Utah 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 Utah

Flame and flash fires caused 46% of the burns among 2020 to 2024 burn center admissions, and survival was 97.6% (ABA fact sheet). Keep a simple journal of pain, dressing changes and therapy visits from the first week.

Hold on to physical evidence: the lighter, the gas can, the battery pack, the clothing. Ask a friend to photograph the scene before anyone repairs it. If you want to look for a Utah lawyer on your own, the Utah State Bar’s “Find a Lawyer” page links to Utah’s Licensed Lawyer attorney referral page (Utah State Bar).

The deadline to file in Utah

Utah’s code sets periods for many specific kinds of actions but none named for personal injury, so the general four-year rule for “relief not otherwise provided for by law” applies (§ 78B-2-307(4)).

Do not count on extra time because you found out late. A discovery rule applies by statute only where a statute says so. Medical malpractice is one example, with two years from discovery and a four-year repose under § 78B-3-404. Otherwise, as the Utah Supreme Court explained in Russell Packard Development v. Carson, 2005 UT 14, only equitable versions apply: where the defendant concealed the claim, or where exceptional circumstances would make the general rule irrational or unjust.

The Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim within one year after the claim arises (§ 63G-7-402). Under § 63G-7-401, it goes to the attorney general for the state; to the city or town clerk, county clerk, school district superintendent or business administrator, or special district clerk for a local entity; or to an agent the entity has designated. Talk to a lawyer before assuming the four-year period works against a public defendant.

How fault works in Utah

Utah bars recovery at 50%. Under § 78B-5-818(2), you may recover only from a defendant or group of defendants whose fault, combined with the fault of immune persons and nonparties to whom fault is allocated, exceeds your own (§ 78B-5-818).

Take a camper burned when a propane heater rented from an outfitter leaks inside a tent. If the jury assigns the camper 40% for running it in a closed space, the camper can recover 60% of the damages. At an even 50-50 split, the camper recovers nothing.

Damages and caps in Utah

Two Utah rules affect the numbers in a burn case.

Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence that the conduct was willful and malicious or intentionally fraudulent, or showed a knowing and reckless indifference toward the rights of others, and compensatory damages must also be awarded (§ 78B-8-201(1)(a), version effective July 1, 2026, amended by 2026 ch. 291). These standards do not apply to DUI and illegal-drug-death cases. The malpractice cap’s indexing ran only from 2002 to 2009, and the cap does not apply to punitive damages.

Burns at work in Utah

Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer and against any officer, agent or employee of the employer (§ 34A-2-105(1)). The statute’s text contains no intentional-injury exception.

A worker may claim comp and also bring an action for damages against a third person, such as the maker of a pressure vessel that ruptured (§ 34A-2-106(1)). The employer or carrier that paid becomes trustee of the cause of action and is reimbursed from the recovery, less its proportionate share of costs and attorney fees. If the fault of immune parties is 40% or more, that reimbursement is reduced by the employer’s fault (§ 34A-2-106(2), (5)).

Burn centers in Utah

The ABA lists one burn center in Utah, and it is ABA-verified for both adult and pediatric patients.

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

Who may be liable for a burn

Responsibility follows control. An apartment owner who set the water heater too high is one example; the ABA’s scald guide reports that 127°F water can cause a third-degree burn in one minute (ABA scald guide). A rental company, a restaurant that served a scalding drink, and a manufacturer whose product overheated can all face claims. So can a contractor at your job site who is not your employer, or a utility that failed to maintain a gas line.

How Beverly Law helps in Utah

Beverly Law is a California firm, with attorneys licensed in California and Washington. For burn injuries in Utah, the firm works with Utah-licensed attorneys through its referral network. Request a free case review, and you will be connected with a Utah-licensed burn injury attorney, usually within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · Colorado · Nevada

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

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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.