How Much Can I Claim From A Hot Drink Burn Injury Claim?

By Olivia Creed. Last updated 1st March 2021. Welcome to our guide on how to make a hot drink burn injury claim. In this guide, we discuss when you can make a hot drink burn injury claim. Our guide can be used by customers who’ve been scalded or burnt by a hot drink in a cafe, restaurant, bar or fast-food outlet and the information provided could be useful for staff injured in a similar way. Claims can only be made if the injuries were caused by the negligence of a business owner, or their staff. Therefore, we look at different scenarios which could lead to a hot drink burn injury claim against the responsible party.

Legal Helpline assists anybody who is considering filing a personal injury claim. We do this by providing free legal advice on the claims process. Furthermore, we offer a no-obligation assessment of your claim. If there’s a chance the claim can be won, we would connect you with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel.

If you’re ready to begin a claim straight away, you can call us on 0161 696 9685 today. Alternatively, to understand more about claiming for a skin burn injury, please continue reading.

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A Guide To Hot Drink Scald And Burn Injury Claims

Hot drink burn injury claim

Hot drink burn injury claim

This guide explains how you could make a hot drink burn injury claim and what it could entail. When discussing your claim with a solicitor, they would typically require you to prove the following to have grounds for a claim:

  • You suffered an injury that wasn’t your fault
  • Your injury was due to an accident caused by a third-party negligence
  • That third-party owed you a duty of care

If you can demonstrate all three of the above to be true, the solicitor may agree to accept your case on a No Win No Fee basis. Something else you’ll need to consider is the personal injury claims time limit. In normal circumstances, this is 3 years from the date an accident occurred. If you fail to claim within the time limit, the case will be rejected automatically which is known as being ‘time barred’.

We look at what type of injuries could be sustained, some statistics about burn injuries, potential compensation amounts and how No Win No Fee services work. We answer some common questions such as:

  • Can you sue a restaurant for a burn?
  • How do you treat a burn from boiling water?
  • How much compensation do you get for a burn?

Once you read the guide, if you still have any further questions, please get in touch with an adviser. You can ask as many questions as you like and we won’t pressure you into making a claim.

What Is A Hot Drink Burn Injury?

The type of injury we’re discussing in this guide are burns or scalds caused by hot drinks. However, to be eligible to make a claim, the accident and subsequent injury need to have been caused by somebody else’s negligence.

  • For instance, if you suffered hot coffee burn injuries because a waiter dropped the cup as they were placing it on your table, you might be eligible to claim.
  • Another example could be where you slipped on a floor that had just been cleaned and was burned by hot tea because there were no warning signs in place to alert you to the danger.

The number of different scenarios in which you could make a burn personal injury claim is quite extensive, so we won’t be able to discuss them all here. However, so long as you can show your suffering was caused by third-party negligence, you could be entitled to begin a hot burn injury claim against them.

Statistics – Hot Drink Scald And Burn Injuries

According to statistics from the Children’s Burns Trust, the most common type of acute burn injury to adults and children was scalding (43%). Over 110 children are taken to the emergency room each day with burn injuries, with 46 of these caused by a hot drink scald. The most common location for these types of injuries to happen is in the home, so you can never be too careful in day-to-day life to prevent these types of accidents from occurring.

These types of injuries result in many hot drink burn injury claims each day, many of which our panel of personal injury lawyers at Legal Helpline assist. For information on how we could help you get your compensation, please get in touch today.

First Aid For Scalds And Burns

If you suffer a burn or scald, first aid can help reduce the damage caused rather than waiting for a medical professional to treat you. According to one NHS guide, the steps that could help include:

  • Remove any clothing from the burnt area
  • Cool the burn with lukewarm or cool water. Leave the water running for 20 minutes. Don’t use ice or ice water
  • Keep the person warm
  • After the water has been used for 20 minutes, wrap the wound in cling film

For further advice on applying hot tea burn first aid, please use the link to the NHS guide above.

Common Scalds Or Burns Caused By Hot Liquids

In the coming sections, we look at different scenarios in which you could suffer a scald or burn. We’ll look at burns in restaurants, cafes, fast food outlets, workplace accidents. Also, we’ll provide guidance about claiming on behalf of a child who has suffered a hot drink burn of the skin.

What Hot Drinks May You Be Burned By?

In reality, any hot drink could burn or scald you if it’s spilt directly on to the skin. Burns can also happen if a hot drink is spilt onto clothing too. Here is a list of some of the more commonly reported hot drinks that could result in a burn injury:

  • Hot chocolate
  • Tea
  • Coffee
  • Cappuccino
  • Green Tea
  • Latte
  • Caffe Mocha
  • Camomile Tea

Where Could You Suffer A Hot Drink Burn? – Popular Cafes And Restaurants

Below is a list of some of the more popular restaurants, bars and cafes that serve hot drinks:

  • Starbucks
  • Pret A Manger
  • McDonalds
  • Costa Coffee
  • Caffe Nero
  • Weatherspoons
  • Subway
  • KFC
  • Greggs

This list is not conclusive. Also, we are not suggesting these are the most popular restaurants where burns might happen. You could make a hot drink burn injury claim against any establishment if through their negligence you suffered a burn or scald.

