Burn Injury Claim Payouts (2026): How Much Compensation For Burns To The Face, Body Or Causing Death?
The amount you can claim for a burn injury will typically range between £2,000 to £119,000 for facial burns, £3,000 to over £128,000 for bodily burns and £1,700 to £29,000 for burns that cause death. Where your burn will fall in the respective range will depend on the severity / degree of burn, its size, permanent scarring caused, your psychological reaction and even your age (with younger Claimants receiving comparatively larger sums).
In this guide we commence with payout tables setting compensation ranges for all manner of burn to the face, body and those causing death. Later we dive deeper into how these compensation figures are calculated with solicitor-assessed worked examples.
You will discover the two main types of compensation and learn about the four degrees of burn injury you may experience.
- Burn Injury Claim Payouts (2026): How Much Compensation For Burns To The Face, Body Or Causing Death?
- Payout Table (2026) for Facial Burn Injury Claims
- Payouts Table (2026) for Bodily Burn Claims
- Payouts Table (2026) for Fatal Burn Claims
- What is a burn injury claim?
- What types of compensation can you claim for burn injuries?
- Body parts which can be injured by a burn
- Types of burn that you might experience
- Factors which affect the amount of compensation you can claim
- Calculated Compensation Payout Examples And Assessment Criteria
- Trivial burns
- Burn to the face leading to less visible scarring
- Facial burn injuries causing significant scarring
- Severe facial scarring to a young person
- Minor scarring to your legs, arms or hands
- Multiple visible scars on chest, back, legs, arms and hands
- Severe disfiguring bodily burn injury claims
- Most severe bodily burns (over 40% body areas affected)
- Burn Injuries Causing Death
- FREE Legal Help For Burn Injury Claims
Payout Table (2026) for Facial Burn Injury Claims
| Facial Burn Injury | Claim Payout |
|---|---|
| Minor Trivial scarring | £2,100 – £4,300 |
| Moderate One larger scar Several small scars Modest psychological reaction | £4,800 – £17,000 |
| Significant Significant scarring Disfigurement Strong psychological reaction | £22,000 – £60,000 |
| Serious Young person Significant scarring Disfigurement Severe psychological reaction | £36,000 – £119,000 |
Our payouts facial burns payouts table above provides compensation ranges for all manner of bruns to the face.
Payouts Table (2026) for Bodily Burn Claims
| Bodily Burn Injury | Claim Payout |
|---|---|
| Minor / Moderate Legs, arms, hands One noticeable scar, or Multiples less noticeable scars | £2,900 – £9,600 |
| Serious Back, legs, arms, hands Disfiguring scar/s | £9,600 – £27,800 |
| Severe Surgery Large body area Physical disability Psychological | £27,800 – £128,000 |
| Most Severe Over 40% body area Full thickness scars Disability Severe psychological | Over £128,000 |
Bodily burns may not attract as large a payout as a similar burn on the face, but can be nonetheless very serious. Our payouts table above sets out minor to severe bodily burns with the corresponding compensation amount ranges.
Payouts Table (2026) for Fatal Burn Claims
| Fatal Burn Injury | Claim Payout |
|---|---|
| Pain before death Death within 3 months | £1,700 – £29,000 |
| Deceased’s family claim | See fatal accident payouts |
Fatal burns can have two aspects – those that do not cause immediate death and others that do. Our above payout tables explores this different types of fatal burn with a corresponding payout range for each.
Additional Payouts For Financial Loss And Expense
In addition to compensation for pain and suffering (set out in our earlier payout tables) – you can claim compensation for financial loss and expense.
What is a burn injury claim?
If you suffer a burn injury in an accident as a result of the negligence – you will likely be able to make a burn injury claim for personal injury compensation. You must however be able to probe legal fault to succeed with a claim. This might be legal fault by another person, business, employer, council or government body.
Defective products that cause burns may be the legal fault of the manufacturer.
Burns Caused By A Criminal Act Of Violence
Should you suffer your burn injury as a result of a wilful or deliberate act of another individual, this might be classed as a criminal injury claim.
Criminal injury claims have a different basis of assessment than those set out in this article.
What types of compensation can you claim for burn injuries?
A burn injury claim has primarily two parts:
Pain and Suffering Compensation
Your actual injury will not only include the pain and suffering you experience from the burn injury itself, but also other life altering effects from the burn. For example – scarring, deep tissue bodily injury, psychological reaction and in the worst cases even death.
You are entitled to claim compensation for this pain and suffering, which is known as general damages.
Financial Loss and Expense Compensation
As a result of your accident you will likely suffer financial losses. For example – lost income for the period you are unable to work.
In addition, you will no doubt incur financial expenses. For example – medical expenses, travel expenses to the hospital and GP, nursing expenses, etc.
These losses are known as special damages. They are unique (special) to you.
Your special damages are added to the general damages to give the overall amount of compensation your burn injury claim is worth.
Body parts which can be injured by a burn
A burn injury claim ican involves damage to the both parts of body and also psychological injury.
Skin damage
Typically, the first body part to be damaged is the protective outer membrane, which we know as the skin.
The Largest Organ Of Your Body
Incredibly – your skin is technically the largest organ in your body.
Epidermis and dermis / corium
Your skin is made up of primarily two layers – known as the epidermis and the dermis (or corium).
The epidermis being the thinner outer layer – the top layer of which is not living and as such requires no blood supply. However, it is essential to protect the body from bacteria and micro-organisms as well as abrasion.
The epidermis has a number of layers. Whereas, only the outer layer is dead.
This outermost surface layer of your epidermis is constantly being shed and renewed.
Nerves – sense of touch and hot / cold detection
The lower layer of skin is known as the dermis and is thicker than the epidermis.
