Could You Claim Compensation For A Hot Coffee Burn?

By Jo Anderson. Last Updated 2nd January 2024. Welcome to our hot drink accident claim guide. In it, we explain how you could make a personal injury compensation claim for injuries such as a scalded hand from a hot tea burn. Or, for a hot coffee burn, if negligence was involved. We answer questions about calculating compensation for having boiling water poured on your hand.

Plus, we explain suffering scalded fingers with boiling water accidents.  We explain ‘can you get a burn from hot tea and sue?’ This guide also look at the types of hot coffee burns injury that could occur if someone spills very hot coffee. It explains how this could affect compensation payouts for a hot coffee burn.

Hand that has been treated for hot coffee burns

Hot coffee burn and scolded hand claims guide

Plus, we look at what hot coffee burn treatment you could expect to receive for a successful claim. Finally, answer the question of “What evidence can I gather to help support a hot coffee burn claim if someone spilled boiling water on my hand or I suffered a burnt tongue from hot drinks?”

Burns and scalds from hot drinks affect the quality of your life, and in many cases, they can cause you some severe physical damage. You can be burned by hot drinks in a number of different situations – you could be scalded by a hot drink in hospital or you could have a hot drink burn or a scalded hand on an aeroplane. You may have different types of burn, from a partial thickness burn to one with a skin graft. That’s why at Accident Claims UK, we have put together this comprehensive guide to being burned from a hot drink and how you should claim for general and special damages if it happens to you.

Select a Section:

  1. Claiming For A Burn Injury In A Public Space
  2. Hot Coffee Burn Or Scald Accident In The Workplace – Can I Claim?
  3. How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Burn From Coffee?
  4. How Much Compensation Could I Receive For A Burn Injury?
  5. What Evidence Can I Gather To Support A Hot Coffee Burn Claim?
  6. No Win No Fee Hot Coffee Burn Claims
  7. Helpful links Relating To Claiming For A Scalded Hand From A Hot Tea Burn

Claiming For A Burn Injury In A Public Space

If you have been burned by a hot drink and suffered an injury, you might wonder whether you could be eligible for compensation. Not every burn injury results in a claim. You would need to demonstrate that the burn was caused by someone’s negligence. This is something burn injury solicitors could assist with.

There are many parties who owe you a duty of care. For example, your employer has a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to take reasonable steps to protect you from harm in the workplace.

The person in control of a public space has a duty of care to ensure your reasonable safety under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957

If this duty is breached and you are caused harm as a result, this is known as negligence. If you can prove negligence caused you harm, you could seek compensation.

Hot Coffee Burn Or Scald Accident In The Workplace – Can I Claim?

The vast majority of people come into contact with hot liquids in their work life. You may have been burned transporting the liquid which ended up injuring you around because it was part of your job responsibilities or you may have been scalded by a hot drink in school while working as a teacher. However it happened, we believe that your employer has a duty of care to make sure that incidents like this don’t happen to you.

In many cases, being burned or scalded at work is an indication that insufficient attention has been paid to adhering to accepted standards of health and safety standards. If your workplace doesn’t meet the standards they’re legally obliged to with the handling of hot liquids and you get burned as a result, making a claim may be the only way to get proper compensation for your burn injury.

How Long Do I Have To Claim For A Burn From Coffee?

If you’re eligible to pursue a personal injury claim for a hot coffee burn, you would have limited time to do so. Per the Limitation Act 1980, there will typically be a three-year time limit from the date of the accident in which you can launch your claim.

However, in some cases, there are exceptions to this. For example, if a minor suffered a burn from coffee and was eligible to make a personal injury claim, they couldn’t file their own claim until they turned 18. Prior to their 18th birthday, a litigation friend could bring forward a claim on the child’s behalf. If no claim was made, and the child turned 18, they would have three years from their 18th birthday to file a claim for themselves.

The time limit is frozen indefinitely for those who lack the mental capacity to make their own claim. The three-year time limit would only reinstate if the person were to regain this mental capacity and would run from the date of recovery. Alternatively, a litigation friend could act on their behalf while the time limit is frozen.

To check if you are eligible to make a personal injury claim and if you are within the time limit, you can contact our advisors.

How Much Compensation Could I Receive For A Burn Injury?

If your burn injury claim is successful, your compensation settlement will include general damages. This head of your claim compensates you for the pain and suffering your hot drink burn injury has caused you to experience.

