Burn Injury Lawyer | California, Texas, Washington

If someone else’s carelessness burned you or your child, you may have a claim against the restaurant, landlord, employer, product maker, utility or driver responsible. A serious burn is one of the few injuries where the medical bills keep growing for years, so the claim has to account for grafts, scar surgery and therapy that have not happened yet. Beverly Law represents burn victims in California, Texas and Washington, and you owe no fees or costs unless we win.

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

Call (310) 552-6959 Text us WhatsApp

Burned because of someone else?

Leave your name and phone. We call back today, in English or Spanish. The consultation is free and confidential.

Free consultation · English y Español · No fees or costs unless we win

What counts as a burn injury case

A burn injury claim arises when someone else’s carelessness exposed you to heat, flame, chemicals, electricity or a scalding liquid. These are the cases we see most:

Scalds from hot drinks and food served too hot, or in cups and lids that fail, at coffee shops, drive-thrus, restaurants and on delivery orders
Apartment and house fires caused by faulty wiring, missing or disabled smoke detectors, blocked exits or landlord neglect
Workplace burns at refineries, chemical plants, warehouses and restaurant kitchens, including claims against contractors and equipment makers beyond workers’ compensation
Chemical burns from drain cleaners, pool chemicals, industrial acids and alkalis, and hair and beauty treatments
Electrical burns from exposed wiring, downed power lines and defective appliances
Gas explosions from leaking lines, water heaters and propane equipment
Vehicle fires after a crash, including fuel system and battery fires
Defective products: lithium batteries, e-bikes and scooters, pressure cookers, space heaters, hair tools and children’s products
Laser, IPL and tanning burns at med spas and salons
Bath and shower scalds in nursing homes and assisted living, which can also be elder neglect

Burn degrees and what they mean for your claim

Doctors classify burns by how deep they go (Cedars-Sinai burn classification). The depth drives the treatment, and the treatment drives the value of the case.

Degree	What it is	What it usually means for treatment
First degree	Outer layer of skin only; red, painful, dry, no blisters	Heals on its own; rarely a case by itself
Second degree (partial thickness)	Into the dermis; blisters, swelling, severe pain	Deep second-degree burns often need debridement and sometimes grafting; scarring is common
Third degree (full thickness)	Both skin layers destroyed; may look white or charred	Needs skin grafts; permanent scarring and loss of motion are common
Fourth degree	Through the skin into muscle or bone; no feeling in the area	Reconstruction, sometimes amputation

Two other things matter as much as depth: the total body surface area burned and where the burn is. Burns to the face, hands, feet, joints and genitals are treated as more serious at every depth because of function and disfigurement. Smoke inhalation is treated as a separate injury.

How fast hot liquid burns

Hot drinks are frequently served at 160°F to 185°F, according to a study published in the journal Burns (Brown and Diller, 2008). The American Burn Association’s scald table, based on the Moritz and Henriques studies, shows how little contact it takes to cause a full-thickness burn in adult skin (ABA scald guide):

Liquid temperature	Time to a third-degree burn (adult skin)
155°F	About 1 second
148°F	About 2 seconds
140°F	About 5 seconds
133°F	About 15 seconds
127°F	About 1 minute
120°F	About 5 minutes

Children and older adults have thinner skin and burn faster. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends setting home water heaters to 120°F for that reason (CPSC).

Free burn injury case review

Tell us what happened. We will tell you plainly whether there is a case and what to do next. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

What a burn case is worth

Burn damages differ from most injury claims because so much of the cost is in the future. A properly built burn case accounts for:

Past medical care: burn center admission, surgeries, ICU time and rehabilitation
Future medical care: scar revisions, contracture release surgery, laser treatment, pressure garments, physical and occupational therapy and counseling, priced by a life care planner
Lost income and lost earning capacity, especially when hand or facial burns end a career
Pain and suffering, and the separate harm of disfigurement
Loss of consortium for a spouse
Punitive damages where state law allows them: California requires clear and convincing proof of malice, oppression or fraud (Civ. Code 3294); Texas requires clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence and caps the amount (CPRC 41.003, 41.008); Washington generally does not allow punitive damages unless a statute authorizes them (Dailey v. North Coast Life)

We work with burn surgeons, life care planners, vocational experts and economists to put a number on each of these before any settlement discussion.

