Houston Burn Injury Lawyer

Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

This page covers what is specific to Houston: where a case is filed, where burn patients are treated, the plant fires federal investigators have documented east of downtown, and the Texas rules that shape a claim. For burn depth, grafts and how damages are built, start with our burn injury lawyer guide, and for statewide rules see Texas burn injury law.

Where a Houston burn lawsuit is filed

The Harris County civil district courts sit in the Civil Courthouse at 201 Caroline in downtown Houston. The District Clerk’s Civil Intake office, which handles e-filing and citations for the civil district courts, is on the first floor, Suite 110 (Harris County District Clerk).

Where a case is filed depends on where the injury happened and where the defendants are based. A case against an out-of-state manufacturer may be removed to federal court.

Burn care in and near Houston

Memorial Hermann runs an inpatient burn unit inside the Texas Medical Center. The nearest ABA-verified burn centers are in Galveston.

Sources: Memorial Hermann, UTMB Health, ABA Find a Burn Center.

For the injuries that often come with a burn, such as fractures from an explosion, the Texas Department of State Health Services lists Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Harris Health Ben Taub Hospital and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston as Level I trauma facilities (Texas DSHS trauma facility list).

Our burn center directory lists every verified center in Texas, California and Washington.

Plant fires in Harris County

Two 2019 incidents in Harris County show the kind of burn and fire hazards Houston workers and neighbors live with. Both were investigated by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB).

ITC Deer Park, March 17, 2019. A circulation pump on Tank 80-8 failed and released butane-enriched naphtha for roughly 30 minutes before the vapors ignited. The fire spread to the other 14 tanks in the same containment area, burned for three days and destroyed fifteen 80,000-barrel tanks. A shelter-in-place order covered the entire City of Deer Park at one point, and a seven-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel was closed because of contamination (CSB final report release, July 6, 2023).

KMCO, Crosby, April 2, 2019. Isobutylene leaked when a cast-iron y-strainer ruptured in a section of piping that had no pressure-relief device. The vapor cloud ignited. One employee was killed, two were seriously injured and at least 28 other workers were hurt. Residents within a mile were told to shelter in place for more than four hours (CSB final report release, December 21, 2023).

One practical point: federal law says no part of the CSB’s conclusions, findings or recommendations may be admitted as evidence or used in a suit for damages (42 U.S.C. § 7412(r)(6)(G)). A CSB report can point to what went wrong, but a burn case has to be proven with the plant’s own records, the equipment and the witnesses.

Burns at work in Houston

A burn on a plant or job site in Houston raises a separate set of Texas rules. They turn on whether the employer carries workers’ compensation:

• If the employer has workers’ compensation coverage, comp is generally the worker’s only remedy against that employer (Labor Code § 408.001). The one carve-out lets a surviving spouse or children seek exemplary damages when the employer’s intentional act or gross negligence caused the worker’s death.
• If the employer is a nonsubscriber, the worker can sue for negligence, and the employer cannot argue the worker was partly at fault or assumed the risk (Labor Code § 406.033).
• Either way, the worker can sue other companies whose negligence caused the burn, such as a contractor, an equipment maker or the plant owner when the worker was employed by someone else (Labor Code § 417.001). A claim against a plant owner by a contractor’s employee hurt while building or repairing an improvement has an extra hurdle: the owner is not liable unless it kept some control over how the work was done and actually knew of the danger and failed to warn (CPRC § 95.003).

Our page on workplace and refinery burns goes through these third-party claims in more detail.

Children are burned most often by hot liquids. Scalds make up 58% of pediatric burn center cases, according to the American Burn Association (ABA burn incidence fact sheet). If a hot drink, a restaurant meal or bath water burned your child, see our page on scald burns.

Texas rules that apply to a Houston burn claim

Houston burn injury questions

How long do I have to file a burn lawsuit in Houston?

Generally two years from the date of the burn under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003. A claim against a city, county or other governmental unit needs written notice within six months, and a city charter can set its own period. For a child, the two years usually do not start until the 18th birthday.

Is the burn unit at Memorial Hermann ABA-verified?

No. The American Burn Association lists the John S. Dunn Burn Center under “other burn centers,” not as a verified center. The verified centers closest to Houston are the Blocker Burn Unit at UTMB and Shriners Children’s Texas, both in Galveston.

Can I sue if I was burned at a Ship Channel plant?

If your employer carries workers’ compensation, you usually cannot sue that employer, but you can sue other companies that caused the burn, such as a contractor, an equipment maker or a plant owner that did not employ you, though Texas limits claims against a property owner by a contractor’s employee. If your employer is a nonsubscriber, you can sue it for negligence.

What if I was partly at fault for the fire?

Texas reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault (CPRC § 33.012) and bars recovery only if you are more than 50% responsible. Plants and insurers may argue the worker or resident caused the burn, so early evidence about the equipment and training matters.

Talk to a Houston burn injury lawyer

If you or your child was burned in Houston or anywhere in Harris County, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free, confidential review in English or Spanish. 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.

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.