Burn injuries generate some of the highest medical bills in personal injury law — and courts recognize the extraordinary physical, psychological, and economic toll they impose. Here is what you may be entitled to recover.
Economic damages — also called "special damages" — are quantifiable financial losses caused by the burn injury. In serious burn cases, these figures are often staggering.
Medical costs are typically the largest single component of a serious burn case. Hospitalization at an ABA-verified burn center costs anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000+ per day — a 60-day stay for a serious burn easily exceeds $1 million before accounting for surgical costs, skin grafting, ICU nursing, respiratory therapy, wound care supplies, and physician fees.
Future medical expenses — including planned reconstructive surgeries, scar revision procedures, compression garments, physical and occupational therapy, psychological treatment, and long-term wound care — must also be calculated and presented as part of the damages. This is where life care planning comes in: a forensic analysis of all projected lifetime medical costs, typically performed by a certified life care planner working with your treating physicians.
Burn injuries cause extended absences from work — weeks to months during hospitalization and recovery. Physical therapy and reconstructive surgeries add additional recovery time. Many serious burn victims are unable to return to their prior occupation due to functional limitations, scarring, or respiratory impairment from inhalation injury.
Lost wages cover income lost from the date of injury through trial. Loss of earning capacity covers future income the victim will never be able to earn — a particularly significant element when the victim is young or was a high earner. Economists are retained as expert witnesses to calculate both figures using actuarial data.
Burn victims typically incur significant out-of-pocket costs beyond medical bills: transportation to and from treatment, home health aides during recovery, home modifications for disability accommodation, specialized clothing for skin graft areas, and over-the-counter wound care supplies.
Non-economic damages — sometimes called "general damages" — compensate for losses that don't have a price tag. In burn cases, these are often the largest component of a settlement or verdict.
Burn injuries are notoriously painful. The acute pain of a severe burn, the pain of daily wound debridement, the pain of skin grafting surgeries and donor site wounds, the chronic pain of hypertrophic scarring, and the lifelong physical discomfort of contractures all constitute compensable pain and suffering.
Courts and juries have awarded substantial sums for burn pain and suffering. A common approach is to calculate a daily rate for the victim's pain and project it forward over their life expectancy — a "per diem" method that can produce substantial figures for serious injuries.
Disfigurement is recognized as a distinct compensable element in Texas and most states. Permanent scarring — especially when visible (face, neck, hands, forearms) — causes permanent alteration of a person's appearance with profound social and psychological consequences. Juries often award separate and significant sums for disfigurement, particularly when the victim is young.
PTSD, depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia are well-documented psychiatric consequences of severe burns. These are not merely "suffering" — they are distinct psychiatric diagnoses with their own treatment requirements and disability implications. Psychiatric experts document these conditions and quantify their impact on the victim's daily functioning and quality of life.
A severe burn injury affects not just the victim but their spouse and family. Loss of consortium compensates the spouse for the loss of companionship, affection, and the physical and emotional aspects of the marital relationship caused by the victim's injuries. Children may also have claims for loss of parental consortium in some states.
In cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct — such as an employer who knowingly operated equipment known to be dangerous, or a manufacturer that concealed known product defects — punitive (exemplary) damages may be available in addition to compensatory damages. Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 41.003, punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of malice, fraud, or gross negligence. When available, they can multiply the total award significantly and are intended to punish and deter the defendant's conduct.
Settlement ranges depend heavily on burn severity, liability clarity, and the specific facts of each case. These are general ranges based on reported verdicts and settlements — your case may be higher or lower:
| Burn Type / Severity | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Second-degree burns (moderate, no surgery) | $50,000 – $250,000 |
| Third-degree burns (grafting required, 5–15% TBSA) | $300,000 – $1.5M |
| Third-degree burns (major, 15–30% TBSA) | $1M – $5M |
| Third-degree burns with inhalation injury | $1.5M – $7M |
| Fourth-degree burns / amputation | $3M – $15M+ |
| Catastrophic burns (>40% TBSA) | $5M – $20M+ |
| Wrongful death from burn injury | $2M – $25M+ |
These ranges are illustrative only and based on general market knowledge of burn injury litigation. Individual case values depend on specific liability facts, jurisdiction, insurance coverage, and the skill of your legal representation.
If you receive workers' compensation benefits, your employer's workers' comp insurer has a right of subrogation — meaning they can recover from your third-party settlement the amounts they paid in workers' comp benefits. However, a skilled attorney structures the recovery to maximize your net take-home after subrogation reimbursement. Third-party settlements often far exceed workers' comp recovery, making it still financially advantageous to pursue both.
Texas caps non-economic damages (pain and suffering, disfigurement) in medical malpractice cases, but not in standard personal injury or products liability cases. There is no cap on economic damages (medical bills, lost wages) in any Texas civil case. Punitive damages in Texas are capped at the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages plus up to $750,000 in non-economic damages.
A burn injury attorney works with several expert witnesses to calculate damages: a burn surgeon to document injury severity and future surgical needs, a life care planner to project lifetime medical costs, an economist to calculate lost earning capacity, and a vocational expert to assess impact on the victim's ability to work. Together, these experts build a comprehensive damages model that becomes the foundation of negotiation and trial presentation.
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