Claims If Burnt By A Hot Drink In A Cafe Or Restaurant

Any cafe or restaurant has a duty of care towards customer safety. Therefore, if a staff member spills a hot drink on to you, you could be entitled to make a hot drink burn injury claim. Also, if you carry the drink to your own table and slip or trip because of damaged flooring, or because there was debris on the floor, or a floor was slippery, you could be entitled to claim compensation from the party responsible.

Claims If Burnt By A Hot Drink In A Fast Food Restaurant

In fast-food restaurants, hot drinks are usually dispensed in disposable cups with plastic lids so that you can take the drink with you if you choose to. Some examples of when you might be entitled to claim include:

  • Where the plastic lid is not secured properly causing the drink to spill onto you
  • If a handrail on stairs is damaged causing you to slip and spill your drink onto yourself
  • Where you slip on a floor that has been cleaned recently but there were no warning signs and spill a hot drink onto your skin

Later in this guide, we’ll look at the evidence you need to prove what happened. In this particular case, photographs and witness statements would help support your hot drink burn injury claim.

Claiming When Burnt By A Hot Drink At Work

An employer has a duty of care towards staff safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Therefore, if you have an accident at work, which results in you suffering a burn, you could be entitled to claim if the accident can be shown to have been caused by the negligence of your employer. Please remember that your employer is not allowed to discipline you for filing a personal injury claim against them.

Claims If A Trip Or Slip Caused Your Hot Drink Burn

It’s not always a retailer or restaurant that you could file a hot drink burn injury claim against. If you carry your drink with you and you slip or fall,  you might be able to claim against the person or company responsible for the area where the incident happened. For instance, you could claim if:

  • You tripped on a raised paving slab, missing kerbstone or pothole
  • Your drink was spilt on you because you tripped on a cable trailed across a walkway
  • You slipped while in a shop because of a leak or spillage which hadn’t been cleaned up

It’s essential to report any accident in public places like shopping centres or on public highways (footpaths) as soon as possible. The report would be used as evidence to support your claim. Also, try to photograph the cause of the accident if you’re able to.

Claims If A Child Suffers A Hot Drink Scald Or Burn In A Cafe

If your child is burned by a hot drink, and the accident was caused through the negligence of a third party, you could file a claim for compensation on their behalf. We can help you with the process of becoming a litigation friend when you work with a personal injury solicitor from our panel.

If the claims process is successful and compensation is awarded, a court will check the amount is fair and place it in a trust fund. You can claim using this method at any point before your child turns 18 years of age. Failing that, when your child becomes an adult, they have 3 years to claim, starting from their 18th birthday. In short, they would have until they are 21 to seek compensation from the responsible party.

Hot Drink Burn Injury Claims Calculator

In this section, we look at potential hot drink burn injury claim payouts. It’s important to note that we can’t provide an individual assessment here because every claim is different. However, we have provided a personal injury claims compensation table below. It shows amounts based on a guide used by solicitors, courts and insurers known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Injury TypeSeverityRangeFurther Information
Facial Disfigurement (burns)Very Severe£27,940 to £91,350This category covers very severe scarring to the face in younger claimants (teens to early 30s) where there's a severe psychological reaction as well as very disfiguring cosmetic effect.
Facial Disfigurement (burns)Significant£8,550 to £28,240Cases where the worst effects can be reduced by plastic surgery. There will still be some cosmetic effect but the pyschlogical effect won't be great.
Facial Disfigurement (burns)Trivial £1,600 to £3,310Cases where the effect is minor.
Scarring£2,220 to £7,350One noticable scar or multiple superficial scars of the hand, arm or legs with minor cosmetic effect.
Scarring£7,350 to £21,330Cases of a disfiguring scar of the leg, arms, hands, chest or back could fall into this category.
ScarringLikely to exceed £98,380Burn injuries which result in significant burns that cover more than 40% of the body could fall into this bracket. Factors consider include body area affected, the thickness of the burns, cosmetic impact, amount of surgery, physical disability and the psychological impact.

The amount of compensation is directly linked to the severity of your injuries. Therefore, your solicitor must make sure that enough evidence is provided to demonstrate the level of suffering your skin burn caused. Our panel of solicitors use independent doctors to assess all claimants injuries and they medical provide a report showing what injuries were suffered, the impact they caused, and if there will be any long-term problems. This report would be used to ensure a fair compensation amount is awarded to an injured party.

Special Damages You Could Claim For A Burn Or Scald

If you’re claiming because you’ve been burned by a hot coffee or any other hot beverage, your solicitor can claim for both general damages and special damages when filing a personal injury claim against a responsible party. The burns compensation table in the previous section covered general damage payments. That is the compensation you receive for pain and suffering as well as any loss of amenity.

