Tacoma Burn Injury Lawyer

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

Tacoma is a port city with a heavy industrial area, the Tideflats, so this page spends time on documented industrial fires in the city and the claims port and plant workers can bring. It also covers where burn patients from Tacoma are treated. Burn degrees and skin grafts are explained on our burn injury lawyer page, and the rules that apply across the state are on Washington burn injury law.

Pierce County Superior Court

Pierce County Superior Court is at 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Room 334. The County Clerk, where filings are made, is in Room 110 of the same building (Washington Courts directory).

A Tacoma burn case can be filed in another county when a defendant is based there, and a claim against an out-of-state manufacturer or a shipping company may be moved to federal court in Tacoma. The choice affects the jury pool and the schedule, so it is made with care at the start.

Where Tacoma burn patients are treated

Tacoma has state-designated trauma hospitals, but the ABA directory lists no burn center in Tacoma. The only ABA-verified burn center in Washington is the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle (ABA directory; UW Medicine).

Source: Washington DOH trauma list, May 2026.

A Tacoma patient with a serious burn may be stabilized at a Tacoma hospital and then moved to Harborview. Both sets of records matter. The local emergency record shows the burn as first seen, and the Harborview records show the grafting and long-term care plan. Our Seattle burn injury page has more on Harborview, and the burn center directory lists verified centers in every state we cover.

Industrial fires and explosions in Tacoma

Stericycle-Tacoma, 2018. In July 2018, Stericycle-Tacoma accepted a shipment of 510 drums of tetrazole, a powdered chemical used to inflate vehicle airbags. As the waste was being processed at the hazardous waste facility on the Tideflats, it ignited and caused a large fire, and the employees were able to escape unharmed. Ecology also cited a second, smaller fire that November in the facility’s shredder. In October 2019 the Washington Department of Ecology announced a $1.9 million fine (Washington Department of Ecology, October 7, 2019).

Atlas Castings, October 2007. At the Atlas foundry in Tacoma, workers had repaired a damaged LP-gas fill hose with fasteners that were not designed to withstand pressurized LP gas, according to the Washington Department of Labor & Industries findings reported by the Tacoma Daily Index. Within seconds, the hose detached from its connection to the delivery truck’s tank and LP gas flowed out. It ignited in less than a minute, and eight minutes later the heated tanker exploded. The truck driver was killed. L&I cited the company for three serious violations tied to the explosion, including training on pressurized LP-gas systems and untested hose repairs, and proposed $19,200 in penalties (Tacoma Daily Index, April 7, 2008).

U.S. Oil & Refining, May 2015. The Tacoma Fire Department responded to crude oil burning in a processing stack at the refinery in the 3000 block of Marshall Avenue on the Tideflats. No injuries were reported (Tacoma Daily Index, May 6, 2015).

Burn claims for port and plant workers

Washington’s workers’ compensation system generally keeps an injured worker from suing the employer. The exception is narrow: the employer must have deliberately intended the injury (RCW 51.24.020). A worker can still sue a third party who was not in the same employ, such as a contractor working on the site, the maker of a failed hose or valve, or the owner of the facility when it was not the worker’s employer (RCW 51.24.030).

Dock work at the port can fall under a federal system instead. A worker covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act who is injured through the negligence of a vessel may bring an action against the vessel as a third party (33 U.S.C. § 905(b)). Which system applies depends on the job and where it was done, and it changes who can be sued. Our page on workplace and refinery burns explains third-party claims in more detail.

Scalds from hot drinks and food are a different kind of Tacoma burn claim. A study in the journal Burns reported that coffee and other hot beverages are frequently served at 160°F to 185°F (Brown and Diller, Burns, 2008). See scald burns.

Washington rules that govern a Tacoma burn case

Three years to sue. RCW 4.16.080(2) gives three years for an action for injury to the person (RCW 4.16.080). For a child, the time before age 18 is not counted (RCW 4.16.190).

Your share of fault lowers the award. Under RCW 4.22.005, any fault of the injured person reduces the award in proportion but does not bar recovery (RCW 4.22.005). A worker who made a mistake on the day of an explosion can still recover from the companies whose failures caused it.

Local government claims come first. For a claim against the City of Tacoma, Pierce County or another local government entity, a claim must be presented to its agent, and no lawsuit may be filed until 60 calendar days have passed (RCW 4.96.020).

No punitive damages, as a rule. The Washington Supreme Court does not allow punitive damages without express authorization from the Legislature (Dailey v. North Coast Life Ins. Co., 1996). A Tacoma case is built on proving every item of compensatory damages.

Tacoma burn injury questions

Is there a burn center in Tacoma?

No ABA-verified burn center is located in Tacoma. Tacoma General, St. Joseph and Mary Bridge are state-designated trauma hospitals, and the state’s only ABA-verified burn center is at Harborview in Seattle.

I was burned at work on the Tideflats. Can I sue?

Usually not your employer, unless it deliberately intended the injury. You can sue other companies whose negligence caused the burn, such as a contractor, an equipment maker or a facility owner that did not employ you. Dock workers covered by the federal longshore law may have a claim against a vessel.

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

Three years from the injury under Washington law. If the City of Tacoma or Pierce County may be responsible, the claim must be presented first and you must wait 60 days before filing suit.

Does it hurt my case that I was partly at fault?

It reduces the award by your percentage of fault, but Washington does not bar recovery. That rule applies even when the defense argues you shared the blame.

Can a Los Angeles firm handle a Tacoma burn case?

Yes. Michael Shemtoub holds a Washington law license as well as a California one, and Beverly Law meets Tacoma and Pierce County clients by phone or video.

Talk to a Tacoma burn injury lawyer

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