It contains both your skin’s nerves and blood cells – allowing you to have vital sensations. For example – your sense of touch plus hot and cold detection.
It is also the point from which your sweat glands originate allowing the body to cool and excrete harmful substances.
Tissue layer below skin
Below the skin, is a tissue layer used not only to protect your body from vibration, but also insulate you from the hot and cold.
Muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones
Below this protective layer lie the muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, organs, etc.
Mental injury
Most burn victims will experience a psychological reaction to a degree. Burns to the face and other visible body parts typically leading to the most significant self-conscious reaction and knock to confidence. Very severe burns may also lead to post traumatic stress and depression.
Types of burn that you might experience
There are four medical classifications of burn. Each comes with different types of symptoms.
First-Degree Burns
A first-degree burn is a superficial burn. Therefore – it affects the top skin layers only. A 1st degree burn injury causes initial pain and your skin to go red. However, these symptoms last only a number of days.
Second-Degree Burns
A second-degree burn not only affects the top skin layer (epidermis), but also part of your skins lower layer (dermis). Hence, why it is known as a partial thickness burn.
Unfortunately, a 2nd degree burn can lead to both blisters and scarring. Generally, it may take several months for the pain you experience to resolve.
Third-Degree Burns
A third-degree burn is known as a full thickness burn. It affects all the layers of the skin right through its full thickness.
Since the nerve receptors are damaged – a 3rd degree burn will often be associated with no pain. Medical intervention is necessary to assist in recovery, For example – skin grafts.
Fourth-Degree Burns
A fourth-degree burn is the most serious of all. This burn will extend beyond the skin and can damage irreparably the muscle, bone, ligaments and tendons.
A 4th degree burn will often show as black and may lead to removal of the damaged body part.
Factors which affect the amount of compensation you can claim
The amount of compensation your sking burn claim will attract will generally depend on:
Severity of burn
The severity of the burn itself is clearly significant. Some very severe burns may require both surgery and skin grafts to help mitigate..
Where the burn is on your body
Where on your body the burn has occurred is an important factor.
For example – scarring to your face will attract higher compensation payouts than the equivalent burn on less visible body parts.
Scarring
Both the amount and type of scarring that you are forced to live with will be a significant factor in determining your compensation payout.
Larger compensation payouts will be awarded for:
- Larger areas of scarring.
- More unsightly scarring.
Internal body parts affected
The internal bodily parts that a burn affects will have a significant bearing on your claim payout.
In the worst cases this could even extend to organs and bones.
Psychological reaction
How significant your psychological reaction might be has a bearing on how much compensation you claim.
Different people can react very differently to the same type of burn.
Some people may be far more conscious and distraught than others
Age
Sometimes even your age can have a bearing.
A younger person has longer to live with the effects of scarring.
In addition, finding a partner might be more difficult with unsightly scarring.
Whereas an older person may already be married.
Calculated Compensation Payout Examples And Assessment Criteria
In this section we provide more detail as to how we calculated the different types of burn injury (set out in our payout tables shown at the beginning of this article).
Trivial burns
When the effect of your facial burn is trivial then your compensation will generally be calculated between £2,100 – £4,300.
Burn to the face leading to less visible scarring
Your burn may leave visible scars. However – these may be able to be concealed and not may not overly affect your appearance.
In such instances – your resultant compensation payout would likely be calculated between £4,800 – £17,000.
Facial burn injuries causing significant scarring
Your facial burn injury might require plastic surgery and could lead to a significant visible cosmetic disability couples with a resultant severe psychological reaction.
Here – your burn injury claim settlement could be calculated between £22,000 – £60,000.
Severe facial scarring to a young person
Should you be under 30 years of age when you suffer severe scarring with an associated strong psychological reaction then you will be entitled to a larger compensation payout.
The amount of compensation your burn injury claim can be worth will generally range between £36,000 – £119,000.
Minor scarring to your legs, arms or hands
Scarring affecting either your legs, arms or hands. This may consist of either one noticeable scar or several less noticeable scars. Your resultant compensation settlement will generally be calculated between £2,900 – £9,600.
Multiple visible scars on chest, back, legs, arms and hands
Either multiple visible scarring or a single disfiguring scar to your chest, back, arms, legs and hands. Your burn injury compensation payout will generally be calculated between £9,600 – £27,800.
Severe disfiguring bodily burn injury claims
Disfiguring burn injuries resulting in surgery, affecting a large percentage of the body, having strong psychological reactions and leading to physical disability.
Severe burn injury claims of this nature will generally result in a payout calculated between £27,800 – £128,000.
Most severe bodily burns (over 40% body areas affected)
Should the burn area affected be over 40% of your body area with symptoms as specified in the severe section then your burn injury compensation payout is likely to exceed £128,000.
Burn Injuries Causing Death
There are two types of claim that can be made when someone dies as a result of a burn injury.
The deceased’s pain and suffering before death
A claim can be made (on behalf of the estate of the deceased) for the pain and suffering of the deceased for the period prior to death.
The amounts of compensation for the pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death, will depend on how long the individual survived before death, whether they were conscious and the extent of the pain and suffering.
Smallest compensation awards are made for immediate unconsciousness followed by death within a week. Whereas – the largest will be awarded when the individual is aware of what has happened, has significant physical injury and lung damage, intrusive medical procedures and death within 3 month.
The amount of compensation awarded would generally be calculated between £1,700 – £29,000.
Claims by relatives of the deceased
Another type of claim is that made under the Fatal Accidents Act by certain relatives of the deceased.
FREE Legal Help For Burn Injury Claims
See our specialist solicitor telephone / online free help options.
You can not only call direct to discuss your accident with a specialist lawyer, but also have your burn injury claim assessed or ask an online question
