Burned at Work Claim – A Guide to Claiming Compensation

If you’ve sustained a burn injury at work as a result of your employer’s negligence, you might be entitled to begin a personal injury claim against them. The compensation you might receive could cover both physical and psychological pain and suffering caused by your injuries. In this guide, we explore when compensation for a burn at work might be possible and answer some of the most common questions about burned at work claims.

To support you further, our legal advisors provide free advice on how to claim for work-related burns as part of a free initial consultation. During your call, an advisor will answer your questions and let you know if your claim appears strong enough to proceed. If it does, you could be connected with an accident at work solicitor from our team. Should you agree to work together, your claim will proceed on a No Win, No Fee basis.

To speak to a specialist about your burn injury at work claim today, you can:

• Call 0333 241 2519 and explain what happened.
• Use our free live chat service.

Please continue reading to learn more about claiming compensation for burn injuries at work. If you think of any additional questions whilst reading, please use the number above to contact us.

Can I Claim Compensation for a Burn Injury at Work?

No matter what type of workplace you work in, there will always be some associated risks. While some industries will have a higher risk of burns than others, all employers have a legal obligation to try and keep you as safe as possible in the workplace. This is due to various pieces of legislation including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Some of the reasonable steps employers can take to try and comply with such laws include:

• Risk assessing the workplace regularly and making changes where required.
• Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of burns where required.
• Ensuring all chemicals are stored safely and labelled correctly.
• Making sure that all appliances and equipment such as ovens, furnaces and heaters are maintained properly.
• Training you on how to adhere to the company’s health and safety procedures.

If you have been burnt at work, you could be entitled to compensation if:

• At the time of your accident, you were owed a duty of care by your employer.
• That duty was breached because your employer was negligent.
• Your burn injury was sustained in the last three years as a direct result of that negligence.

If you believe your burn injury at work was caused by your employer, give us a call now to see if you’re entitled to claim for your suffering.

What Types of Burns at Work Can We Help With?

Any compensation you’re awarded for a burn injury at work will be based on its type, the area of the body covered and how much pain and suffering you’ve endured. We’ll discuss this in more detail later on. For now, let’s look at the four different categories of burns (based on the depth and severity of your injuries):

• First-degree burns: Only affecting the outer layer of the skin (epidermis), this is the least severe type of burn injury. First-degree burns can occur following steam or hot water scalds.
• Second-degree burns: The type of burn that damages the two outer layers of skin. They can result in blistering, redness and damage to nerve endings and blood vessels.
• Third-degree burns: These are severe examples of burn injuries that take a long time to recover from. All layers of skin are damaged and there is likely to be permanent damage and scarring.
• Fourth-degree burns: While these types of burns are much less common, they are the most severe. Tendons, muscles, nerves and bones can lead to life-changing injuries that require skin grafts or even amputations.

While some burn injuries will heal in full, others can lead to permanent scarring and serious disabilities. The extent of your suffering is an important factor that must be considered when setting compensation levels if your claim is successful.

Whatever type of burn you’ve suffered whilst working, please feel free to get in touch to see if we can help you begin a personal injury claim.

What Types of Negligence Can Lead to a Burned at Work Claim?

As set out above, you can only make a burned at work claim against your employer if it was their negligence that caused you to suffer. Let’s look at how that might be the case:

• You were washing pots in a restaurant and you suffered scalds because the hot water thermostat had been set too high.
• While working as a welder, you suffered burns to your arms and wrists because your employer provided you with safety gloves that were too small.
• If you were burned by chemicals at work because your supervisor had mixed a cleaning solution at the wrong concentration.
• Where you suffered an electric shock burn in a factory accident because of exposed wiring on the piece of machinery you were using.
• If you sustained burns in a warehouse fire because evacuation routes were blocked by piles of stock.

Don’t worry if we’ve not described your accident here. So long as your injuries were caused by employer negligence, we could help you to start a burn injury claim so please give us a call today.

What Should I Do If I’m Burned at Work?

If you are unfortunate to be burnt whilst working, you should:

• Follow first aid guidelines to treat the burn until you can get to a hospital or an ambulance arrives.
• Tell your employer about the accident at the first opportunity.
• Ask for a copy of an accident record to ensure the incident has been logged in the company’s accident book.

Additionally, you may need to provide evidence to a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigator if they decide to look at how your accident occurred.

By following all of the steps listed, you’ll have some of the evidence needed to support a burn injury claim. We’ll discuss this further next.

What Evidence Can Be Used for a Burn Injury Compensation Claim?

Some examples of the types of evidence you could use to support a personal injury claim after being burned in the workplace include:

• Photographs of your wounds along with copies of your medical records.
• A copy of a workplace accident report form.
• Witness statements from anyone who saw you being burned.
• Video footage from a CCTV camera or mobile phone recording.
• A copy of your hospital and GP medical records.

