Burn Injury Compensation Claim UK: How Payouts Work

At a glance

• Legal basis: a burn injury compensation claim is usually a civil claim in negligence, though claims about a defective product can also rely on the strict-liability regime in Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
• Standard time limit: three years from the date of injury, or from the date you first knew it was linked to someone else's fault, under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980.
• Children: the three-year clock does not start until the 18th birthday (Limitation Act 1980, s.28) — a parent or litigation friend can still bring a claim earlier.
• Defective products: a separate three-year rule applies under section 11A of the Limitation Act 1980, subject to an absolute 10-year cut-off from when the product was supplied that the court cannot extend.
• Compensation structure: general damages (pain, suffering, loss of amenity — assessed with reference to the Judicial College Guidelines, not fixed figures) plus special damages (financial losses).
• Assault-related burns: a separate route may be available through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), generally within two years of the crime and after reporting it to the police.
• Court: most claims settle through negotiation, following the process set out in the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims, without a final trial.

What counts as a burn injury claim

A burn injury compensation claim is a civil claim brought against the person, business or insurer responsible for causing a burn. The aim of an award of damages is to put the injured person back, so far as money can, into the position they would have been in had the injury not happened.

Claims typically cover two broad categories. The first is general damages, which compensate for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity the burn has caused, including scarring, psychological impact and any reduced ability to enjoy day-to-day life. The second is special damages, which reimburse quantifiable financial losses such as lost earnings, medical and rehabilitation costs, travel to appointments, care provided by family members, and adaptations to a home.

Burns can arise from scalds, chemicals, electricity, friction, radiation or fire, and the legal route to a claim depends on how and where the injury happened. Most claims in England and Wales settle without a trial, often through negotiation between legal representatives and the responsible party's insurer.

Establishing who was responsible

Before pursuing a claim, it helps to understand which legal duty was likely broken. This depends heavily on where and how the burn happened.

Burns at work

Employers owe a statutory duty under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees — including providing a safe system of work, adequate training, and suitable protective equipment where a risk of burns exists (hot surfaces, kitchens, chemicals, electrical work). Employers are also required by the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 to carry liability insurance, so compensation for a workplace burn is typically paid by the insurer rather than the employer directly.

Burns in a public place or on someone else's premises

Where a burn happens on premises controlled by someone else — a restaurant, hotel, salon, shop or similar — the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 imposes a "common duty of care" (s.2) requiring the occupier to take reasonable care to keep lawful visitors reasonably safe for the purposes they are permitted to be there. An unsafely served hot drink, an unguarded heat source, or a known hazard left unaddressed could all support a claim if the duty was breached and the breach caused the injury.

Burns caused by a faulty product

If a defective appliance, charger, heater, cosmetic product or similar item caused the burn, Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 may allow a claim against the producer, importer or "own-brander" without needing to prove carelessness — only that the product was not as safe as people are generally entitled to expect, and that the defect caused the injury. A parallel claim in ordinary negligence may also be available. Product claims carry their own limitation rules, covered below.

Burns in a road traffic incident

Burns can occasionally arise from a road traffic accident — for example, contact with a hot exhaust or engine component, or a vehicle fire following a collision. Low-value road traffic accident personal injury claims may fall within the Official Injury Claim service (see GOV.UK's guidance on making a personal injury (whiplash) claim), but this service is aimed at more minor injuries within a set financial threshold; burns involving scarring, skin grafts or ongoing treatment will usually fall outside it and follow the standard claims process instead.

Burns caused by a deliberate act

Where a burn was caused deliberately — for example, in an assault — a claim may be possible against the person responsible, and a separate route may also be available through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. This is covered later in this guide.

Time limits: the Limitation Act 1980

Getting the time limit right matters more than almost anything else in a personal injury claim — miss it, and you may lose the right to bring a claim at all.

The standard three-year rule

Under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980, court proceedings for a personal injury claim must generally be started within three years of the date of the injury, or from the date you first had knowledge that the injury was significant and attributable to someone else's act or omission (the "date of knowledge", defined in section 14), whichever is later.

Children and protected parties

Section 28 extends this for anyone who was under a disability — including being a child — when the right to claim arose. For a child, the three-year period does not begin until their 18th birthday, meaning proceedings can generally be brought up until their 21st birthday. A parent or other litigation friend can bring a claim on the child's behalf at any point before then without waiting for the child to turn 18.

Claims about defective products

Claims relying on the Consumer Protection Act 1987 have their own regime under section 11A of the Limitation Act. The same three-year rule broadly applies from the date of knowledge, but there is also an absolute longstop of 10 years from the date the product was supplied, after which the right to claim is extinguished entirely. Unlike the general three-year rule, the court has no discretion to extend this 10-year longstop.

The court's discretion to extend time

Section 33 gives the court a wide discretion to allow a claim to proceed outside the normal three-year window for negligence-based claims, where it would be equitable to do so, weighing the prejudice to both the claimant and the defendant. The court considers factors such as the reasons for the delay, how the delay has affected the quality of the evidence, and how promptly the claimant acted once they were aware they might have a claim. This discretion is not available for the 10-year product-liability longstop, and it should never be relied upon as a substitute for acting within the standard time limit.

