Pennsylvania Burn Injury Lawyer: Your Rights After a Burn

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

What to do after a burn in Pennsylvania

The American Burn Association recommends immediate burn center consultation for all chemical injuries and for every high-voltage electrical injury of 1,000 volts or more, along with lightning injuries (ABA referral guidelines). Pennsylvania’s burn centers appear in the table below.

While treatment is under way, a family member can handle the paper trail. Save the product or part that failed, and photograph the scene before anyone repairs it. Keep every bill and discharge summary. Refer the other side’s adjuster to your lawyer.

The Office of the State Fire Commissioner runs PennFIRS, the Pennsylvania Fire Incident Reporting System. Its page explains the reporting system; it does not offer a public statistics dashboard (PennFIRS). For a fire burn, request the report from the local fire department that responded.

The deadline to file in Pennsylvania

Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2), an action for injuries to the person caused by the negligence or wrongful act of another must be commenced within two years (§ 5524).

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s discovery rule can pause that clock. In Fine v. Checcio (2005), the court said the rule tolls the statute in any case where a party neither knows nor reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause when the right to sue arises (Fine v. Checcio).

Government cases come with a six-month notice. Section 5522(a)(1) requires written notice within six months from the date of injury or accrual, filed in the office of the government unit; for a Commonwealth agency, a copy must also be filed with the Attorney General (§ 5522). The rule covers state and local government units alike.

How fault works in Pennsylvania

Section 7102(a) says the plaintiff’s negligence does not bar recovery where it was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants (§ 7102). The comparison is against all the defendants together.

Take a laundromat customer burned when a dryer kept spinning hot after the door opened. He reached in too soon, the owner skipped repairs, and the manufacturer used a faulty door switch. If the jury assigns 40% to him and 30% to each company, he recovers, because 40% is not greater than the 60% the defendants share. His damages are reduced by his 40%. If he were found 51% at fault, he would recover nothing.

Damages and caps in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s constitution limits what the legislature can do here. Article III, section 18 says that outside workers’ compensation, the General Assembly may not limit the amount recovered for injuries to persons (Pa. Const. art. III, § 18). Compensatory damages, including in medical malpractice cases, have no cap. A full-thickness burn destroys the skin to its full depth and damages the tissue beneath (NIH/NIGMS).

Punitive damages are set by case law. In Hutchison v. Luddy, the state Supreme Court allowed them for conduct that is outrageous because of the defendant’s evil motive or reckless indifference to the rights of others (Hutchison v. Luddy). The evidence has to show the defendant subjectively appreciated the risk and acted, or failed to act, in conscious disregard of it.

Medical malpractice has added rules under section 505 of the MCARE Act, 40 P.S. 1303.505 (MCARE Act):

Burns at work in Pennsylvania

Section 303(a) of the Workers’ Compensation Act makes the employer’s liability exclusive and in place of any and all other liability to the employee (Workers’ Compensation Act). Section 303(b) allows a suit against a third party whose act or omission caused the injury. A worker burned in a flash fire might, for example, sue an outside company that serviced the faulty valve. Under section 319, the employer is subrogated to the employee’s recovery to the extent of comp payable, with attorney fees and costs prorated.

Burn centers in Pennsylvania

Six Pennsylvania centers appear in the ABA directory. Four are ABA-verified. The only pediatric-only center listed, in Philadelphia, is not verified.

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

Who may be liable for a burn

Property owners and landlords control water heaters, wiring and fire exits. Contractors working on the same site as your employer handle torches, fuel and live circuits. Product makers and sellers answer for batteries, heaters and appliances that fail. Utilities run gas and electric lines into homes and businesses. Restaurants decide how hot to serve coffee and soup and how to hand it across a counter. Scald risk rises quickly with temperature: the ABA’s table puts a third-degree burn at 15 seconds for water at 133°F (ABA scald guide).

How Beverly Law helps in Pennsylvania

Beverly Law is a California firm with attorneys licensed in California and Washington. When the burn happened in Pennsylvania, the firm works with Pennsylvania-licensed attorneys through its referral network. Through a free case review, you are connected with a Pennsylvania-licensed burn injury attorney, usually within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · New York burn injury law · Ohio burn injury law

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

Common questions

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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.