Yes, you can sue a restaurant for a burn injury if the restaurant’s negligence caused the burn. Common cases involve spilled hot drinks, kitchen fires, fryer oil splashes, hot plates, and defective equipment. Compensation can include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, with settlements ranging from $5,000 to several million dollars depending on severity.
If you are considering a burn injury restaurant lawsuit, learn what to do after a personal injury accident to protect your claim from the start. Time is critical. The sooner you act, the stronger your position.
Yes, you can sue a restaurant if negligence caused your burn, whether by employees, restaurant management, or equipment manufacturers. The first step is to build the case, identify who is at fault or responsible for the accident, and determine how the accident could have been prevented.
Whether you are a client or an employee, you’re entitled to compensation if negligence or direct liability, among other factors, is proven. Frustration is normal after an accident, but it’s essential to shake off the shock and take immediate action to give yourself the best chance of a successful outcome. What you do in the first 48 hours directly affects your case outcome.
The most common causes of restaurant burn injuries are:
What all these causes share: they are preventable and directly attributable to mismanagement on the part of the restaurant, its staff, or its equipment. If a restaurant could have prevented your burn but didn’t, you may have a case, because that’s negligence.
The restaurant itself is the most common liable party, responsible for risk management, staff training, and safe conditions. Next is a restaurant employee, for mishandling dishes or failing to warn you about hot food.
There are also cases involving manufacturers, such as when burns are caused by restaurant equipment like defective coffee makers, fryers, or espresso machines. A well-known hot liquid injury case is the lawsuit against Barnes & Noble, where not only was the coffee too hot, but it was also served on a defective and poorly maintained table.
Liability lies with the manufacturers, maintenance staff, food suppliers, or installers, and it is the lawyer’s job to determine who is truly responsible for the malfunction. In complex cases, more than one party is at fault.
Multiple points of negligence mean multiple liable parties. You don’t need to figure out who’s at fault, as that’s your attorney’s job. Your job is to preserve evidence and get a legal review before the deadline expires.
The key legal concept is the duty of care, where restaurants have a legal duty to keep customers safe from preventable harm. Not warning about dangerously hot plates, untrained staff, or unsafe equipment is a direct breach of that duty.
Excessively high temperatures combined with untrained staff are a direct path to a restaurant burn injury. If mishandling of the situation, such as improperly fastened lids, causes an accident, the restaurant is responsible for the resulting damages, injuries, and losses.
This can be proven with medical records, incident reports, photos, and even witness statements or security camera footage. Burns leave evidence that later will help us hold the restaurant accountable, so preserve it.
The American Burn Association provides clinical guidelines for burn patients referral, and these will determine the severity of your case and how it’s compensated:
Severity determines settlement ranges, but only a burn injury lawyer can tell you what your specific case is worth, including the long-term impact of scarring and treatment.
Learn about the compensation amounts based on the severity, liable parties, available insurance, and how well your attorney builds the case:
| Severity | Compensation Ranges |
| 1st Degree Burns | Less than $10,000.00 |
| 2nd Degree Burns | From $10,000.00 up to $150,000.00 |
| 3rd Degree Burns | From $100,000.00 potentially up to millions |
| 4th Degree Burns | From $500,000.00 to over 15 millions. |
There have been many successful cases against restaurants. In Texas, a case against IHOP involving a second-degree burn from hot syrup resulted in $7,000.00 in compensation. In Nevada, compensation totaled $150,000.00 following burns sustained by an infant from soup that was too hot.
What these cases have in common is that the burns were preventable, and the restaurants were held accountable. In New York, second- and third-degree burns from spilled hot soup resulted in a $75,000 settlement. Barnes & Noble paid out $5,000 for a hot coffee burn. The national median for personal injury verdicts is $366,313, according to Jury Verdict Research, and the median for burn liability cases is $223,893.
If a restaurant has offered you a low settlement, you likely have a case worth more than their initial offer. Don’t accept before you know your full rights.
The types of damages you can recover in a restaurant burn case include economic losses like medical bills, future treatment, rehabilitation, and lost wages, as well as non-economic losses like pain and suffering, scarring, and disfigurement.
Emotional distress resulting from a burn injury has real value and can be included in your claim. In extreme cases, punitive damages may also be awarded, but only when the restaurant knew of a serious risk and did nothing to prevent it. Your attorney’s job is to calculate the full value of your claim.
If you were burned while working at a restaurant, your case will most likely be handled as a workers’ compensation claim, which covers medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault. If the burn was caused by defective equipment from a manufacturer, you may also have a separate lawsuit against that manufacturer, giving you two potential sources of compensation.
In cases of gross negligence, where the restaurant knowingly created or failed to prevent extreme danger, you may have additional options. An attorney can evaluate whether more than one claim applies to your situation.
The deadline to file a lawsuit depends on where the burn occurred, ranging from 1 to 6 years. The statute of limitations begins on the date the injury occurs, although there are exceptions that can extend these timeframes further. The applicable deadline depends on the state where the accident happened, so consult an attorney to confirm the specific timeframe for your case.
It is essential to seek legal assistance as soon as possible, as time is a critical factor in receiving compensation. If the statute of limitations expires, you lose your right to sue, even with the best case. Insurance companies know your deadline, and will delay, stall, and wait you out. The only way to protect your case is to start the process now.
Government-owned restaurants have much shorter deadlines for taking action, so an attorney must evaluate your case so they can provide you with specific timelines and courses of action, including evidence collection, to build your case.
The restaurant and its insurer will try to minimize your case, trying to push you to accept less. Here’s what to avoid:
Missing your deadline or signing away your rights will cost you your case. Get legal advice before you talk to anyone from the restaurant or their insurer.
If one or more of these situations apply to you, seek legal advice:
If any of the six situations above describe your case, you need legal advice from a personal injury lawyer, because you need to know your options before your deadline expires.
Thompson Law specializes in restaurant burn cases. If negligence caused your burns, you may be entitled to more than the restaurant’s first offer. We offer a Free Consultation with no obligation and No Fee Unless We Win. Contact us to get started.
Yes, if the burn is the direct responsibility of the restaurant, the server, or the manufacturers that produce the kitchen equipment.
The value depends on the degree of the burn, the liable parties, available insurance coverage, and how well the case is documented. First-degree burns typically settle below $10,000, while third and fourth-degree burns can reach into the millions.
Yes, you can pursue a claim for a first-degree burn if the restaurant’s negligence caused it. Compensation is typically moderate, covering medical expenses and related costs, but the strength of your case depends on how well the incident is documented.
Deadlines vary by state. Consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction.
Your case will most likely be handled as a workers’ compensation claim, which covers medical bills and lost wages regardless of fault. However, if the burn was caused by defective equipment from a manufacturer, you may also have a separate personal injury lawsuit against that manufacturer, giving you two potential sources of compensation.
Sí, nuestros abogados hablan español y le ayudarán con su caso para que pueda recibir la indemnización que se merece. Póngase en contacto con nosotros para una consulta inicial gratuita. No cobramos honorarios a menos que ganemos el caso.
Thompson Law charges NO FEE unless we obtain a settlement for your case. We’ve put over $1.9 billion in cash settlements in our clients’ pockets. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your accident, get your questions answered, and understand your legal options.
State law limits the time you have to file a claim after an injury accident, so call today.
