HOW MUCH IS YOUR BURN INJURY WORTH?

Legal Discussion

For many burn victims, estimating the amount of a burn injury settlement can be very difficult. There are a number of factors that must be considered including the severity of the burns, resources available to the defendant and the intentions of the defendant when the incident took place. Each of these factors has a large bearing on the amount that is awarded. Often times, burn injury victims will receive larger settlement amounts because of the scarring and pain involved.

This article will examine the factors that at play in determining the amount of a burn settlement. Additionally, it will provide some current examples of previous settlements.

HOW AND WHERE DID THE ACCIDENT OCCUR?

When working to reach a settlement, both sides will attempt to negotiate based on the amount they believe the plaintiff would be awarded during a trial. Factors like where and how the burn injury happened will be important because it helps determine the degree to which the defendant was liable. In other words, these factors will help determine how bad the situation would look to a court which may affect the amount that would be awarded during a jury trial. There are obviously many kinds of burn injury cases. There are a variety of ways that these burns can happen, from faulty consumer products and workplace injuries to arson and other forms of intentional burning. Basically, any type of accident that was caused by negligence.

For example, consider a workplace injury. Depending on whether or not the plaintiff was burned in an accident that may have been preventable, the perceived value of the damages may be much lower or higher than if the accident was caused purely by the employer’s failure to adhere to safety regulations. A lower perceived value will often mean a lower settlement amount.

PUNITIVE DAMAGES

In cases where the defendant acted intentionally or displayed gross negligence, the burn victim or plaintiff may be able to receive punitive damages in addition to any other settlement.

Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant when they have acted in a reprehensible manner. With this in mind, a wealthy defendant will often be ordered to pay higher amounts so they will “feel the sting” of their actions. In most cases where the defendant intentionally burned the plaintiff, there will almost always be punitive damages.

Unfortunately, punitive damages can be even more difficult to predict. For example, it would be considered gross negligence if a manufacturer neglected to test a product, even though it was sold specifically for use in situations that may involve exposure to flames. If the plaintiff were to use this product and be badly burned, the manufacturer of the product may potentially be required to pay the plaintiff thousands or even millions of dollars in punitive damages. With this in mind, the threat of punitive damages will typically make a defendant, especially one that is wealthy, more willing to settle the case at a higher amount than they otherwise would.

EXAMPLES OF REAL BURN INJURY SETTLEMENTS

Product Liability Cases

- When a product design defect caused a hospital patient to become burned as their bed caught on fire, they received a settlement of $1,000,000 from the bed manufacturer.

- The maker of a highly flammable skirt paid a settlement of nearly $4,000,000 when a plaintiff suffered third-degree burns that left her with permanent scarring.

General Negligence Cases

- In a well-known case, McDonald's was ordered to pay a woman $64,000 after she suffered third-degree burns from scalding coffee.

- A hotel that allowed their hot water system to make scalding hot water settled for $275,000 when an already-disabled man received second-degree burns after lowering himself into a tub.