Burn Injury Law in California, Texas and Washington, Side by Side

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

The table below puts the rules side by side, with each one linked to the official statute or the court opinion. The sections after it explain how each rule plays out in burn cases. This is general information; a lawyer should check the deadline for your own facts.

The rules at a glance

Deadlines to sue

California’s two-year limit in CCP § 335.1 covers injury “caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another,” which includes most burn cases against a business, landlord or driver. Texas also allows two years from the day the claim accrues (CPRC § 16.003). Washington allows three years for injury to the person (RCW 4.16.080(2)).

The deadline runs from when the claim accrues, not from the end of treatment, so a burn case may have to be filed while grafts or reconstruction are still under way.

Claims against a city, county, state agency or public hospital

Burns from a public housing fire, a city vehicle, a public school or a county hospital start with an administrative claim.

• California: a written claim within six months after the claim accrues, usually the date of the injury (Gov. Code § 911.2). If the agency sends a written rejection, the lawsuit must be filed within six months of that notice (Gov. Code § 945.6). The claim rules do not apply to the UC Regents (Gov. Code § 905.6). Our page on suing a county or UC hospital covers the steps.
• Texas: notice to the governmental unit within six months under the Tort Claims Act, and a city’s charter can set a shorter period. Formal notice is excused if the unit had actual notice (CPRC § 101.101).
• Washington: present a claim and wait 60 days before suing a local government (RCW 4.96.020) or the state (RCW 4.92.100, 4.92.110). The three-year limit is paused during the 60 days.

When the burned person shares the blame

A defendant in a burn case may argue that the injured person spilled the drink, ignored a warning or got too close to the flame. California and Washington let the jury reduce damages by the injured person’s percentage of fault without barring the claim (Li v. Yellow Cab; RCW 4.22.005). Washington has one narrow exception: an injured person who was intoxicated, whose intoxication was a cause of the injury and who is found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing (RCW 5.40.060).

Texas bars any recovery once the injured person is more than 50 percent responsible (CPRC § 33.001). In the McDonald’s coffee case, the New Mexico jury put 20 percent of the fault on the customer and cut her damages by that much (our Liebeck page).

Punitive damages

California allows punitive damages when the plaintiff proves oppression, fraud or malice by clear and convincing evidence. Against a company, the conduct has to involve an officer, director or managing agent, for example by authorizing or ratifying it (Civ. Code § 3294). The statute sets no dollar cap.

Texas requires clear and convincing proof that the harm resulted from fraud, malice or gross negligence (CPRC § 41.003). The award is capped at the greater of two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000, or $200,000. The cap does not apply when the claim rests on conduct described as one of the felonies listed in the statute, generally when committed knowingly or intentionally (CPRC § 41.008).

Washington generally does not allow punitive damages unless a statute specifically authorizes them (Dailey v. North Coast Life). In most Washington burn cases, the recovery is limited to compensatory damages.

Burns at work

Workers’ compensation pays medical bills and part of lost wages, but it is usually the only claim against the employer.

• California: comp is the exclusive remedy against the employer (Labor Code § 3602(a)). The exceptions in § 3602(b) cover a willful physical assault by the employer, an injury made worse because the employer fraudulently concealed it and its link to the job, and an injury from a defective product the employer made and sold to an outside party that later provided it for the worker’s use. The worker keeps the right to sue anyone other than the employer (Labor Code § 3852).
• Texas: comp is the exclusive remedy against an employer that carries coverage. The only carve-out lets a worker’s surviving spouse or children seek exemplary damages when the employer’s intentional act or gross negligence caused the death (Labor Code § 408.001). Employers without coverage can be sued for negligence and cannot argue that the worker was partly at fault or assumed the risk (§ 406.033). Injured workers can also sue negligent third parties (§ 417.001).
• Washington: a worker can sue the employer only when the employer had a “deliberate intention” to cause the injury (RCW 51.24.020). A worker can seek damages from a third person who is not in the same employ, such as a contractor or equipment maker (RCW 51.24.030).

Defective products that burn

Exploding batteries, space heaters, pressure cookers and failed coffee lids lead to product claims.

• California: a manufacturer is strictly liable when a product it puts on the market has a defect that injures someone (Greenman v. Yuba Power Products). The two-year deadline in CCP § 335.1 applies.
• Texas: a design defect claim requires proof of a safer alternative design that would have prevented or significantly reduced the risk and was economically and technologically feasible (CPRC § 82.005). Most product claims must be brought within 15 years after the defendant sold the product, with exceptions (CPRC § 16.012).
• Washington: under the Washington Product Liability Act, a manufacturer is liable when a product was not reasonably safe as designed or lacked adequate warnings, and strictly liable for construction defects and breach of an express warranty (RCW 7.72.030). A claim must be filed within three years after the person discovered, or should have discovered, the harm and its cause. Harm more than 12 years after delivery creates a presumption that the product’s useful safe life had ended (RCW 7.72.060).

Children

Scalds are common in young children, and all three states pause the general deadline while the injured person is under 18 (CCP § 352; CPRC § 16.001; RCW 4.16.190). There are exceptions:

• In California the pause does not apply to claims against a public entity or public employee (CCP § 352(b)), so the six-month government claim deadline still runs.
• In California medical malpractice cases, a minor must sue within three years of the act, and a child under six has until the later of three years or the eighth birthday (CCP § 340.5).
• In Texas health care cases, a child under 12 has until the 14th birthday, and a 10-year repose period applies to everyone (CPRC § 74.251).

Burns caused by medical care

Burns from surgical fires, heating pads, lasers or hot compresses in a medical setting can be malpractice claims, and two of the three states cap noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, disfigurement) in those cases.

California (MICRA). Under Civ. Code § 3333.2, the 2023 limits of $350,000 for injury and $500,000 for death rise by $40,000 and $50,000 each January 1 until they reach $750,000 and $1,000,000. In 2026 the limits are $470,000 and $650,000. Separate limits apply to health care providers, to health care institutions and to certain unaffiliated defendants, and the amount in effect at the time of judgment or settlement applies. The deadline is three years from the injury or one year from discovery, whichever comes first (CCP § 340.5).

Texas. Noneconomic damages against physicians and other non-institutional providers are limited to $250,000 per claimant in total, no matter how many doctors are sued. A single hospital or other institution is limited to $250,000, and all institutions together to $500,000 (CPRC § 74.301). In death cases against physicians or providers, total damages other than medical and custodial care are capped at $500,000 per claimant, adjusted for inflation since 1977 (CPRC § 74.303). Health care claims must generally be filed within two years (§ 74.251).

Washington. There is no cap. In Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp., 112 Wn.2d 636 (1989), the Washington Supreme Court held that the state’s general limit on noneconomic damages violated the right to trial by jury in article 1, section 21 of the state constitution (opinion; Washington House bill report).

Burn injury law in every state

The table above covers California, Texas and Washington. Every other state and the District of Columbia has its own page with its filing deadline, fault rule, damage caps, workers’ comp rules and the burn centers the American Burn Association lists there.

• 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

Talk to a burn injury lawyer

Beverly Law handles burn cases in California and Washington, and Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Call (310) 552-6959 for a free consultation in English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win. For how these rules apply to coffee and drive-thru spills, see our pages on scald burns, Garcia v. Starbucks and hot beverage temperatures, or return to our burn injury lawyer page. California malpractice deadlines are covered on our medical malpractice statute of limitations page.

Common questions

Related pages

Burn Injury Lawyer

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.