Washington Burn Injury Lawyer

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

Michael Shemtoub is licensed in Washington as well as California. This page covers the Washington rules that decide burn cases, burn care at Harborview, and the hazards behind Washington burns. For burn degrees and how damages are built, see our main burn injury lawyer guide.

Washington burn injury law at a glance

Three years to sue, and the 60-day claim rule

Washington allows three years to bring an action for injury to the person (RCW 4.16.080(2)), a year longer than California and Texas. If the burned person is under 18, that time is not counted until they turn 18 (RCW 4.16.190).

Claims against government work differently in Washington. There is no separate six-month claim deadline like California’s. Instead, a claim must be presented to the local government’s designated agent within the limitations period, and no lawsuit can be filed until 60 calendar days after the claim is presented. The limitations period is tolled during those 60 days (RCW 4.96.020). Claims against the state go to the Office of Risk Management and carry the same 60-day wait (RCW 4.92.100; RCW 4.92.110). A burn in a public housing fire, at a city facility, or in a crash with a transit bus can trigger these rules.

Product claims have their own clock. The Washington Product Liability Act sets a three-year limitation that runs from when the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, and it presumes a product’s useful safe life has run out if the harm happens more than 12 years after delivery (RCW 7.72.060). The presumption can be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, so an older appliance does not end the case on its own.

Comparative fault in Washington

Washington follows pure comparative fault. Any fault charged to the injured person reduces the damages in proportion but does not bar recovery (RCW 4.22.005). One narrow exception: a claim is barred if the injured person was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the intoxication was a proximate cause of the injury, and the person was more than 50% at fault (RCW 5.40.060).

Why punitive damages are rare in Washington

The Washington Supreme Court has a long-standing rule against punitive damages without express legislative authorization (Dailey v. North Coast Life Ins. Co., 129 Wn.2d 572 (1996)). In practice, a Washington burn case is about compensatory damages: medical care, future surgeries and therapy, lost earnings, scarring, pain and the loss of a normal life. Because there is no punitive award to inflate the number, the work goes into documenting the medical future in detail. A burn caused in another state may be governed by that state’s law; see our California and Texas pages.

Burned at work in Washington

Washington’s industrial insurance system covers job injuries, and a worker can sue the employer only when the employer deliberately intended to produce the injury (RCW 51.24.020). When a third person who is not in the worker’s same employ is liable, the injured worker may elect to seek damages from that third person (RCW 51.24.030). In a refinery, shipyard or restaurant burn, that could be a contractor, an equipment maker or the owner of the site.

Washington runs its own OSHA-approved state plan for most private employers (OSHA state plans). Its safety rules require emergency showers and eyewashes where workers may contact corrosive chemicals, located no more than ten seconds away and able to flush for at least fifteen minutes (WAC 296-800-15030). The Department of Labor & Industries says the first 10 to 15 seconds after a chemical touches skin or eyes are critical (L&I).

Rentals, care facilities and gas lines

Washington landlords must keep the heating, plumbing and other appliances they supply in reasonably good working order (RCW 59.18.060), which covers water heaters and furnaces in rental units. A vulnerable adult, which includes anyone admitted to a nursing home or assisted living facility, has a civil claim for abuse or neglect, including for pain and suffering (RCW 74.34.200; RCW 74.34.020). Bathwater scalds in care facilities can fall under that law.

Before digging, Washington excavators must mark the dig area in white and notify facility operators through the one-number locator service (RCW 19.122.030). The Utilities and Transportation Commission’s Pipeline Safety Program sets and enforces safety standards for gas and hazardous liquid pipelines in the state (UTC). More on these cases is on our gas explosion page.

Burn care in Washington: Harborview

The UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is the only Washington center in the American Burn Association’s directory, and it is verified for adults and children (ABA directory; UW Medicine). Harborview is also the only hospital with a Level I adult trauma designation on the Department of Health’s May 2026 list (DOH).

Because Harborview is the only verified center in the state, a family in Spokane, Yakima or the Tri-Cities may face a transfer across the state, and the travel, lodging and lost work that come with it can be part of the damages. Full listings for all three states are on our burn center directory.

Washington burn hazards and documented incidents

Refineries. On April 2, 2010, an explosion and fire at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes killed seven workers. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board blamed high temperature hydrogen attack on an aging heat exchanger (CSB).

Gas lines. On March 9, 2016, gas leaking from a Puget Sound Energy service line ignited in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, injuring nine firefighters and causing extensive property damage. Commission staff found the explosion would not have happened but for the line’s improper 2004 abandonment; it had never been cut and capped (UTC staff report). The Commission approved a $2.75 million penalty, with $1.25 million suspended, the highest it had imposed for a pipeline safety violation (UTC Order 04).

Home fires. The State Fire Marshal’s Office reported 30,893 fire incidents and 72 fire deaths in Washington in 2024, a fatality rate of 9.1 per million people. Fifty-one percent of the deaths occurred in residential occupancies. About 60% of the deaths happened in places where smoke alarms should be installed, and in only 25% of those could anyone confirm a smoke alarm was present (WSP 2024 Fire in Washington report). Only 290 of the state’s 450 fire agencies reported to the national incident system that year, so the report covers only incidents from agencies that reported. Death-certificate data compiled by the U.S. Fire Administration, which counts deaths differently, shows 103 fire deaths in Washington in 2023 (USFA).

Fireworks. Washington agencies and hospitals reported 156 fireworks injuries to the State Fire Marshal in 2024. Sixty-one percent were burns, and 78% of the 95 burns came from legal fireworks (WSP). More figures are on our burn statistics page.

Burn injury pages for Washington cities

• Seattle burn injury lawyer
• Tacoma burn injury lawyer
• Spokane burn injury lawyer

For other injury cases in the state, see our firm’s Washington page.

Talk to a Washington burn injury lawyer

If someone else caused your burn or your child’s in Washington, including a burn that meant a long transfer to Harborview, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959 for a free, confidential case review in English or Spanish. Michael Shemtoub is licensed in Washington. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.

Common questions

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.