Chicago SCALD BURN ATTORNEYS
A scald burn happens in seconds, but the pain, skin grafts, and scars can last for a lifetime. Maybe the shower in your Rogers Park courtyard building turned scalding without warning, or a hot soup spilled into your lap at a diner. When a landlord or business could have prevented the burn, a scald burn lawyer can help you hold them accountable.
At Kennedy Watkins Injury Attorneys, we help Chicago adults and children pursue claims for serious burns from excessively hot water, hot beverages, food, grease, and steam. Burns like these can happen in a rented apartment, a restaurant, or a commercial kitchen.
We will meet you at home or in the hospital, any day of the week. To set up a free consultation, call (312) 448-8181 or contact us online.
Can You Sue for a Scald or Hot-Water Burn in Chicago?
You can sue for a scald or hot-water burn in Chicago when a landlord, business, or other party failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it. Scald claims usually rest on negligence, meaning someone who controlled the hot water, beverage, or equipment did not act with reasonable care.
In a scald case, the responsible party is usually a building owner who controls a water heater, a restaurant that serves hot drinks, or a company that maintains steam equipment.
Why Hot-Water Burn Cases Need Early Action
The evidence in a hot-water burn case can disappear in a day. A landlord can turn down a water heater after an injury, and a restaurant can throw away the cup and lid. An attorney can act quickly to measure temperatures and preserve records before they change.
How Hot Is Too Hot for Tap Water?
Tap water hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit creates a serious scald risk, which is why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends setting water heaters at 120 degrees. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, children under 5 and older adults are at the highest risk of tap water scalds.
Consumer Product Safety Commission guidance shows how quickly hot water can cause a third-degree burn in an adult. A young child’s thinner skin burns even faster.
| Water Temperature | Approximate Time to Cause a Third-Degree Burn in an Adult |
|---|---|
| 150°F | About 2 seconds |
| 140°F | About 6 seconds |
| 130°F | About 30 seconds |
| 120°F | About 5 minutes |
At 120 degrees, a person has time to pull away, while water at 140 degrees can cause a burn that may need surgery. In many Chicago apartment buildings, the owner sets the boiler or water heater temperature, and tenants have no way to change it.
Landlord Responsibility for Scalding Water in Rental Housing
Landlords can be responsible for scalding water in rental housing when they control the water heater, know or should know it runs dangerously hot, and fail to fix it. Owners of older two-flats, three-flats, and courtyard buildings often run a single boiler for every unit.
Scalds in rental units can trace back to an owner who:
- Raised the water heater setting to keep up with demand from several units
- Ignored tenant complaints that the water was too hot to touch
- Failed to repair or replace a broken mixing valve that limits shower temperature
- Let an unlicensed handyman adjust or replace the water heater
- Rented to elderly tenants or families with young children without checking water temperatures
Scalding water is one of several unsafe conditions in rental housing that can support a claim against an owner. Texts, emails, and maintenance records showing earlier complaints about water temperature often become the strongest evidence in the case.
Hot Beverage, Food, and Grease Burns at Restaurants and Stores
Restaurants and stores can be responsible for hot beverage, food, and grease burns when they serve or handle hot items carelessly. Illinois negligence law requires businesses to use reasonable care when serving customers, and the Illinois Premises Liability Act applies when a condition on the property causes the burn.
Common Causes of Hot Liquid Burns at Businesses
Hot liquid burns at businesses often come from poorly fitted lids, overfilled cups, flimsy carriers, and servers who set scalding dishes within reach of small children. Spilled fryer grease can cause especially deep burns. Our firm has obtained a confidential settlement for a child burned by hot tea at a restaurant.
Claims for injuries on business property often rely on store video, incident reports, and employee training records. We request these records early, before the business deletes them.
When the Business Blames You for the Spill
The business’s insurer will often argue that you spilled the drink yourself. Illinois reduces a recovery by your share of fault and bars it if you are more than 50% at fault.
An injured person without a lawyer may accept the insurer’s fault percentage without realizing they can challenge it. We gather the evidence, such as video and witness accounts, that shows how the spill actually happened so the percentage reflects the truth.
Can You File a Claim for a Steam or Hot-Liquid Burn at Work?
You can file a workers’ compensation claim for a steam or hot-liquid burn at work, and you may also have a lawsuit against a company other than your employer. Illinois workers’ compensation usually prevents you from suing your own employer, but it does not protect outside contractors, property owners, or maintenance companies.
Steam and process-heat burns often happen in restaurant kitchens, laundries, food processing plants, and buildings with old steam heating systems. A third-party claim may apply when an outside company:
- Serviced a boiler or steam line and left it unsafe
- Controlled the job site where the burn happened
- Removed guards or insulation from hot pipes during repairs
A third-party claim can recover pain and suffering, which workers’ compensation does not pay. When we handle workplace injury claims, we review every company that had control over the equipment that burned you.
