Burn injuries after a car accident: what a claim involves

How burns are described#

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the NIH, says burns are defined by how deep they are and how large an area they cover. Both measures appear in medical records, and both matter to an insurer reviewing a claim.

MedlinePlus adds that burns can cause swelling, blistering, scarring and, in serious cases, shock and even death, and that damaged skin raises the risk of infection. Breathing smoke can cause a separate inhalation injury. Only the treating doctors can say what a particular burn means for a particular person, so the claim relies on their records.

How burns happen in a crash#

MedlinePlus lists the causes of burns as heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight and radiation, with scalds from hot liquids and steam, building fires, and flammable liquids and gases among the most common. In a crash, that can mean a vehicle fire, spilled fuel, hot fluids from the engine, or chemicals.

Vehicle fires are not rare. The U.S. Fire Administration reports a National Fire Protection Association estimate of 211,500 vehicle fires in 2024. That figure counts fires from every cause, not only crashes, so it shows scale, not crash risk.

When a fire follows a crash, the vehicle itself can be important evidence. Questions about why a fire started, such as a fuel or battery problem, can bring a vehicle or parts maker into the claim alongside the other driver. Once a burned car is scrapped, that evidence is gone, so many people ask a lawyer early whether the vehicle should be kept for inspection.

Long treatment and how it shapes a claim#

Serious burns can take a long time to treat. NIGMS describes surgeons removing burned tissue and covering the wound with a skin graft, and it notes that injured body parts need to be exercised to keep their function and range of motion. It also reports that NIGMS-funded research on the body's response to major injury found that the bodies of burn survivors require a year or more to recover.

That timeline affects the claim in three ways:

1. The bills keep growing. Emergency care, a burn unit stay, grafting surgeries, therapy and later scar care each add records and costs, which are economic damagesEconomic damages. Losses with a receipt or a paycheck behind them: medical bills, lost wages, repairs and other out-of-pocket costs. Glossary.
2. The full picture comes late. Insurers usually value a claim once the person reaches maximum medical improvementMaximum medical improvement. The point at which doctors expect no further recovery. Claims are often valued once you reach it. Glossary, and with burns that can take a long time. Future care that doctors expect, such as more surgery, can be part of the claim.
3. The deadline does not wait. The filing deadline is 2 years in Texas, 2 years in California and 3 years in New York. A lawsuit may need to be filed before treatment ends. Check your state on the state deadlines page.

Scarring and disfigurement as damages#

Burns can change how a person looks for the rest of their life. The law treats that as a loss of its own, separate from medical bills. These losses are non-economic damagesNon-economic damages. Losses without a price tag, such as pain, suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life. Glossary: they have no receipt, but they are real. Texas law, for example, defines non-economic damages to include physical pain and suffering, mental or emotional pain or anguish, loss of consortium, disfigurement, physical impairment, loss of companionship and society, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life and injury to reputation.

Because there is no bill for a scar, the evidence is mostly visual and personal:

• photos of the burns taken at each stage, from the first days through grafting and healing;
• the doctors' descriptions of the size, location and depth of each burn and any scarring;
• notes on how scars affect movement, comfort, work, sleep and social life;
• statements from family, friends or coworkers who saw the changes.

There is no formula for these damages. California's civil jury instructions, for example, tell jurors: "No fixed standard exists for deciding the amount of these noneconomic damages." Our guide to pain and suffering explains how insurers and juries approach them, and the types of damages guide shows how they fit with the rest of a claim.

Disfigurement in no-fault states#

In most states you can claim pain and suffering from the at-fault driver. In some no-fault states you first need to meet a serious injury thresholdSerious injury threshold. A rule in some no-fault states that lets you sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if your injury meets a legal definition of serious, or a dollar level of medical bills. Glossary, and several of those thresholds name disfigurement or scarring:

Words like "significant", "permanent" and "serious" do a lot of work in these laws, and courts decide what they mean case by case. A licensed attorney in your state can explain how the threshold is applied there.

Records that support a burn claim#

Burn claims involve many providers, so records come from many places. People often keep:

• ambulance, emergency room and burn unit records;
• operative reports for each surgery or graft;
• therapy notes on movement, strength and daily tasks;
• itemized bills and receipts for prescriptions, supplies and travel to appointments;
• proof of lost pay, such as pay stubs and an employer letter;
• the photo record and a journal of pain, sleep and activities you could not do.

Under HIPAA, a provider must act on a written request for your records within 30 days. Health insurance or personal injury protection may pay bills first and later seek repayment from a settlement, so a final tally of every bill matters before anything is signed. The claim process guide explains each step.