By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.
Burned because of someone else?
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What to do after a Whataburger burn
- Cool a minor burn under cool running water, not ice water, for 5 to 30 minutes, and do not pull off clothing stuck to the skin. Call 911 if the burn is about the size of your palm or larger or looks full-thickness (MedlinePlus).
- Get burn center care for deep burns. The American Burn Association calls for burn center consultation for any full-thickness burn, partial-thickness burns of 10% or more of the body, and deep burns of the genitals or perineum (ABA referral guidelines).
- Keep the cup, lid, gravy container or pie sleeve, and the bag or carrier if there was one. Do not hand them back to the restaurant.
- Save the receipt or app order showing the location and time.
- Photograph the burn every day for two weeks, and the clothing.
- Write down the name of the employee at the window or counter and of any witnesses.
- Have a lawyer send the operator an evidence preservation letter quickly so it keeps the drive-thru and dining room video. Our after-a-burn checklist covers the rest.
Beverly Law is not affiliated with Whataburger.
Whataburger at a glance
Whataburger describes itself as “Born in Texas and headquartered in San Antonio” and says it has “grown to over 1,200 restaurants across 17 states” (Whataburger, Oct. 20, 2026). Its January 2024 announcement split its 1,000th location between a new corporate-owned restaurant in Atlanta and a franchise-owned one in Yukon, Oklahoma, which would open with “24/7 drive-thru and dining room service” (Whataburger, Jan. 16, 2024). Because some restaurants are franchised, a lawyer should confirm which company operated yours on the day of the burn.
The company’s nutrition guide, with information as of March 29, 2021, lists coffee in 12, 16 and 20 fl oz sizes along with cream gravy, biscuits and gravy, French fries, onion rings, breakfast taquitos and two pies, the Hot Apple Pie and the Hot Lemon Pie (Whataburger nutrition guide).
We found no Whataburger statement of the temperature at which it serves coffee or gravy. The American Burn Association’s scald table, drawn from the Moritz and Henriques studies, shows a third-degree burn from hot water in 1 second at 155°F, 5 seconds at 140°F, 15 seconds at 133°F and 1 minute at 127°F (ABA scald guide).
Reported burn cases involving Whataburger
Ricky Atamah’s suit against Whataburger Restaurants LLC (Harris County, filed August 28, 2024). Atamah alleges that on June 23, 2023, at the drive-thru at 28315 Tomball Parkway in Tomball, the lid came off his coffee as it was handed to him and the coffee spilled onto his groin, waist, inner thighs and legs. According to the report, he suffered third-degree burns and needed treatment at a burn unit, and he claims the coffee was served at an “unreasonably dangerous and high level of heat.” The suit argues that a reasonable temperature or a drink carrier could have prevented the injury, pleads negligence and gross negligence, and seeks more than $1,000,000, including exemplary damages, in case 2024-57299 (Southeast Texas Record). These are allegations; we found no reported ruling or settlement.
Byrd suit over gravy served to a child (Bexar County, reported November 2018). Jessica Byrd, a McLennan County woman, sued Whataburger in Bexar County, where the company is headquartered, over a June 2017 visit to the Mexia restaurant. The suit says her 5-year-old relative was served “scalding hot” gravy that spilled and caused “deep second-degree burns” to the girl’s legs. It alleges a lack of training on serving temperature, no warning, a container with design flaws and gravy “defectively manufactured” because of excess heat. Whataburger said it does not comment on pending litigation (The Dallas Morning News). We found no reported outcome.
Oklahoma hot gravy appeal (decided March 2014). A mother sued after a Styrofoam bowl of gravy from a drive-thru meal spilled on her 7-year-old daughter’s leg, causing second-degree burns. The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling for Whataburger. According to the Associated Press, the court found the gravy was not unreasonably hot and said the family, who had eaten the same meal many times, should have “known or expected the gravy to burn if spilled” (AP via Claims Journal; AP via Public Radio Tulsa). The Dallas Morning News reported that this suit was filed in 2010.
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Texas product and damages rules
A Texas design defect claim over a cup or container needs proof of a safer alternative design that was economically and technologically feasible, and that the defect was a producing cause of the injury (CPRC § 82.005). Exemplary damages, which the Atamah petition requests, require clear and convincing proof that the harm came from fraud, malice or gross negligence (CPRC § 41.003).
Whataburger employees burned at work
Employers under federal OSHA must report work injuries that lead to hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, and OSHA publishes those reports; states that run their own plans are not included (OSHA Severe Injury Reports). In the data file, Texas employers named Whataburger have three burn reports, two involving fryer oil or grease and one an electrical flash, each ending in a hospital stay (OSHA data file):
| Date | City | What OSHA’s report says |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 20, 2018 | Houston, TX | Flash while plugging a grill cord into a wall socket; third-degree burn to the left hand |
| July 2, 2020 | San Antonio, TX | Hose broke off while cleaning oil fryers and sprayed hot oil; multiple burns |
| May 19, 2024 | Corpus Christi, TX | Hot grease splattered on the forearms while putting the backplate on a fryer |
In Texas, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer that carries it, except that a surviving spouse or children can seek exemplary damages for a death caused by the employer’s intentional act or gross negligence (Labor Code § 408.001). An employer without comp coverage can be sued and cannot argue the worker’s own negligence (Labor Code § 406.033). In all three states a worker can also sue a negligent outside party, such as the maker of a fryer hose that failed (Tex. Labor Code § 417.001; Cal. Labor Code § 3852; RCW 51.24.030). Our page on burns at work goes through those claims.