Who can be held responsible

Burn cases often involve more than one defendant, and finding all of them is where much of the recovery comes from.

Restaurants and coffee chains: serving temperature, cup and lid choice, handoff procedures and training
Property owners and landlords: fire code violations, missing or disabled smoke detectors, blocked exits, faulty wiring and gas appliances
Third parties at work: contractors, equipment makers and site owners can be sued even when workers’ compensation covers the employer (Cal. Labor Code 3852; Tex. Labor Code 417.001; RCW 51.24.030)
Manufacturers and sellers: strict liability for defective design, manufacturing defects and missing warnings (Greenman v. Yuba Power Products in California; RCW 7.72.030 in Washington; Texas requires proof of a safer alternative design for design claims, CPRC 82.005)
Gas utilities and propane companies: leaks, pressure problems and slow response
Drivers and vehicle makers: crash fires and fuel or battery defects
Nursing homes and care facilities: scalds from unsupervised bathing or water set too hot. In California this can be elder neglect under the Elder Abuse Act (Welf. & Inst. Code 15610.57, 15657); Washington gives vulnerable adults a civil claim for abuse or neglect (RCW 74.34.200)

What to do after a burn

Get treated at a burn center, not only an emergency room, for anything beyond a minor first-degree burn. Our burn center list for California, Texas and Washington is below.
Keep everything: the cup and lid, the product, the clothing, receipts, app orders, and photos of the scene and of the injury as it heals.
Ask for the incident report and the names of witnesses and employees.
Ask that video be preserved. Drive-thru, store and building cameras are often recorded over within days; we send preservation letters the day we are retained.
Do not give a recorded statement to an insurer before you talk with a lawyer.
Write down the deadline for your state from the table below.

Deadlines to file

State	General deadline to sue	Claims against a government
California	2 years from the injury (CCP 335.1)	Written claim within 6 months (Gov. Code 911.2); claims against the UC Regents are exempt (Gov. Code 905.6)
Texas	2 years (CPRC 16.003)	Notice within 6 months under the Tort Claims Act, and a city charter can require less time (CPRC 101.101)
Washington	3 years (RCW 4.16.080)	File a claim and wait 60 days before suing a city or county (RCW 4.96.020) or the state (RCW 4.92.110)

Different rules apply to children and to some product claims. A child’s deadline is generally paused until age 18 in all three states (CCP 352; CPRC 16.001; RCW 4.16.190), though government claims and injuries at birth follow their own rules. Texas bars most product claims 15 years after the sale (CPRC 16.012), and Washington presumes a product’s useful safe life is 12 years (RCW 7.72.060). Call before you assume you have time.

If you were partly at fault

California and Washington reduce what you recover by your share of fault, with no cutoff (Li v. Yellow Cab; RCW 4.22.005). Texas reduces it the same way but bars recovery if you are found more than 50% responsible (CPRC 33.001). Insurers in burn cases often argue the victim spilled the drink or ignored a warning, so the evidence of temperature, the cup and lid, and what the business knew matters a great deal.

Burn injury cases in California, Texas and Washington

California

California has nine American Burn Association-verified burn centers, including Los Angeles General Medical Center’s regional burn center, Torrance Memorial Burn Center, the UCI Health Regional Burn Center in Orange, UC San Diego Health’s regional burn center, the Leon S. Peters Burn Center in Fresno and the Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center at UC Davis (ABA directory). Other burn units, such as the UCLA Health Regional Burn Center at West Valley Medical Center (formerly the Grossman Burn Center) and the burn center at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, are designated locally but are not ABA-verified.

