Burns are extremely painful and can lead to severe physical injuries, residual scars and psychological trauma. If you suffer burn injuries due to someone else’s fault or carelessness, you are entitled to compensation.

Types of burns

There are 4 types of burn injuries.

• Thermal burns occur due to exposure to heat, flames or hot objects. For example, a gas BBQ explosion would cause thermal burns.
• Electrical burns may happen, for example, by coming into contact with exposed electrical wiring
• Chemical burns result from contact with certain harsh substances, such as solvents or other chemicals.
• Radiation burns can occur due to exposure to high dose of radiation or UV rays.

Who is responsible for a burn injury?

According to Australian law, a person or a company which owns, or controls equipment owes a duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure the equipment is safe. Take for example a hotel resort that has a large pool area for guests and kids, with sunbeds and a BBQ.  The hotel must make sure that the BBQ is safe. Or think of a barbeque in a park…If it’s a council barbeque, it’s the same rules – the local council must look after it to make sure it’s safe. The same is true if the BBQ is owned by a school. In fact, if you invite friends over for a barbie – whether you own or rent – you must make sure the BBQ is safe.

One of the challenges in a burn case is to identify every responsible person who may be liable to pay compensation. To do so, first we must figure out what caused the accident. In the case of a barbeque, the cause might be a leak which should have been noticed. In other situations, identifying the cause can be tricky. If a construction vehicle erupts in flames, fire investigators and products experts need to examine the likely ignition area (say the engine) to determine which part failed. Depending on the findings, there can be several defendants: the manufacturer, the supplier of a specific part, the company that serviced the vehicle, or even the employer if the fault should have been picked up during pre-start checks.

In some situations, burn accidents are caused by defective products, inadequate staff training or unsafe practices. It’s important to get a lawyer involved to ensure that the appropriate defendants are identified on time and that all necessary evidence is obtained so that the claim is successful.

Access to fire experts

In a burn injury case, it is critical to have access to the best fire investigators and experts who can identify the cause of the fire and explain what should have been done to prevent it. It can cost many thousands of dollars to retain the services of these experts. But it’s crucial because defendants, particularly large international manufacturers, don’t like to admit that their product is defective and will use their significant resources to defend claims. When we act for clients in burn injury claims, we fund all these expenses until the matter is resolved.

Extent of injuries

Most burns are classified as first, second- or third-degree burns.

• First degree burns are the least severe. They will cause redness on the skin, and the area may swell.
• Second degree burns (or partial thickness burns) cause more damage to the skin.  You will see blisters develop, the skin becomes very swollen, and it will be painful. You may or may not be able to treat it on your own – depending on its size and location.
• Third degree burns are very serious. They require immediate medical attention. In a third degree burn all layers of the skin are damaged.  The area can look charred and black.

What compensation can I get for a burn injury in Queensland?

Burn injuries are more than just physical wounds. They can result in chronic pain, reduced work capacity, permanent scarring, emotional distress and, in the most serious cases, the need for lifelong care.

Each case is different but broadly speaking compensation can be recovered in one lump sum comprising the following elements:

• Pain and suffering: the more serious the burns, the higher the award for pain and suffering. Assessing the seriousness of the injury requires multiple experts. The physical injuries and scars are usually assessed by a burn specialist or a plastic surgeon, based on the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. It’s important to appreciate, however, that this is not just a question of measuring scars and classifying burns in terms of first, second or third degree. It’s also about the effect that the injuries will have on you long term. A child who sustains visible lifelong scars will have to deal with issues of body image throughout school and their formative years. Burns often cause emotional trauma, which can be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Sleeping Disorder, or even Alcohol Use Disorder. We use specialists such as psychiatrists and occupational therapists to assess these other long term effects.

• Loss of income for reduced earning capacity: after a burn injury, you may not be able to return to your old job (or to any work). For example, uniformed service members may not be able to pass physical fitness tests and may face medical retirement. Or you may not be able to use protective clothes anymore, making you ineligible to work in certain environments. You could lose you ability to sweat, which means you can’t do any outdoor activities. In a legal claim you can be  compensated for any earnings loss. This applies to loss which you have already incurred (past economic loss) as well as income loss which you may incur in the future (future economic loss). For a young person, this is a very significant part of the compensation claim. In addition to lost income, burn victims are also eligible to recover any past or future loss of superannuation.

• Medical costs: Again, this can get very complex. For example, burn victims are often treated (at least initially) in hospital. While people often think that public hospital treatment is free, if in fact if it turns out that your accident was someone’s fault (which means your injury is compensable) then hospitals could potentially invoice you and these large costs are recoverable from the responsible party. Another point about medical expenses is that burns often require long term treatment. This may include topical creams, physiotherapy and psychological treatment. And…there could be long term complications (additional exposure to skin cancer as an example) which need to be factored in.

• Value of domestic care and support: You can also receive compensation for other losses, for example the costs of care which you receive at home after your accident. Sometimes your family and friends might care for you for free, but the value of this is still recoverable. Other times you need paid care from professional providers. Depending on the severity of the burns and their effect, this aspect of the claim may be very significant, particularly if you require lifelong care.

Again, a lawyer experienced in burn cases understands these issues and ensures that all potential losses and expenses are included in your settlement or judgment award.

Time limit

In Queensland the limit to start a claim for damages is 3 years. While this may seem like a comfortable amount of time, in a burn injury claim it’s actually quite short. People who suffer serious burn injuries may not even think about a legal claim for a year or two while they receive medical care. After a lawyer is engaged, it’s then necessary to investigate and identify all potential defendants. To do this, sometimes we have to go through Freedom of Information processes to get government information and may also need to get expert reports to understand what caused a fire or explosion in the first place. This takes time. In a burn injury claim, it’s very important to engage a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure your claim doesn’t expire.