Burn injury compensation payouts may be awarded to victims of personal injuries. If you suffer a burn injury through no fault of your own, you may be eligible for compensation. To be able to file a claim for compensation you must be able to prove that those who had a responsibility for your health and well being failed in this respect. Our online guide firstly looks at the types of burns that could be caused in an accident, it then goes on to examine the financial fall out of a burn injury, furthermore, it looks at the causes of such an injury. This guide provides an example case study detailing a £120,000 compensation payout for a burn injury. To conclude this guide will examine the advantages of using a No Win No Fee solicitors and how you can go about finding the right solicitor for your case.
In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with our knowledgeable team. They can assess your case for free in a consultation. You are not obliged to pursue a claim if you are not ready or still require more information. Our advisors are knowledgeable and will try to answer as many questions as you have.
Contact us by:
- Calling 0800 408 7825;
- Using our Live Chat;
- Or complete our online form.
Choose A Section
- Types Of Burn Injuries
- Areas Victims Can Lose Financially
- Common Burn Injury Accidents
- Specialist Settlement Calculations
- You Can Receive Care Claim In Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
- Case Study: £120,000 Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
- Who Could Get A Specialist Estimate?
- No Win No Fee For Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
- Your Case Could Use Quality Personal Injury Solicitors
- Call Our Specialists
- Further Guidance
Types Of Burn Injuries
A burn occurs when the skin suffers a sudden impact from dry heat, such as an iron or fire. Note that this is different from a scald, which arises from hot water or steam. Numerous symptoms allow you to identify when a burn has occurred. A dry burn includes the skin turning red or peeling, the appearance of blisters or swelling, and the skin turning white or charred. There is also the pain associated with a burn, though the pain levels don’t always match a burn’s severity.
Burns can take on four levels. First, second, third and fourth-degree burns range in terms of thickness and long-term damage. A first-degree burn may disappear without a trace within days. But a fourth-degree burn could destroy skin, fat, muscle and even bone. And therefore the recovery time for such a burn is far greater. Learn more about burn injuries by speaking to our specialist team today.
Areas Victims Can Lose Financially
If you have been burned, there could be numerous ways that you may incur financial losses. An example could be having to take time off work without sick pay while you recover. This is especially true for manual labour such as cookery, where it’s vital to operate the machinery safely and adequately. Another area could pertain to the medical expenses brought about by your treatment. And then any precautionary measures have to be put in place to avoid a repeat incident. Those who suffer extensive burns may need help from a carer. Also, a cook, cleaner, childminder and gardener may also be needed.
These losses or spendings could potentially influence the burn injury compensation payout that you may receive. Find out everything you need to know about financial losses due to burn injuries by calling our knowledgeable team.
Common Burn Injury Accidents
If you’re making a claim after a burn injury, it would be based on a third party’s negligence. What does this mean? Well, firstly, you would have to determine that the third party owed you a duty of care of some kind. You would then need to demonstrate that a breach occurred based on the third party’s actions or lack thereof. You would then need to show that this breach resulted in you being injured, such as suffering a burn injury.
The three scenarios for potential injury claims are; employer’s liability (EL), public liability (PL) and road traffic accidents (RTAs).
Employer’s Liability
Beginning with employer’s liability, this would be covering workplace accidents and how an employer’s duty of care means they should have the necessary safety procedures in place to avoid workplace accidents. This comes under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. A potential burn injury accident at work could be you being hurt from an oven due to poor health and safety training. If you happen to suffer multiple injuries along with your burn, a multiple injury claim should be a consideration.
Public Liability
Public liability makes an entity liable for those that use their premises. The responsibility lies with the occupier or those in charge of the space of the land as per the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. For instance, you could be injured in a public place if a fire breaks out in a pub and you’re caught up in flames.
Highway Code
The Highway Code’s duty of care is for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. If you are involved in a non-fault road traffic accident that caused a burn injury you would make a claim against the responsible party.
Specialist Settlement Calculations
An independent medical evaluation is a crucial step for you receiving a specialist settlement calculation. This could thoroughly diagnose your burn when it comes to the severity and the impact on your life. What’s more, it could establish a clear connection between the breach of duty and you suffering a burn injury. In other words, if it wasn’t for the incident, you wouldn’t have been burnt. The medical report that is provided by the medical expert will be used to put a value to the general damages part of your claim.