The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) could assist those calculating this head of your claim. It contains compensation guidelines for various injuries at different severities. In the table below are some figures from the 2022 edition of the JCG. However, these should only be used as reference amounts. It should also be noted that the first figure is not taken from the JCG.

Edit
Reason for compensation Amount you could receive Additional notes
Multiple severe injuries and special damages combined. Up to £1,000,000+ A combination of severe burn injuries with associated financial costs and losses, such as loss of income, for example.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body Likely to exceed £104,830 Serious burns covering 40% or more of the body.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body £7,830 to £22,730 Large number of laceration scars that are noticeable or one single scar that is disfiguring to the hands, arms, legs, chest or back.
Scarring to Other Parts of the Body £2,370 to £7,830 Single noticeable or several superficial scars affecting the legs, hands or arms.
Very Severe Facial Scarring £29,780 to £97,330 Applicable to younger claimants with severe disfigurement and emotional reaction.
Less Severe Facial Scarring £17,960 to £48,420 Resulting in a substantial disfigurement and psychological reaction.
Significant Facial Scarring £9,110 to £30,090 Plastic surgery will have or will reduce the worse effects but some cosmetic disability will remain.
Less Significant Facial Scarring £3,950 to £13,740 One scar or several noticeable but minor scars.
Trivial Facial Scarring £1,710 to £3,530 Minor effects only.

Special damages is the other head of claim that may be awarded to you following a successful personal injury claim. It compensates you for the financial losses your injury has caused you. Some examples may include:

  • Travel costs for getting to appointments with doctors or lawyers.
  • Medical expenses such as prescription costs.
  • Loss of income due to time needed off work to recover.

Evidence is required to prove these losses, such as payslips to show any lost income.

If you would like further information on the financial losses you could claim for under special damages and what other evidence you will need to do so, please contact an advisor.

What Evidence Can I Gather To Support A Hot Coffee Burn Claim?

Have you scolded your hand due to a breach of duty of care? You might want to know what evidence you can gather to support a hot coffee burn claim.

It’s worth noting that as part of the personal injury claims process, you’ll be expected to provide evidence of the following:

  • Any injuries you have sustained
  • Any financial harm or losses you have experienced
  • Negligence on behalf of the party you are claiming against

To give you an idea of what supporting evidence might be used for a coffee accident claim, we’ve listed some examples below:

  • Photographs of your burn injuries
  • Contact details for any witnesses to your accident
  • Medical evidence, such as notes from your GP or your medical records
  • A report from an independent medical expert who can assess the extent of the harm you have suffered
  • Notes you have kept detailing the impact that your burn injury has had on you

Our accident claims solicitors are experienced in dealing with coffee burn claims and can help you collect any required evidence. If you would like to know more, speak to our advisors and they can arrange a free, no-obligation, consultation.

No Win No Fee Hot Coffee Burn Claims

We would strongly urge claimants to consider using a legal professional to help them claim. Some people could be put off making a claim for compensation with the assistance of a lawyer because they fear the legal fees would be due in advance. With our No Win No Fee claims service, this is not the case. You would not pay until your compensation came through and it would only be a small, legally capped percentage of the total payout.

When you make a No Win No Fee claim with us, you’d have to sign a Conditional Fee Agreement, containing details of the success fee payable out of your compensation. The success fee would be detailed within this document. When your solicitor has fought your case for your and won you compensation, they would deduct their success fee from your settlement, with the rest going to benefit you.

You may be wondering what happens if a case is unsuccessful. If this happens, your solicitor would not demand the success fee. Nor would they ask you to cover any costs they incurred while working on fighting your claim.

If you would like to find out more about No Win No Fee claims, why not speak to our team. We’d be happy to assist you in answering any questions you might have.

To get in touch with our experts to set up a free consultation, call us on 0800 073 8801.

Helpful links Relating To Claiming For A Scalded Hand From A Hot Tea Burn

NHS – Burns and Scalds

This site will help you treat your wounds before you receive help from a medical professional. Making your recovery as quick and effective as possible won’t harm your claim in any way. We just want you to make sure that you are safe and on the road to recovery.

HSE – Scalding and Burns

More Helpful Guides:

Thanks for reading this hot drink accident guide. Hopefully, you now know what to do if you suffer a scalded hand. Or, any other injury from a hot tea burn or hot coffee burn accident.