t know the condition of the people who have been injured, or the nature of their injuries.
Explosions can injure people in an alarming number of ways.
Burn Injuries
People tend to think of burn injuries first when they hear about an incident like the Williston, North Dakota shop explosion.
Burns are classified by how deeply the burn has penetrated into the person’s body. A first degree burn is fairly mild, while a third or fourth degree burn is extremely serious, and can be fatal. It also depends on how much of the person’s body has been burned.
The other deciding factor is how much of the victim’s body has been burned. People with severe burns over 20% of their body can go into burn shock. This is a life-threatening complication caused by low blood pressure, fluid loss, and dangerously low body temperatures. Internal organs can be damaged or destroyed.
Chemical burns are caused by caustic materials like acids, bases, and hydrocarbons. The burn will be more or less severe depending on the pH of the chemical — how concentrated it is, how long it was on your skin, and how much of the chemical touches you. First responders flush the area with large amounts of water to dilute the chemical. Flushing could take hours. One the chemical is diluted, the burn is usually treated like any other burn.
Burns can lead to infection. Skin is the first defense against bacterial infection, and burns damage a much larger area than a cut or puncture.
Burn injuries can include nerve damage, shock, and breathing problems. Scar tissue can tighten a person’s muscles and tendons, causing bone and joint problems.
Chemical burns
Treatment for burns is usually very painful and can cause severe scarring.
Brain Injuries
An explosion generates what is called a “blast over-pressurization wave,” and is usually referred to as a blast wave or concussion. This can be confusing, because “concussion” also refers to a type of brain injury. But they are quite different.
According to dictionary.com, a blast wave type of concussion is defined as “a violent shock as from a heavy blow,” and gives the example, “the ground shuddered with the concussion of the blast.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a brain concussion as “a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells.”
Anyone who has survived an explosion should be checked for concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
There are four classifications of brain injury: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
- Primary injuries are caused by the explosion. The pressure pushes on all organs in the body. Organs that contain fluid, like the brain and spinal cord can be damaged.
- Secondary blast injuries are caused by debris and fragments flying through the air. Created by the explosion, these are considered shrapnel.
- Tertiary blast injuries happen when the blast wave throws a person into another object. This causes blunt force trauma and injuries associated with acceleration and deceleration forces.
- Quaternary brain injuries are injuries like blood loss, burns, or breathing toxic gases.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an explosion, make sure the doctors check for brain injury.
Crush Injuries
Explosions can cause crush injuries in two ways:
- From a building, debris, or a floor collapsing on a person.
- From a person being thrown through the air from the force of the blast.
Legs and arms are most often affected by crush injuries.
Eardrum Rupture
The blast wave of an explosion can damage or destroy the tympanic membrane in the eardrum. This membrane separates the outer and middle ear sections. This injury causes hearing loss, and also lets bacteria, water, and other debris into the middle ear.
Symptoms of a ruptured eardrum include:
- Ear pain
- Drainage from the ear
- Hearing loss
- Ringing or buzzing sounds in the ear
- Vertigo
- Nausea or vomiting from vertigo
Anyone who is in the vicinity of an explosion should be checked for ear damage.
Heart Damage
The blast wave of an explosion can cause blunt force trauma to the chest. This can cause a wide variety of injuries to the heart. The heart muscle itself can be damaged, as well as blood vessels leading to and from the heart.
Many of these injuries can be life-threatening, and must be treated immediately by emergency personnel, either on-site or in an ambulance. At the hospital, emergency doctors should check for heart damage.
Recovery After Injury
Depending on how bad your injuries are, recovery could take a long time, be painful, and be very expensive. The healing journey can be very complicated. You will probably feel shaken and vulnerable. And if the incident happened because of negligence, you will also feel a strong need for some kind of justice.
The friendly and compassionate attorneys of Pritzker Hageman law firm have years of experience and expertise in helping survivors of explosions and fires. We have won multi-million dollar judgments for victims and their families, so that they can get the best medical care possible, and their financial future is secure. We also provide understanding, encouragement, and advice to help you put your lives back together.
If you wonder if you have a legal case, call us at 1-888-377-8900 for a free consultation, with no obligation. Or send in our online contact card. We take pride in working hard to help you as you face one of the biggest challenges of your life.
Sources
“2 hurt in explosion in rural Williston Wednesday morning.” Williston Herald, February 13, 2019.
“UPDATE: Explosion leaves two injured.” KFYR-TV 5, February 16, 2019.
https://www.google.com/search
https://cdc.gov/