As part of their service, one of our solicitors might try to find further evidence to help prove your case if it is taken on. Before then, we’re happy to review any evidence you have obtained so far during a free initial assessment so please have it ready when you call.

How Long Do I Have To Claim Burn at Work Compensation?

The  Limitation Act 1980 sets a 3-year time limit for personal injury claims. A claim for burn-at-work compensation made outside of this period can become statute-barred meaning you are unlikely to be compensated so it’s a good idea to start the claims process as quickly as you can.

The date of your limitation period for burn injury compensation claims is usually the date of the accident. Although, in exceptional circumstances, this could start later. For example, if your mental capacity prevented you from claiming due to severe burn injuries, your limitation period might not start until you have recovered mentally.

To check how long you have to begin your claim, please feel free to give us a call today.

How Much Compensation for a Burn at Work?

The amount of compensation for a burn at work will generally be formed of general damages, to cover your pain and suffering, and special damages to cover any financial implications.

To understand your injuries and suffering fully, your solicitor is likely to collect copies of your medical records and arrange for an independent medical report to be drafted. Together, these pieces of evidence might be compared to injuries listed in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help put a value for general damages on your pain and suffering.

Some of the JCG’s figures for burn injuries and scarring are used as examples in our table below. Please note, however, that the amounts are only guidance and aren’t guaranteed settlements.

• For burns covering more than 40% of the body, compensation is typically upwards of £104,830.
• Compensation amounts range from £29,780 to £97,330 for burns that result in very severe facial scarring.
• Burns causing less severe facial scarring can attract compensation between £17,960 and £48,420.
• Burns resulting in scarring to legs, hands, chest, back, or arms may lead to compensation from £7,830 to £22,730.
• Significant scarring to the face due to burns may warrant compensation ranging from £9,110 to £30,090.
• Less significant facial scarring from burns could receive compensation between £3,950 and £13,740.
• Minor facial scarring from burns is likely to see compensation amounts ranging from £1,710 to £3,530.

Special damages might be included if you make a burn injury at work claim and your injuries have caused you to lose out financially. They could cover:

• The cost of care and support at home.
• Medical treatment costs.
• Replacement property costs if any personal items were ruined.
• Lost earnings (plus future losses in some cases).
• The cost of adapting your home or vehicle to help you deal with any permanent disabilities.

Such costs must be proven with financial records and you may wish to seek legal advice before committing to a cost to check that it can be claimed back.

To find out how much compensation for a burn at work you might be entitled to claim, please contact our team today.

Can I Claim Compensation for Mental Suffering After Being Burnt at Work?

Being burnt at work can be a very traumatic experience. Such trauma can lead to flashbacks, sleep disorder, nightmares and even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These types of suffering, when confirmed by a medical specialist such as a psychologist, could be factored into a burn injury at work claim.

Also, scarring can lead to embarrassment, distress and anxiety so this type of emotional suffering could also be claimed for as part of your claim.

How Long Does a Burned at Work Claim Take?

The time taken to process claims for work-related burns varies from case to case. Here are some examples:

• If you suffered a minor burn that has fully healed and your employer accepts that they caused your injuries quickly, you could receive a payout in 6 months or less.
• Where your employer accepts liability but your injuries take a little longer, the claim might take over 9 months. Claims that are contested could take longer.
• If your burn injuries are severe, the claims process can take more than a year because it may take some time to understand your prognosis. However, where liability has been accepted, you could receive interim payments to help cover lost earnings and other immediate costs before the claim is settled.

To get a personalised estimation on the length of time your claim might take to process please contact our legal advisors.

Will I Need a Solicitor to Claim Compensation for Burns Injuries?

Taking on specialist legal representation can make it much easier to claim for work-related burns. Using a solicitor from our team could increase the likelihood of winning a fair compensation payout.

Although you’re not obliged to hire a solicitor, if you work with one of ours they could:

• Collect evidence to support your claim.
• Deal with your employer and their insurers so you don’t need to speak to them.
• Ensure that your claim is presented correctly and on time.
• Negotiate a fair settlement instead of accepting the first offer.
• Send you updates regularly about how your claim is progressing.

The type of No Win, No Fee contract our solicitor uses for burn injury compensation claims is called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

A CFA means:

• Your solicitor can work on your case with no upfront payment for their services.
• You don’t pay for your solicitor’s work if the claim is lost.
• A percentage of any compensation received if the claim is won will be retained as your solicitor’s success fee.

The success fee percentage (when using a CFA) is legally capped to try and make sure you retain the maximum level of compensation possible.

To see if you could claim burn injury at work compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis, please call today.

Contacting Us About a Burn Injury at Work Compensation Claim

The easiest way to find out if you can claim for work-related burn injury is to:

• Call our legal advisors on 0333 241 2519.
• Connect with them on our online chat service.

The initial advice offered on burned at work claims is free and you’re under no obligation to proceed with a claim so please go ahead and call our team now.