Burn Injury Compensation Claims Solicitors.

Burn injuries can occur in a variety of different situations, often happening quickly but leaving lasting damage that can affect your physical and mental wellbeing permanently. Some of the main causes of serious burn injuries typically include:

• Accidents in the home – for example scalding from hot water in kettles, pans, or from the tap, burns from domestic appliances like ovens and irons, electrical burns from faulty devices, chemical burns from cleaning products, and burns caused by an open flame or a house fire.
• Road traffic accidents – the most common cause of burns in a road traffic accident is a vehicle fire, but burns can also occur due to friction, hot liquids, or the faulty inflation of an airbag leading it to explode.
• Accidents at work – work accident injuries are often due to faulty equipment, absent or inappropriate personal protective equipment, insufficient training, and burns caused by chemicals.
• Accidents in public places – this can include burns caused by fireworks or an improperly managed bonfire at a public display, spillages of hot food and beverages in a restaurant or cafe, electrical fires, and burns caused in a bomb blast or terrorist attack.
• Accidents at school/nursery – a burn could be caused due to a child touching a hot pipe, hot drinks being left where children can grab them, or faulty electrical equipment catching fire.
• Accidents in a care setting – burns and scalds can occur in a care home due to hot water such as hot drinks or a bath/shower being too hot, as elderly people are more susceptible to burns, and conditions like dementia can reduce their sense of danger.

This list is not exhaustive by any means, and there are any number of different ways in which an individual could sustain a serious burn injury. If you have been involved in an accident which occurred due to somebody else’s negligence, and have sustained a serious burn injury as a result, you could have a valid claim for compensation. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, our specialist burn injury lawyers can help you by bringing a claim on your behalf, ensuring you have access to the funds and support necessary to recover from your injuries.

If you are involved in an accident and sustain a burn injury, we recommend you seek immediate medical attention. A superficial burn may be treatable at home, but it is always worth getting checked out by a doctor in order to prevent the damage from worsening. If your skin is red, blistered, or charred, go straight to your nearest hospital A&E department for urgent assessment. The quicker you seek medical attention, the sooner your burns can be treated, giving you the best chance at recovery.

As well as seeking medical attention, it may be advisable to take photos of your injuries if it is safe and convenient to do so. These photos can later be used as evidence to support your compensation claim; but please don’t put yourself at any risk for the sake of obtaining photographs of your injuries as the medical report will also detail the extent of your burns.

When you first make contact with us regarding your potential claim, we will ask you a few questions in order to determine whether or not we are in with a reasonable chance of winning a compensation case on your behalf.

In order to establish the validity of your claim, we will need to ascertain the following information:

• Did the defendant (the person or organisation responsible for the accident) owe you a duty of care?
• Did you sustain your burn injuries as a direct result of the defendant’s negligence?

If the answer to these two questions is “yes”, it is likely that we will be able to help you to achieve the compensation you are entitled to. If the injured person is a minor, or lacks the mental capacity to make the claim, a litigation friend may be appointed to manage the claim on their behalf and in their best interests. In the event of a fatal burn injury, the executor or administrator of the estate may bring the claim. If you have any questions our specialist team will be only too happy to help.

The first step in making a claim for compensation after a serious burn injury is to get in touch with a solicitor. Here at Lanyon Bowdler we are serious injury specialists so we are highly experienced in handling compensation claims of a sensitive and serious nature, ensuring you receive the help and assistance you need as you recover from your burn injury. One of our specialist personal injury solicitors will carry out an initial consultation, during which we will discuss the details of your accident, the nature of your burn injury, how the ordeal has affected your physical and mental wellbeing, and the overall impact it has had on your life.

If we feel that your claim is valid and likely to be successful, the next step is for us to gather as much evidence as possible to support your claim. The kind of evidence we will require could include:

• Medical records detailing your burn injuries and any scarring that has resulted from the injury.
• If the accident was fatal, we will require a copy of the medical record which states the cause of death.
• Witness statements, photographs, video recordings, or CCTV footage of the incident.
• The accident log book if the burn injury occurred at work, in a public place, or on the premises of a business.
• Investigation reports and personal testimonies from the emergency services personnel that attended the scene.
• Financial records which prove the loss of earnings and any costs incurred due to the incident.
• Proof of purchase and documentation in relation to a faulty device if that is what was responsible for the burn injury.

Once we have acquired all of the necessary supporting evidence, we can move forward with your claim, ensuring that we work together to have the best possible chance of success.

As is the case with the majority of personal injury compensation claims, you typically have three years in which to claim, from the date that the burn injury happened. The legal process involved with making a claim can take some time, so we would advise you to begin the  claim as soon as you are able to in order that your compensation is not delayed any longer than necessary.

There are a few exceptions to the three year time limit:

• If the claimant does not have the mental capacity to make the claim themselves, due to a serious brain trauma suffered as a result of the accident. In this instance there is no time limit for making a claim.
• If the injured party is under the age of 18, the claim can be made on their behalf by a parent, guardian, or other adult with legal responsibility, any time until their 18th birthday. If no claim is made within this time, the child can claim from the date of their 18th birthday, up until they turn 21.

Although the claims process can take some time, as long as you file the claim within the three year period, it will be allowed to proceed as normal. If you have any questions or are unsure whether you are eligible to make a claim, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

Burn injury claims are typically handled by us on a conditional fee arrangement, also known as no win no fee. This means that there are no up-front costs for you to pay. When we begin your claim we will take out legal protection insurance, and in the event your claim is unsuccessful, the insurance will pay-out to cover the other side’s costs and you won’t be required to pay the insurance premium, or any other fees. If your claim is successful, the insurance premium, along with other legal fees, will be taken from the final compensation amount before it is awarded to you.

If your case doesn’t meet the criteria for a conditional fee agreement, we can still assist you in your claim, and we will discuss all available funding options with you. For example, if you have legal expenses cover as part of your home insurance policy, you may be able to use that to fund your claim. Please don’t hesitate to speak to us and we will do what we can to help you make your compensation claim without undue financial strain.

In some cases, we may be able to obtain interim compensation payments whilst the claim is ongoing. These payments can help you to cover the cost of ongoing treatment while you recover from your serious burn injury. The funds are awarded prior to your final compensation settlement and will thus be deducted from the final amount. If we think that you might benefit from interim compensation payments, then we will discuss this with you during your initial consultation with one of our specialist solicitors.

If your burn injury occurred as a result of violent crime or abuse, you may be able to claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). The CICA is a government body which was established with the purpose of compensating victims of crime who may not be able to claim against the perpetrator responsible for causing their injuries.

The CICA claims process features three stages – the claim is first of all submitted, police and medical evidence is requested, and a compensation amount is then decided. If you disagree with the initial decision made by the CICA, the second stage is a review of the application where a different member of the CICA will assess your claim. Finally, if you are still unhappy with the outcome, the third stage would be to appeal it at a tribunal, and the decision made at the tribunal is final.

It is always our aim to negotiate the settlement out of court as this is generally the least stressful option for all parties, particularly whilst you are still recovering from your injuries. However, if the defendant disagrees with the proposed compensation settlement, or denies their responsibility, the case will be taken to court. The process can take a while before it reaches court, so it is often the case that a claim may still be settled before the trial date, but if it does make it to court, we will be there to guide you every step of the way.