Refineries and wildfires are California’s signature burn hazards. In August 2012 a pipe ruptured in the crude unit at Chevron’s Richmond refinery, engulfing 19 workers in a vapor cloud and sending about 15,000 residents for medical care (U.S. Chemical Safety Board).

Texas

Texas has six ABA-verified burn centers: the Blocker Burn Unit at UTMB and Shriners Children’s Texas in Galveston, Parkland in Dallas, the U.S. Army Burn Center in San Antonio, the Timothy J. Harnar Burn Center in Lubbock and the burn center at Medical City Plano (ABA directory). Houston’s John S. Dunn Burn Center at Memorial Hermann treats many Gulf Coast burn patients but is listed by the ABA under other burn centers.

Petrochemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel and the Gulf Coast are Texas’s signature hazard. In April 2019 leaked isobutylene ignited at the KMCO plant in Crosby, killing one worker, seriously injuring two and hurting at least 28 others (U.S. Chemical Safety Board).

Washington

Harborview Medical Center’s UW Medicine Regional Burn Center in Seattle is the only ABA-verified burn center in Washington (ABA directory).

In April 2010 an explosion and fire at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes killed seven workers (U.S. Chemical Safety Board). Home fires are the larger day-to-day danger: Washington reported 72 fire deaths in 2024, and 51% were in homes, apartments and manufactured housing (Washington State Patrol fire report).

Why Beverly Law for a burn case

Burn cases are catastrophic injury cases, and they get tried, not just settled. Our attorneys have taken cases to verdict, and we build every burn case around the medical future, not just the bills to date. We work in English and Spanish, we advance the case costs, and you owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Burns by cause

Burn injury lawyers by city

Coffee chains and drive-thrus

Landmark hot-coffee cases

Burn centers, statistics and law by state

Burn injury questions

Burn injury law by state

Deadlines, fault rules, government claims, punitive damages and workers’ comp rules side by side: Burn Injury Law in California, Texas and Washington, Side by Side

Pick your state for its filing deadline, fault rule, damage caps and burn centers:

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

Free tools

After-a-burn checklist: first aid from MedlinePlus, when to ask for a burn center, and the evidence to keep, with a printable PDF.
Evidence preservation letter: a template asking a store, landlord or employer to keep video and records.
Deadline calculator: the general filing deadline in every state, from the date of the burn.

Talk to a burn injury lawyer

Call (310) 552-6959 for a free case review in English or Spanish. Our office is in Los Angeles; we handle burn cases in California and Washington, and Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

Can you sue for a coffee burn?

Yes, when the drink was served at an unsafe temperature or in a cup or lid that failed, and the burn is more than minor. Hot drinks are often served at 160°F to 185°F, and liquid at 155°F can cause a third-degree burn in about one second.

How hot is coffee at most chains?

Published research in the journal Burns reports that hot drinks are frequently served at 160°F to 185°F. In the McDonald’s case from the 1990s, the company’s own standard was 180°F to 190°F.

How long does a burn case take?

It depends on the injury. A serious burn case usually cannot be valued until the doctors know what surgeries and therapy are still ahead, and settling before then can leave future care unpaid. Our FAQ on burn case timelines has the court time goals and examples.

Do I have a case if I was partly at fault?

Usually yes. California and Washington reduce your recovery by your share of fault. Texas does the same but bars recovery if you are found more than 50% responsible.

What if the burn happened at work?

You may have a workers’ compensation claim and a separate lawsuit against anyone else responsible, such as a contractor, equipment maker or property owner. In Texas, an employer without workers’ comp coverage can be sued directly.

Ask a question

Not ready to call? Write your question and someone on our team will answer. No cost, no commitment.

BEVERLY LAW · BURN INJURY ATTORNEYS

Burn injury lawyer — Beverly Law

If you or your child was burned because of someone else in California, Texas and Washington, talk to a burn injury attorney. Free, confidential, English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

✓Free consultation✓No fees or costs unless we win✓English y Español✓Available 24/7

Call (310) 552-6959 Free case review

Sources

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.