Children face elevated burn injury risks due to curiosity, smaller size, thinner skin, and dependence on adults for supervision. Burns in children cause unique harms including impacts on development, social adjustment, and self-image during formative years. Child burn claims involve special considerations including extended statutes of limitations, lifetime damage calculations, and particular attention to psychological impacts.

How Children Suffer Burns

Scalding from hot liquids is the leading cause of pediatric burns. Children pull cups of hot beverages, reach up to stoves, and turn on hot water without understanding the danger. Their smaller bodies and thinner skin mean that temperatures adults might tolerate cause severe burns in children.

Contact burns occur when children touch hot surfaces including stoves, irons, space heaters, and fire pits. Young children explore by touching, and they may not recognize when objects are dangerously hot. Brief contact with extremely hot surfaces causes significant burns on children's thin skin.

Fire injuries affect children when residential fires trap them or when play with matches or lighters causes accidents. Children may hide during fires rather than escaping, increasing their risk of serious injury. Curiosity about fire creates dangers that adult supervision must address.

Electrical burns affect children who insert objects into outlets, bite electrical cords, or contact exposed wiring. These injuries can cause serious internal damage and cosmetically significant mouth burns from cord-biting.

Unique Aspects of Child Burns

Thinner skin makes children more susceptible to deep burns from exposures that might cause only superficial injury in adults. The same temperature and duration of contact causes more severe injuries in children. This physiological difference means child burns are often more serious than similar adult exposures.

Growing bodies complicate treatment and outcomes. Skin grafts may not grow proportionally with the child, potentially requiring revision surgeries during growth spurts. Contractures may worsen as children grow, limiting range of motion that was initially adequate. Burn treatment must account for years of physical development.

Developmental impacts extend beyond physical injuries. Children forming self-image during recovery face different challenges than adults with established identities. School absences during treatment affect education. Social development may be impaired by hospitalization and appearance changes.

Liability for Child Burns

Supervisory failures by caregivers, daycares, schools, and babysitters may create liability for child burns. Adults responsible for child supervision must protect children from foreseeable hazards. Leaving children unattended near burn hazards may constitute negligence.

Product manufacturers face liability when defective products cause child burns. Products designed for household use should anticipate that children may encounter them. Inadequate child-safety features, excessive temperatures, and missing warnings about child hazards all create manufacturer liability.

Property owners bear responsibility for burn hazards on their premises. Landlords who fail to provide safe hot water temperatures, property owners who maintain fire hazards, and businesses that expose child customers to dangers all may face premises liability claims.

Special Legal Considerations

Statutes of limitations for child injury claims are often tolled during minority. In many states, the limitations period does not begin running until the child reaches adulthood. This allows children time to understand their injuries and decide whether to pursue claims.

Court approval is typically required for settlements involving minors. Judges review proposed settlements to ensure they adequately protect children's interests. Settlement funds may be placed in trusts or structured settlements until children reach adulthood.

Guardian ad litem appointment may be necessary to represent children's interests in litigation. These court-appointed advocates ensure that settlement decisions and litigation strategies serve the child's best interests rather than parents' preferences.

Damages in Child Burn Cases

Lifetime medical costs extend over more years for children than adults. A child with burns requiring ongoing treatment faces decades of medical expenses. Life care plans must project needs throughout expected lifespan.

Lost earning capacity calculations project how burns will affect eventual career earnings. Even young children can have earning capacity claims based on assumptions about education and career potential. Burns preventing certain careers or limiting work capacity support substantial lifetime earning loss claims.

Pain and suffering damages reflect both physical and psychological impacts extending throughout childhood and beyond. The experience of burn treatment as a child, social impacts during school years, and development of self-image while disfigured all contribute to non-economic damages.

Psychological Impacts on Children

Body image formation during childhood is affected by burn scarring. Children developing self-concept while disfigured face different challenges than adults who were burned after identity formation. Psychological support during development helps children adjust to permanent appearance changes.

Social development may be impaired by hospitalization, appearance differences, and peer reactions. Teasing and bullying about scars affect children significantly. School accommodations and counseling may be needed to support normal development.

Long-term psychological effects may include higher rates of depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties extending into adulthood. Early psychological intervention can reduce these long-term impacts but cannot eliminate them entirely.

Conclusion

Child burn injuries require special attention to the unique vulnerabilities of children and the extended impacts burns have during development. Understanding liability theories, special legal procedures, and lifetime damage calculations helps families pursue appropriate compensation for injured children. Protecting children's legal rights ensures they receive resources for treatment and compensation for injuries that will affect their entire lives.