Burn Injury Compensation Claims

Whether burn injuries have been caused by a flame, hot liquid, chemicals or any as a result of an electric shock, they can be very painful and distressing and very often leave a permanent scar.  When people make a no win no fee claim for injury compensation as a result of a burn injury, the value of their claim can be high, especially if visible permanent scarring occurs.

The most common type of claim here arises after being burned in an accident at work.  In this setting, people are often working with hot materials in a factory or in an industrial kitchen and accidents can occur as a result of someone having insufficient training, incorrect safety equipment, faulty machines/utensils or a disorganised and chaotic working environment.

If someone does suffer the burn while working, they should follow the usual steps after an injury at work and make sure that the details of their injury and the cause are properly recorded within an employer’s accident book.  Medical attention should always be sought in the case of a burn injury and when someone is claiming injury compensation their specialist solicitor will access medical records to provide evidence as to the severity of the burn, so they can estimate the amount of compensation that the burn victim is entitled to claim.

The nature of the burn and the area of the body that has been injured will be assessed to help form the valuation of the injury compensation that is claimed.  If hands are burned and the use of the hands and fingers limited, either permanently or for a while, the value of a claim can become substantially higher. With this in mind it is important that the injured person should attend their GP or other medical professional to discuss their situation and have the details of their injuries and ongoing problems recorded on their medical records. Suffering in silence doesn’t help a claimant as it becomes very difficult to prove the extent of an injury if the details have not been recorded with a medical expert.

It is important for any claimant to ensure that they maximise the amount of compensation to which they are entitled as any claim settlement will be made in a full and final way.  As a settlement can be obtained only once, we advise that anyone wishing to claim injury compensation after suffering burn injuries should contact us so that we can give you useful tips to ensure that you claim fully for everything that you are entitled to claim.

Burn injury advice

If you have suffered from a burn injury, whether at work or elsewhere, you may well be entitled to make a claim for injury compensation on a no win no fee basis.  You may be wondering what to do after an accident and at Direct2Compensation, we can help you to understand the stages of the injury compensation claims process and find the right solicitor.

At Direct2Compensation we know your rights and can help you to understand how to go about making a claim for injury compensation after suffering a burn injury.  As with all claims, we recommend that you don’t delay in making your claim as it could make the outcome of the claim less certain if you do.

Burn injuries are painful and distressing and it is important that the correct steps are taken in the immediate aftermath to ensure that the right medical treatment is received to minimise the extent of any injury, and also to help ensure that the right evidence will be available to support any claim for injury compensation that may arise as a result.

For minor burn injuries, the steps that people should follow are:

• Take the injured person away from the heat source.  If possible, remove any burned clothing but DO NOT remove any clothing which is stuck or imbedded in the burn or on the persons skin.
• Run cool (but not cold) water over the burn or apply a clean, cold compress to the burn.  This should be done until the pain subsides. DO NOT use ice. DO NOT use butter or other types of grease as this could worsen the problem.
• Once the pain has eased and cool water applied to the burn, a clean dressing should be fitted to the burn. You could also apply antibiotic cream.

For serious burn injuries, the steps that people should follow are:

• • Do not attempt to remove clothing & dial 999 for the emergency services
  • Remove the heat source if safe to do so
  • Reassure the injured person
  • Irrigate the burn with cool water if at all possible

For chemical or electrical burns, the steps people should follow are:

• Any dry chemicals that remain on the injured persons skin should be brushed off carefully by someone wearing protective gloves and face mask.
• Remove the person’s clothing and jewellery and rinse chemicals off the skin by placing the person in a shower for 15 to 20 minutes. (Be careful to protect your eyes and the eyes of the injured person.)
• Wet chemicals should be washed away from affected areas with cool running water for 20 minutes or longer (or until emergency help arrives).
• If you or someone else has swallowed a chemical substance or an object that could be harmful (e.g., watch battery) call the emergency services immediately. It is helpful to know what chemical product has been swallowed and this should be reported to medical experts so that the right course of treatment can be applied (if possible, this should be taken with you to the hospital).
• Minor electrical burns can be treated with cool (not cold or ice) compresses. After cleansing, a mild antibiotic ointment and bandage may be applied. A tetanus shot is also recommended, especially if the person has not had one in more than 10 years.
• As with all accidents, prevention is the best course of action to make sure that serious injuries are not sustained.  To help prevent burn injuries, employers and people should take basic precautions to reduce the risk of injury.  Smoke detectors should be fitted, chemicals should be correctly labelled and stored and only correctly trained staff should handle hot items or use dangerous machinery that could lead to burn injuries.

To claim burn injury compensation, start your claim online and let us help you get the compensation you deserve.