The short answer: What a burn injury claim is worth in Illinois depends on the degree and location of the burn, the extent of permanent scarring, whether surgery was needed, how the injury affects your ability to earn a living, and the cost of future care. Liability depends on how the burn happened. It could rest with a negligent driver, a property owner, a product manufacturer, or a contractor. Illinois generally gives you two years to file, and your own share of fault can reduce what you recover, or bar it altogether.
Serious burns are among the most painful and life-altering injuries a person can suffer. Beyond the immediate trauma, you may be looking at multiple surgeries, permanent scarring, and months away from work. Michael J. Lichner has spent over a decade representing injured individuals throughout Will County. This article walks you through how burn cases work in Illinois, what your claim may be worth, and who can be held responsible.
In this article, our Joliet personal injury lawyer discusses:
- The degrees of burn injuries and how they happen in accidents.
- The medical treatment serious burns require.
- What determines the value of a burn injury claim.
- Who can be held liable for your burns.
- How Illinois law affects your right to recover.
1. What are the degrees of burn injuries, and how do they happen in accidents?
Burns are classified by the depth of damage to the skin and underlying tissue. That classification often drives both the medical response and the value of a claim. They are:
– First-degree burns: These affect only the outer layer of skin, causing redness and minor pain.
– Second-degree burns: These reach deeper layers, producing blisters and often requiring medical treatment.
– Third-degree burns: These destroy the full thickness of the skin, frequently damaging nerves and requiring skin grafts.
– Fourth-degree burns: These extend into muscle, tendon, or bone and can be life-threatening.
Serious burns are possible in many types of cases. Car and truck crashes can cause thermal burns from fires, and chemical burns from fuel and battery acid. Construction sites expose workers to electrical burns, scalding, and flammable materials. Defective products, from space heaters to lithium batteries, can ignite without warning. And in premises liability situations, like a fire in a poorly maintained commercial building or apartment, tenants and customers who did nothing wrong can end up badly burned.
2. What type of medical treatment do serious burns require?
Serious burns often demand a long and expensive treatment path that begins in the emergency room and continues for months or years. Initial care focuses on stabilizing the patient, preventing infection, and managing pain.
From there, treatment frequently includes debridement (removing dead tissue), skin grafting to close deep wounds, and reconstructive surgery to restore function and appearance. Many patients then face extended rehabilitation, physical therapy, and ongoing scar management to regain mobility and reduce disfigurement.
This long arc of care matters legally. The full cost of a burn is rarely clear at the outset, which is why documenting future medical needs is central to accurately valuing the claim.
3. How much is my burn injury claim worth?
There is no easy answer to what compensation you’ll receive for a burn injury, because the value turns on the specific facts of your case. That said, a handful of factors consistently drive the value of burn cases in Illinois, which are:
 A. Degree and location of the burn. A deep burn to the face, hands, or another visible or functional area typically carries greater damages than a minor burn.
 B. Scarring and disfigurement. Permanent scarring is compensable, and the location on your body, its visibility, and permanence weigh heavily.
 C. Whether surgery was required. Grafts and reconstructive procedures increase both economic and non-economic damages.
 D. Impact on your ability to work. Lost wages and reduced earning capacity can be substantial when burns limit what you can do.
 E. The need for ongoing care. Future surgeries, therapy, and scar treatment are recoverable when properly documented.
Illinois law allows injured individuals to recover both economic damages (medical bills and lost income) and non-economic damages (pain, suffering, physical disfigurement, emotional trauma). Attorney Lichner documents each category to build a claim designed to withstand scrutiny from insurance defense counsel.
Contact Michael J. Lichner for a free consultation to find out what your case may be worth. Call 815-258-7877.
4. Who can be held liable for a burn injury?
Liability depends entirely on how the burn happened, and often more than one party is on the hook. A negligent driver may be liable for a crash that caused a vehicle fire. A property owner may be liable for burns caused by unsafe conditions on their premises. A product manufacturer may face strict liability for a defective device that overheated or caught fire. A contractor may be responsible for unsafe conditions on a construction site.
Illinois follows modified comparative negligence. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, the plaintiff shall be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury, and if the plaintiff’s fault is not more than 50%, any damages allowed shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of fault attributable to the plaintiff. Insurance companies know this rule cold, and they will try to shift blame onto you to cut or eliminate your recovery.
That’s where resources matter. As a partner at LiSi Law, LLC, Attorney Lichner has the investigative resources to identify every responsible party and to counter fault arguments, and opposing counsel knows it.
5. Get help from an experienced Will County burn injury lawyer
Burn cases are complicated, and the insurance companies handling them come prepared. Michael J. Lichner brings substantial experience in prosecuting burn claims and knows how to build cases that account for the full scope of a client’s losses. Past results don’t guarantee future outcomes, and every case is different.
From his Joliet office at 350 Houbolt Rd., Suite 209, he represents injured individuals throughout Will County and Northern Illinois. Your consultation is free, and there’s no fee unless we win.
Contact Michael J. Lichner for a free consultation. Call 815-258-7877.
Frequently asked questions about burn injuries
How long do I have to file a burn injury claim in Illinois?
In most cases, two years from the date of injury. Illinois has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims under 735 ILCS 5/13-202, which provides that actions for damages for an injury to the person shall be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued. Deadlines can shift depending on the facts, so it’s best to talk to an attorney early, before evidence disappears.
What if I were partly at fault for the accident?
You can still recover, as long as you were not more than 50% at fault, though your damages are reduced by your share of the blame. This is exactly why insurance companies work so hard to pin fault on you. Having an attorney who can push back on those arguments is critical.
How much does it cost to hire a burn injury lawyer?
Nothing upfront. Michael J. Lichner handles burn injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you. Your consultation is completely free.