Florida Burn Injury Lawyer: Your Rights After a Burn

Attorney Advertising.

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

What to do after a burn in Florida

Get medical care first. The American Burn Association’s referral guidelines call for immediate burn center consultation for any full-thickness burn and for all chemical injuries (ABA referral guidelines). Florida’s six verified centers are listed below.

Then protect the evidence:

1. Keep the object that caused the burn, whether a cup and lid, a space heater or a vape battery. Do not mail it back to the company.
2. Photograph the injury every few days as it heals, and photograph the scene.
3. Ask the business in writing to keep its camera footage, and write down witness names.
4. Talk with a lawyer before giving a recorded statement to an insurer.

If firefighters came, the State Fire Marshal’s statewide incident database, FFIRS, holds their report (FFIRS).

The deadline to file in Florida

An action founded on negligence must be filed within two years under section 95.11(5)(a) (Fla. Stat. § 95.11). HB 837 (chapter 2023-15) cut it from four years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023. Earlier injuries keep four years.

Florida has no general discovery rule. Under section 95.031, the clock runs from accrual, which is when the last element of the claim occurs (Fla. Stat. § 95.031). Statutes add delayed discovery for products liability and fraud (95.031(2)) and for medical malpractice (95.11(5)(c): two years from discovery, with a four-year repose period).

Government claims add a step. Section 768.28(6)(a) requires a written claim to the responsible agency within three years after the claim accrues, or two years for wrongful death (Fla. Stat. § 768.28). Except for claims against a municipality, a county or the Florida Space Authority, the claim also goes in writing to the Department of Financial Services. You can sue only after a written denial.

How fault works in Florida

Since HB 837, any party found greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages (Fla. Stat. § 768.81). Section 768.81(6) covers causes of action filed after March 24, 2023. At 50 percent or less, the award is reduced by your share.

Picture a hotel guest scalded by a shower that ran far hotter than the dial showed. The hotel says she should have tested the water first. A jury that puts 20% on her cuts her award by 20%. At 51%, she gets nothing.

Medical negligence claims under chapter 766 are excluded from that bar, and pure comparative fault still governs them.

Damages and caps in Florida

A third-degree burn destroys the skin to its full depth and damages the tissue underneath (NIH/NIGMS fact sheet). Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence (Fla. Stat. § 768.72).

Section 766.118 still prints noneconomic caps, but in North Broward Hospital District v. Kalitan (June 8, 2017) the Florida Supreme Court held the personal injury caps violate the Equal Protection Clause (opinion), following Estate of McCall v. United States (2014) on the wrongful death cap.

Burns at work in Florida

Section 440.11(1) makes the employer’s workers’ compensation liability exclusive (Fla. Stat. § 440.11). The exceptions are an uninsured employer and an employer intentional tort. For the second, the worker needs clear and convincing evidence that the employer deliberately intended to injure, or knew from prior similar accidents or explicit warnings that its conduct was virtually certain to injure, with the danger concealed or misrepresented.

Section 440.39(1) lets a worker take comp and also sue a negligent third party (Fla. Stat. § 440.39), such as the maker of a fryer whose thermostat failed. The employer or carrier is subrogated to the extent of benefits paid and holds a lien on the recovery, reduced pro rata for attorney fees and costs.

Burn centers in Florida

The ABA lists six burn centers in Florida. All six are ABA-verified.

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

The ABA shows Kendall’s verification as adult, although its patient listing covers adults and children.

Who may be liable for a burn

The question is who controlled what got too hot or failed. That can be a property owner who left a water heater set too high, or a contractor working beside your employer on a job site. It can be the company that made or sold a defective product, or a gas or electric utility. A restaurant that hands over a scalding drink with a loose lid can be responsible too. The ABA’s scald table shows water at 155°F can cause a third-degree burn in one second (ABA scald guide).

How Beverly Law helps in Florida

Beverly Law is a California firm, and its attorneys are licensed in California and Washington. When someone is burned in Florida, the firm works with Florida-licensed attorneys through its referral network. A free case review puts you in touch with a burn injury attorney licensed in Florida, usually within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · Georgia burn injury law · Alabama burn injury law

This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; a lawyer licensed in Florida can tell you how they apply to your case.

Common questions

Related pages

Burn Injury Lawyer

Important: Attorney Advertising. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Beverly Law is a California firm whose attorneys are licensed in California and Washington; for injuries in other states it works with attorneys licensed there through its referral network. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.