Where Texas burn patients are treated
The American Burn Association lists six verified burn centers in Texas, among them the USAISR Burn Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston and the Blocker Burn Unit at UTMB in Galveston (ABA directory; USAISR; UTMB).
Children and fault rules
| State | Children | Your share of fault |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Clock paused until 18 (CPRC § 16.001) | No recovery above 50% (CPRC § 33.001) |
| California | Paused until 18, except claims against public entities (CCP § 352) | Reduces recovery, no cutoff (Li v. Yellow Cab) |
| Washington | Paused until 18 (RCW 4.16.190) | Reduces recovery, no cutoff (RCW 4.22.005) |
Related pages
Burn injury lawyer · Drive-thru burns · Sonic burns · McDonald’s burns · Scald burns · Texas burn injury lawyer
Talk to a burn injury lawyer
If you or your child was burned at a Whataburger, 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.
Common questions
Can I sue Whataburger for a burn?
Yes, if the evidence shows more than an ordinary spill, such as a lid that was not secured, a missing carrier or a container that failed. The 2024 Atamah suit in Harris County makes those kinds of allegations; no outcome has been reported.
How much is a Whataburger burn lawsuit worth?
It depends on the depth of the burn, the treatment, scarring and time missed from work. We found no reported verdict or settlement paid in a Whataburger burn case; the Oklahoma family recovered nothing, and the more than $1,000,000 the Atamah petition seeks is a demand, not a result.
How long do I have to sue Whataburger?
Two years in Texas (CPRC § 16.003) and California (CCP § 335.1), and three years in Washington (RCW 4.16.080). For a child, the clock generally waits until 18, but the evidence should be saved now.
My child was burned by Whataburger gravy. Does that change anything?
It can. The Byrd suit argues the restaurant should not have served scalding gravy to a 5-year-old without a warning.
Didn't a court already say Whataburger gravy is supposed to be hot?
An Oklahoma appeals court ruled for Whataburger in 2014 in one gravy case. That ruling binds no court in Texas, California or Washington, but it shows the defense to expect: that the gravy was not unreasonably hot and that a family who had eaten the same meal many times should have expected it to burn if spilled.
I work at Whataburger and was burned by fryer oil. Can I sue?
Usually your claim runs through workers’ compensation if your employer carries it. If it does not carry Texas comp coverage, or a defective hose or part caused the burn, a lawsuit may be possible.
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Related pages
Sources
- Whataburger, "Whataburger Blazes Into the Holidays with Four Limited-Time Favorites" (Oct. 20, 2026; company boilerplate (stories.whataburger.com)
- Whataburger, "A Thousand Reasons to Celebrate: Whataburger To Open 1,000th Location" (Jan. 16, 2024) (stories.whataburger.com)
- Whataburger nutrition guide (nutritional information as of March 29, 2021; menu items and coffee cup sizes) (wbimageserver.whataburger.com)
- Southeast Texas Record (Legal Newsline), "Fast food chain sued over scalding coffee incident" (Sept. 8, 2024) (legalnewsline.com)
- The Dallas Morning News, "Texas woman sues Whataburger, saying 5-year-old burned by 'scalding hot' gravy" (Nov. 20, 2018 (dallasnews.com)
- Associated Press via Claims Journal, "No Recovery in Oklahoma Whataburger Hot Gravy Lawsuit" (March 19, 2014) (claimsjournal.com)
- Associated Press via Public Radio Tulsa, "Court sides with Whataburger in hot gravy dispute" (March 17, 2014) (publicradiotulsa.org)
- U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Severe Injury Reports (federal OSHA jurisdiction only) (osha.gov)
- OSHA Severe Injury Reports data file, Jan. 2015 to Nov. 2025 (report IDs 2018099766, 2020076221, 2024054384) (osha.gov)
- American Burn Association scald guide (Moritz and Henriques table) (childburn.org)
- American Burn Association, burn center referral guidelines (ameriburn.org)
- American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center directory (ameriburn.org)
- UTMB Health, Blocker Burn Unit (utmbhealth.com)
- USAISR, burn center ABA verification (Nov. 9, 2022) (usaisr.health.mil)
- MedlinePlus, Burns (first aid) (medlineplus.gov)
- MedlinePlus en español, Quemaduras (medlineplus.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.005 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Labor Code § 408.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Labor Code § 406.033 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Tex. Labor Code § 417.001 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804 (scocal.stanford.edu)
- Cal. Labor Code § 3852 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- RCW 4.16.080 (app.leg.wa.gov)
- RCW 4.16.190 (app.leg.wa.gov)
- RCW 4.22.005 (app.leg.wa.gov)
- RCW 51.24.030 (app.leg.wa.gov)
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.