There are 2 Heads of Loss: general damages and special damages. General damages aim to compensate for your pain and suffering brought about by your burn. Whereas, special damages prioritise financial consequences. Things like lost earnings, medical treatment expenditure, and public transport visits to the hospital could be included. Note that having the receipts and invoices to back these elements up would help your cause immensely.
Use our 24/7 Live Chat if you have any queries concerning general damages or special damages.
You Can Receive Care Claim In Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
Another staple of special damages would be care that you receive after being burned. Therefore, you’re potentially able to receive a care claim as part of your burn injury compensation payout. This could include:
- Gracious care from both family members and friends;
- A nurse or carer looking after you regularly;
- Professionals covering the likes of cleaning and gardening chores.
Call us by using the number at the top of the page to discuss care claims in further detail.
Case Study: £120,000 Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
Miss Davis, 24, was in her first year as a qualified chef. She had just landed her very first job in a restaurant near the city centre. Unbeknownst to Miss Davis, though, another chef had noticed a fault with one of the ovens. Her colleague was going to report it to his superiors but hadn’t done so yet. This would prove to have terrible consequences.
Miss Davis was cooking bread rolls in the oven. In doing so, she switched on the faulty oven to a high temperature. And as she opened the oven door, which had cracked (thus impacting the machine’s problems), the oven itself exploded. The intense levels of heat and the flying particles left Miss Davis’ face in tremendous pain. Her colleagues rushed to her aid, with one of them calling for help.
At that point, Miss Davis received initial treatment from the first aid team before being taken to the local hospital. After being assessed, she was told that she had suffered fourth-degree burns to her face and arms from the oven explosion impact. This required emergency medical surgery.
Miss Davis would still have significant scarring on her forehead, cheeks, and right forearm. The news left her completely distraught, resulting in her developing severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
After seeking legal advice, Miss Davis learned that her employers had breached the duty of care they owed to her under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Therefore, she filed a claim against them. Miss Davis received £120,000 as an out-of-court burn injury compensation payout. This included general damages and special damages.
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Lost Earnings | Costs of being unable to work | £45,000 |
| Medical Costs | Costs of medical treatment & resultant painkillers and cosmetic surgery | £7,000 |
| Transport Costs | Costs of using public transport for hospital visits | £500 |
| Carer Costs | Home care nurse | £2000 |
| Cleaner and gardener | £1500 |
The case of Miss Davis is purely for example purposes only. It is based on our previous experiences of claims handling and highlights how accidents can happen and their value.
Who Could Get A Specialist Estimate?
Any potential claimant for burn injury compensation payouts could receive a special estimate. Our panel of personal injury solicitors avoids the guesswork that comes from using an online personal injury claims calculator. Instead, they focus on your particular circumstances and how you have been directly impacted by being burnt. That way, your estimate is much more accurate and closer to the final settlement that you could receive.
Ask about specialist estimates using the Live Chat at the bottom of the page.
No Win No Fee For Burn Injury Compensation Payouts
No Win No Fee agreements means that you only pay your solicitor’s legal costs if your case succeeds. At that point, your No Win No Fee solicitor would take a fee, which is capped by law. But you wouldn’t have to pay their legal fees if your case doesn’t succeed. Also, payment wouldn’t be required to cover your solicitor up-front or while the case is ongoing.
Get in touch if you want to know anything more about No Win No Fee agreements.
Your Case Could Use Quality Personal Injury Solicitors
Look for a history of successful claim wins many positive reviews and burn injury specialities. It also helps when a personal injury solicitor provides a fast turnaround while demonstrating top-level industry knowledge at all times.
Our panel of personal injury solicitors who could handle your burn injury compensation payouts claim have decades combined of processing successful personal injury cases. Contact us if you want to discover more.
Call Our Specialists
You’ve seen what we have to say, but now we would like to know what you have to say. By getting in touch, we can understand how you were injured and how we could help you. To speak to us to learn more about claiming for burn injury compensation payouts, you can:
- Telephone 0800 408 7825;
- Fill out our contact form;
- Or use our Live Chat feature.
Keep in mind that there’s no obligation for you to pursue your claim even after speaking to us. In addition, we’re accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to handle your enquiry.
Further Guidance
After reading this guide, you may want to know more about burn injury compensation payouts. You can do this by using any of the six links below.
Check out the Public Interest Lawyers website by clicking here.
We also explain public accident hot spots.
And we have a section about accidents while cycling.
The NHS provides information about burn injuries.
They also explain the treatment options for burns.
Meanwhile, this HSE article discusses one example of a burn injury at work.