Burn Injury Questions

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

All burn injury questions

• Burned at Work: Can I Sue?
  Usually you cannot sue your own employer for a work burn, because workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer in California, in Washington, and in Texas when the employer carries comp coverage. You can still sue anyone else whose carelessness caused the burn, such as a contractor, an equipment or chemical maker, or the owner of the site. You can keep your comp benefits while that case goes forward, though the comp insurer can usually be repaid from what you recover (Cal. Labor Code § 3856, Tex. Labor Code § 417.001(b), RCW 51.24.030).
• Burn Injury Settlement Amounts
  There is no reliable average burn injury settlement: settlements are private contracts, the Liebeck amount itself was kept confidential, and we know of no court or government source that publishes burn settlement averages. What a burn claim is worth depends on how deep and large the burn is, where it is on the body, whether it needed grafts, how much future surgery and lost income it will cause, who was at fault, and which state’s law applies.
• Burn Injury Statute of Limitations in California, Texas and Washington
  You generally have two years from the burn to file a lawsuit in California and Texas, and three years in Washington. If a government agency is involved, the first deadline is much shorter: a written claim within six months in California, notice within six months in Texas (less under some city charters), and in Washington a claim that must be filed and given 60 days before you can sue.
• Can You Sue for a Coffee Burn?
  Yes. You can sue for a coffee burn when the business that served the drink was careless in a way that caused the burn, for example a lid that was never pressed on, a cup left loose in a drive-thru carrier, or coffee handed over far hotter than anyone can safely hold, and the burn needed real medical care. Juries have returned verdicts for burned customers in reported cases from New Mexico to Los Angeles, and the usual defense is that the customer caused the spill.
• How Hot Is Starbucks Coffee?
  Starbucks has not published the temperature at which it serves brewed coffee in any source we could find, so no one outside the company can give you an official number. What the public record does show is that plaintiffs suing Starbucks have alleged about 190°F, Starbucks has said its drinks are brewed to industry standard, and published research puts typical hot-drink serving temperatures at 160°F to 185°F.
• How Long Do Burn Injury Cases Take?
  A serious burn case usually cannot be valued until the scars have settled, and burn scarring typically peaks around six months and may take 12 to 18 months to mature (MSKTC), so the first year is mostly about treatment. If the case is filed, California courts aim to finish unlimited civil cases within 24 months and Texas courts aim to finish civil jury cases within 18 months of the defendant’s appearance, and the reported burn verdicts below came between about 20 months and five years after the injury.
• What Is a Skin Graft Burn Claim Worth?
  There is no set dollar value for a skin graft claim, but a burn that needed a graft usually supports a larger claim than one that healed on its own, because it means a deep burn, surgery, a second wound where the donor skin was taken, and scarring that can need more treatment for a year or longer. The value turns on the type and size of the graft, where it is on the body, whether it held, and what future surgery and therapy a surgeon expects.
• What Degree Burn Is Hot Coffee?
  Hot coffee can cause a first-, second- or third-degree burn, and the depth depends on how hot the coffee was and how long it stayed on the skin. At the temperatures most shops serve, a third-degree burn can happen in about a second: the American Burn Association says hot drinks are usually served at 160°F to 180°F, and its scald table shows a third-degree burn in adult skin after about one second at 155°F (ABA scald guide).

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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.