Severe Burn Injury Claims in Georgia: Pursuing Compensation for Disfiguring Trauma

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For a person with a severe burn, a Georgia claim starts from how medicine measures the injury: how deep the burn goes and how much of the body it covers. Those measurements help decide whether the injury needs a burn center, surgery, and skin grafts. Georgia’s statute on arguing damages names “disfigurement” among noneconomic damages, and Georgia’s lien statute gives providers of costly burn care a lien on the injured person’s claim.

How Burns Are Measured

MedlinePlus describes a burn as tissue damage caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation, and states that “[s]calds from hot liquids and steam, building fires and flammable liquids and gases are the most common causes of burns.” Breathing smoke can cause an inhalation injury. “Burns can cause swelling, blistering, scarring and, in serious cases, shock, and even death,” and because they damage the skin’s protective barrier, they can lead to infections.

A burn evaluation first determines depth, or degree:

  • First-degree (superficial) burns damage only the outer layer of skin, the epidermis.
  • Second-degree (partial thickness) burns damage the outer layer and the layer underneath, the dermis.
  • Third-degree (full-thickness) burns “can be life-threatening and require emergency medical attention”; they damage or completely destroy every layer of the skin, and a person with one “will usually require surgery.”
  • Burns that go into the fat layer or deeper into muscle or bone may be called fourth- or fifth-degree burns.

For burns that are second-degree or deeper, the evaluation then estimates the extent of the burn as a percentage of total body surface area. The “rule of nines” divides the body into sections of about 9 or 18 percent, so that “an arm equals 9% of a person’s total body surface”; the Lund-Browder chart, which MedlinePlus calls “the most accurate way to estimate the percentage of the body that’s burned,” adjusts for age; and in the palm method, the surface of the hand counts as about 1 percent.

When a Burn Is Severe

MedlinePlus classifies burns as minor, moderate, or severe. “Severe burns require special care at a burn center,” which may be recommended for second-degree burns covering more than 10 percent of the body; third-degree burns; second- and third-degree burns of the face, feet, hands, genitals, or over joints such as the knees; burns that happen with other injuries, such as broken bones; burns in people with conditions such as diabetes or heart disease; chemical and electrical burns; and inhalation injuries. “For more serious burns, treatment may be needed to clean the wound, replace the skin, and make sure the patient has enough fluids and nutrition.”

Skin Grafts and Scarring

A skin graft is a patch of skin removed by surgery from one area of the body, the donor site, and attached to another; burns are among the reasons MedlinePlus lists for one. “Most people who are having a skin graft have a split-thickness skin graft,” which takes the top layers of skin, while “[p]eople with deeper tissue loss, or in a cosmetic area such as the face, may need a full-thickness skin graft,” a more complicated procedure with a longer recovery that may require a hospital stay. After grafting, a dressing is worn for 1 to 2 weeks and the graft is protected from trauma for 3 to 4 weeks.

The risks MedlinePlus lists for the surgery include loss of the grafted skin, reduced or lost skin sensation or increased sensitivity, scarring, skin discoloration, an uneven skin surface, and poor healing and scarring at the donor site. “Most skin grafts are successful, but some do not heal well,” and additional procedures may be needed to get the desired result.

Disfigurement and the Other Losses

Georgia’s statute on arguing damages lists “disfigurement,” “physical impairment,” and “mental anguish” among noneconomic damages and “past and future medical expenses” among economic damages (OCGA 9-10-184(a)(1), (2)). In a burn claim, the scarring, discoloration, and uneven skin at the burn and at the donor site can be evidence of disfigurement; lost skin sensation can be evidence of impairment; and burn center care, grafting, and any additional procedures make up the medical expenses.

The Burn Care Lien

Georgia’s hospital lien statute defines “[t]raumatic burn care medical practice” as “care, treatment, or services rendered by a medical practice with respect to a patient whose burn care, treatment, or services resulted in charges in excess of $50,000.00, arising out of a single accident or occurrence” (OCGA 44-14-470(a)(6)). A provider of that care holds a lien for its reasonable charges on the injured person’s causes of action, subject to any attorney’s lien (OCGA 44-14-470(b)).

To perfect the lien, the provider must give written notice “not less than 15 days prior to the date of filing” a verified statement (OCGA 44-14-471(a)(1)), and a provider of traumatic burn care must file the statement “within 75 days after the person has been discharged from the facility” (OCGA 44-14-471(a)(2)(A)). A filing cannot be enforced until the provider has billed every health insurer the injured person has, if any, and been turned down (OCGA 44-14-471(c)). A release of the injured person’s claim does not defeat the lien unless the lien holder joins in it or releases the lien (OCGA 44-14-473(a)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can a deeper burn hurt less than a shallower one?
MedlinePlus states that “[t]hird-degree burns don’t cause pain if the nerves have been destroyed,” though pain can come from first- or second-degree burns on nearby skin.

Is the size of a burn on a child measured differently?
Yes. MedlinePlus states that for children, the rule of nines uses different surface area estimates because children’s heads and bodies have different proportions, and that the Lund-Browder chart is “especially accurate for children.”

Is a burn care lien a debt the patient owes?
The lien is on the injured person’s causes of action. The provider’s notice must state “that the lien is not a lien against the patient or any other property or assets of the patient and is not evidence of the patient’s failure to pay a debt” (OCGA 44-14-471(a)(1)).

Which providers can hold this kind of lien?
The lien extends to those who operate a hospital, nursing home, physician practice, or chiropractic practice in Georgia, and to those who provide traumatic burn care medical practice here (OCGA 44-14-470(b)).

  • MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), “Burns” (last updated Oct. 10, 2024); “Burn Evaluation” (last updated Sept. 8, 2026)
  • MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, “Skin graft” (review date Jan. 21, 2025)
  • OCGA 9-10-184(a)(1), (2)
  • OCGA 44-14-470(a)(6), (b); OCGA 44-14-471(a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (c); OCGA 44-14-473(a)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about severe burn injury claims and burn care liens under Georgia law. It is not medical advice or legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. How a claim is valued and what must be paid from a recovery depend on the injury, the liens filed, and the specific facts. A person with a severe burn, or a family member, should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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