Scald Injuries to Young Children
Young children often suffer more severe scald injuries than adults, because they have thinner skin and cannot pull away from hot water quickly. A toddler in a bathtub can suffer a deep burn in the time it takes a parent to reach for a towel.
Burn and scald injuries to children raise special legal issues, including who brings the claim and how long the family has to file. In Illinois, a family generally can file a child’s claim until two years after the child turns 18 under 735 ILCS 5/13-211, though waiting that long can cost the family important evidence.
Long-Term Care for Children With Scald Burns
Scars and grafted skin do not grow the way healthy skin does. A child burned at age 2 may need repeat surgeries during growth spurts, and the claim must account for that future care.
How Serious Are Scald Burns?
Scald burns range from painful surface burns to full-thickness injuries that destroy the skin and require surgery. The National Institutes of Health explains that third-degree burns permanently destroy the entire thickness of the skin and may need skin grafts.
Serious scald burns often require:
- Hospital care in a burn unit to prevent infection and manage pain
- Skin graft surgeries and painful dressing changes
- Physical and occupational therapy to keep scarred skin from tightening around joints
- Compression garments and scar treatment for months or years
- Counseling for anxiety, nightmares, and changes in appearance
Scald burns often affect the hands, face, chest, and legs, which can change how a person works and dresses. We document each of these effects so the value of your claim reflects your full recovery.
Why Burn Survivors Turn to Our Firm
Burn survivors need a law firm that understands how burn injuries heal and how insurers try to minimize them. You will work directly with both of our attorneys and have one point person throughout your case.
- Burn case results: We obtained a confidential settlement for a child burned by hot tea at a restaurant and a $600,000 recovery for a man with second-degree burns to his hands from a church fire.
- Fire and burn verdicts: Our firm secured a $34 million verdict in an apartment-fire wrongful death case.
- Accessible anytime: We answer calls 24/7 and travel to clients across Illinois, including hospitals and rehab facilities.
- Contingency fee: Your consultation is free, and our fee comes out of a recovery rather than your pocket.
Past results do not predict the outcome of any future case. If you or your child suffered a serious scald burn, call (312) 448-8181 to talk with an attorney today.
What Compensation Is Available for a Scald Burn?
Compensation for a scald burn can cover your medical treatment, lost income, scarring, and the pain the burn caused. Like other burn injury claims in Chicago, a scald claim should reflect the full course of your recovery, not only the first hospital bill.
Depending on your case, damages may include:
- Emergency care, burn unit stays, and skin graft surgeries
- Future reconstructive surgery and scar treatment
- Lost wages and reduced earning ability
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Disfigurement and loss of normal life
Settling before your doctors know whether you will need more surgery can leave future costs unpaid. We wait until we understand your medical future before advising you on any offer.
What Should You Do After a Scald Injury?
After a scald injury, proper burn care comes first, and most people with serious scalds are already under a doctor’s care. If no doctor has examined your burn yet, see one soon, because deep burns can look minor at first and later become infected.
Alongside your treatment, these steps strengthen a scald claim:
- Talk to a scald burn lawyer quickly. An attorney can arrange to measure the water temperature before a landlord turns down the heater.
- Follow your burn care plan. Dressing changes, therapy, and follow-up visits show insurers that your injury is serious.
- Keep a journal and photos of your healing. Weekly photos and notes about pain and daily limits show how the burn affected your life.
- Hold on to any cup, lid, or receipt you still have. For restaurant and store burns, these items can prove what the business served you.
- Refer adjusters to your attorney. Adjusters may use your statements to argue you caused the spill.
Taken together, these steps document both how the burn happened and how it changed your life.
How Long Do You Have to File a Scald Burn Claim in Illinois?
You generally have two years from the date of a scald burn to file a personal injury lawsuit in Illinois under 735 ILCS 5/13-202. Claims for children and claims against public bodies such as the Chicago Housing Authority follow different deadlines.
Why Waiting Hurts a Scald Claim
Water temperatures, maintenance logs, and store video change or disappear long before the legal deadline. Contacting us soon after the burn gives us time to preserve that evidence.
FAQ
Scald and Hot-Water Burn Claims: Questions for Our Chicago Attorneys
Scald claims raise a few more practical questions.
Can I sue a coffee shop for a hot coffee burn in Illinois?
What if I never told my landlord the water was too hot?
Can I still file a scald claim if I waited to see a doctor?
How much is a scald burn case worth?
Do most scald burn cases settle without a trial?
Talk to a Chicago Hot Water Burn Attorney Today
A scalding injury can change your life in an instant, and the landlord or business responsible should not be the one deciding what your recovery is worth. At Kennedy Watkins Injury Attorneys, we investigate how your burn happened and pursue compensation for your medical care, your scars, and your future.
Burn injuries change quickly in the first weeks, and so does the evidence. Call (312) 448-8181 now or contact us online, and a Chicago hot water burn attorney will explain your options at no cost.