How a claim typically proceeds

Higher-value personal injury claims are expected to follow a structured "cards on the table" pre-action process, exchanging medical evidence and giving the parties a proper opportunity to negotiate before court proceedings are issued. If a claim cannot be resolved this way, proceedings may be started, and the case will be allocated to a track according to its value and complexity — GOV.UK's guidance on making a court claim for money explains the mechanics of issuing a claim and the current track thresholds, which are reviewed and adjusted from time to time. Even once proceedings are issued, most claims still settle before a final hearing; a trial is usually reserved for cases where liability is strongly disputed or the parties cannot agree on value.

How compensation is calculated

General damages

General damages compensate for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by the burn itself. Courts and legal advisers assess this by reference to the Judicial College Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases, the standard reference work used across the profession. The guidelines set out broad categories and severity bands for different types of injury, including burns and scarring, rather than fixed prices — the guidelines are periodically revised, and the appropriate figure in any individual case depends on the medical evidence, so it is not possible to give a reliable number without a proper assessment.

Special damages

Special damages reimburse the financial losses that flow from the injury. This can include lost earnings (past and future), the cost of medical treatment and rehabilitation, prescription and travel costs, care provided by family members, counselling, and any equipment or home adaptations needed because of the burn. These losses are usually evidenced with receipts, payslips, medical reports and, for larger claims, expert reports on future needs.

Scarring and its effect on compensation

Visible and permanent scarring often significantly increases the value of general damages, particularly where it affects the face, neck or hands. The Judicial College Guidelines set out separate categories for facial scarring and for scarring on other parts of the body, taking into account factors such as the size, number and prominence of the scars, whether skin grafts were required, the psychological impact, and the claimant's age and likely long-term social and occupational effects. In the most severe cases involving extensive tissue damage, treatment may extend to reconstructive surgery or, rarely, amputation of an affected digit or limb — our guide to amputation compensation claims covers how those claims are approached if that applies to your situation.

Contributory negligence

You can still bring a claim even if you share some responsibility for what happened. Under section 1 of the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945, a claim is not automatically defeated just because the claimant was partly at fault. Instead, the court reduces the damages to the extent it considers just and equitable, reflecting the claimant's share of responsibility. This does not usually prevent a claim outright — it simply affects the final award.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority route

If your burns were caused by a violent crime — for example, a deliberate assault — you may be able to claim through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), a government scheme that is often used where the person responsible cannot be traced, has no means to pay, or is uninsured. According to GOV.UK, you usually need to apply within two years of the crime, the crime must have been reported to the police, and there is no cost to apply. Eligible applicants can receive an injury payment of between £1,000 and £250,000 under the scheme's tariff, depending on the nature and severity of the injury, with additional payments potentially available for loss of earnings and certain special expenses. An award can be reduced or refused in some circumstances — for example, depending on the applicant's own conduct or character, or on unspent convictions — so it is worth checking the current eligibility rules on GOV.UK before applying. A CICA claim is separate from, and does not require, a criminal conviction of the person who caused the injury.

Evidence that supports a burn injury claim

1. Medical records and photographs. Contemporaneous medical notes, consultant reports, and photographs of the injury taken at different stages of recovery form the backbone of most claims, documenting severity, treatment and likely long-term effects.
2. Evidence of how the incident happened. Witness details, CCTV footage, accident book entries, incident reports and any written communications about what happened can help establish liability, and should be gathered as early as possible before memories fade or evidence is lost.
3. A financial record of losses. Payslips, receipts for treatment and travel, records of care provided by family members, and details of any equipment or adaptations needed all support special damages.
4. The product or its details, where relevant. For a product-related claim, retaining the item itself (or at least its make, model and place of purchase) can matter significantly for a claim under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
5. A police reference, for assault-related burns. A crime reference number is generally required to support a CICA application, and can also assist a related civil claim.

What to do if you've suffered a burn injury

1. Get medical attention and keep records. Your health comes first — seek treatment straight away and attend all follow-up appointments. Medical notes, photographs and consultant reports document the severity, treatment and likely long-term effects of the burn.
2. Identify who may be responsible. Burns can happen at work, in restaurants, hotels, salons, on the road, or through a defective product. Work out who owed a duty of care and how it may have been breached.
3. Gather evidence about what happened, as soon as you reasonably can. Photographs, witness details, accident book entries, CCTV footage and any written communications can all help establish liability, and the sooner this is collected the better.
4. Track every financial loss and expense. Keep a running record of lost wages, prescription costs, travel to hospital, care hours provided by relatives, counselling fees and any equipment purchased. Receipts and payslips turn vague losses into recoverable special damages.
5. Check whether the time limit affects you differently. If the injury happened to a child, was caused by a defective product, or resulted from a crime, a different — and sometimes shorter — time limit may apply, so it is worth checking this early rather than assuming the standard three years applies.
6. Take proper guidance before accepting any offer. Insurers sometimes approach injured people directly with an early offer. Burns can have long-lasting consequences that only become clear months or years later, including future treatment and permanent scarring, so it is worth understanding the full picture before agreeing to settle anything.

This guide provides general information about how burn injury compensation claims work in England and Wales. It's written to help you understand your options — it is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change; always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.