Special damages, however, are paid to cover any financial expenses you incurred due to your injuries. Here are some examples of special damages you could claim for:

  • Travelling Expenses. When you have to visit a hospital or your GP for treatment, you could incur fuel costs and possibly parking charges. Also, if your injuries prevent you from driving, you might have to pay for alternative travel arrangements. In either case, these costs could be claimed back
  • Medical Costs. In most cases, any remedial treatment will be provided for free by the NHS. However, you could still end up paying for prescriptions and over the counter treatments. As a result, you could ask for these expenses back. You may also require private treatment/therapy which you could also claim back in a successful hot drink burn claim
  • Care Costs. Should you require assistance while recovering, you could claim back any associated costs. For instance, you could claim for the time of a loved one who looked after you. Also, a professional carer’s fees could be claimed
  • Damaged Property. If any item of personal property was damaged because of the accident in which your skin was burnt, you could ask for the cost of replacing the item. For instance, if the hot drink ruined your clothing or mobile phone, you could claim to replace them
  • Lost Earnings. Should you require time off work as a result of your injuries, but that means you lose income, then you could claim this back. Also, for longer term injuries, future lost earnings could also be claimed

Steps To Take If Injured In By A Hot Drink Burn

If you want to claim because you’ve suffered a scald injury in a cafe or restaurant, you’ll need to provide sufficient evidence. This needs to demonstrate what happened, who could be to blame and what injuries you sustained. Therefore, you could use evidence such as:

  • Medical reports from the doctor who treated you
  • Witness statements
  • Photographs of the accident scene including the root cause where possible
  • CCTV footage if available
  • Accident book entries (businesses are obliged to log incidents if you inform them of the accident)
  • Photographs of your injuries

All of the above helps your solicitor prove your claim. Medical records would show what injuries were sustained and the treatment you received. Accident books are used to confirm dates, times, people involved, and any advice provided. Therefore we always advise that any injured party reports an accident and seeks medical support even if they are not thinking about filing a personal injury claim against the responsible party.

How We Could Help If You Were Injured By A Hot Drink Burn

We hope that you’ve found this guide to making a hot drink burn injury claim helpful. To learn how Legal Helpline can assist, here are some reasons why we believe you should:

  • Our specialists provide free legal advice about claiming compensation. Also, they’ll offer a no-obligation assessment of your claim
  • The claims line we operate is open 24-hours a day, 7-days a week
  • Our panel of solicitors specialise in personal injury claims and work on a No Win No Fee basis
  • The solicitors on our panel always work hard to ensure you receive the correct amount of compensation for the burn or scald injury you sustained
  • Importantly, you’ll be provided with regular updates about your case as it progresses

To find out more about the service we offer, why not call an adviser for free advice today?

No Win No Fee Hot Drink Burn Injury Claims

If you’re still undecided whether to claim because you’ve been burnt by a hot drink, one of the things you might be considering is the cost of doing so. However, our panel of personal injury solicitors wants people to claim without worrying about the costs involved.  That’s why, if they take a case on, they’ll work on a No Win No Fee basis.

To begin with, an experienced personal injury solicitor would check your claim has a chance of being successful. If they believe it does, and you’re happy to proceed, you’ll be given a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to sign. The CFA is your contract and it’s another name for a No Win No Fee agreement.

Important information that you’ll find in the CFA includes:

  • A statement that confirms you only have to pay solicitor’s fees if you are awarded hot drink burn compensation
  • Details about the success fee that’s payable when a claim is won
  • The Terms and Conditions of the agreement

A success fee is used to cover the solicitor’s fees when your case is won. Rather than you having to pay the fee from your own funds, it’s deducted automatically from your compensation. Success fees are expressed as a percentage of your compensation.

You can find out whether your claim is suitable for a No Win No Fee service by speaking with our team today.

Hot Drink Burn Injury Claim FAQs

Here, we look at some common questions about hot drink burn injury claims.

Start A Hot Drink Burn Injury Claim

If you’ve now decided that you’d like to use Legal Helpline to begin your hot drink burn injury claim, there are a number of ways to contact us. These are:

  • Calling our advisers on 0161 696 9685 for free claims advice
  • Asking us to call you back by completing our online enquiry form
  • Or you could use our live chat feature to discuss your claim with an online adviser

Remember, our advisers provide free legal advice and there’s no obligation to proceed. Therefore, you’ve got nothing to lose by calling us today about your hot drink burn injury claim.

Burn Injury Claim Resources

You’ve now reached the end of our guide about making a hot drink burn injury claim. If you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to ask. In the meantime, here are links to a few more of our guides and some additional resources that might prove useful.

Catering And Hospitality Safety – Information, from the Health and Safety Executive, about safety in restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, pubs and clubs.

Katie Piper Foundation – A UK charity that can support burns survivors as they recover from their injuries.

The Food Standards Agency – Information and guidance on all aspects of food and drink safety in the UK.

Burn Injury Claims – This guide provides a more generic look at how different burn injuries and scald injuries can be sustained.

Milk Allergy Claims – A guide that explains when you could make a personal injury claim because you’ve suffered a reaction to milk due to inadequate allergen advice.

Claiming For A Permanent Scar – This guide provides information on how a personal injury lawyer could help you claim for a permanent scar which could apply if you’ve been burned by a hot drink.

Thank you for reading our guide on how to make a hot drink burn injury claim.

Article by BH

Editor HW