Wyoming 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 Wyoming

The American Burn Association’s directory lists no burn center in Wyoming. A serious burn may mean a flight or long drive to another state. The ABA-verified centers this page lists are in neighboring Colorado, in the Denver area. Both of them are listed for adult patients, so if a child is burned, ask the hospital where it sends children.

Burn depth matters. Third-degree burns destroy both layers of skin and may look white or charred, while fourth-degree burns can reach muscle and bone and leave the area without feeling (Cedars-Sinai).

To keep the claim intact, save the product or fuel container, take photos as the wound heals, and get witness names and any incident report. Send a written request that video be kept. Before any recorded call with an insurance adjuster, speak with a lawyer.

The deadline to file in Wyoming

Wyoming’s limit for “an injury to the rights of the plaintiff, not arising on contract” is four years (W.S. 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C)). Claims against professionals and health care providers have two years under W.S. 1-3-107.

That two-year rule has a discovery provision. If the act was not reasonably discoverable, or was not discovered despite due diligence, the claim may be brought up to two years after discovery. Discovery during the second year adds six months (W.S. 1-3-107). Whether a court-made discovery rule reaches other burn claims is outside this page.

Claims against the State, a county, city or school district

Under W.S. 1-39-113, you must present an itemized written claim, signed under oath as Wyo. Const. art. 16 § 7 requires, within two years of the act, or within two years after discovery if it was not reasonably discoverable (W.S. 1-39-113). State claims go to the general services division of the Department of Administration and Information. Local claims go to the entity’s business office, such as the county clerk, city or town clerk, district secretary or school superintendent. The lawsuit must then be filed within one year after the claim is filed (W.S. 1-39-114).

How fault works in Wyoming

Wyoming uses modified comparative fault with a 51% bar. Contributory fault does not bar recovery “if the contributory fault of the claimant is not more than fifty percent (50%) of the total fault of all actors” (W.S. 1-1-109(b)).

Consider a guest at a rental cabin outside Cody who is burned when a propane fireplace flares on ignition. The owner claims the guest skipped the lighting instructions. At 30% fault, the guest recovers 70% of the damages. At exactly 50%, she recovers half. At 51%, she recovers nothing.

Damages and caps in Wyoming

Wyoming’s constitution says: “No law shall be enacted limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the injury or death of any person” (Wyo. Const. art. 10, § 4(a)). As a result, there is no cap on damages in medical malpractice cases. Section 4(b) only lets the legislature require alternative dispute resolution or review by a medical review panel before suit.

This page does not describe punitive damages, because Wyoming’s rules on them were not confirmed.

Burns at work in Wyoming

Workers’ comp benefits are “in lieu of all other rights and remedies” against a contributing employer and co-employees acting within the scope of employment (W.S. 27-14-104(a)). The intentional-act exception in the text covers co-employees who “intentionally act to cause physical harm or injury.” Rights against other persons are preserved.

Suppose a rig hand is burned in a flash fire caused by a service company’s equipment. Under W.S. 27-14-105, the worker can sue that company and keep comp. The state is reimbursed for payments made or to be made, but never more than one-third of the total proceeds, reduced pro rata for fees and costs. Serving the complaint on the director and the attorney general by certified mail is jurisdictional, so it cannot be skipped. The proceeds carry a continuing state lien.

Burn centers in Wyoming

Wyoming has no ABA-verified burn center, and the ABA directory lists no burn center of any kind in the state. It also lists none in Montana. These are the ABA-verified centers it lists in neighboring Colorado:

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

Who may be liable for a burn

Ask who controlled the thing that burned you. Owners and landlords control wiring, heaters and smoke alarms. A contractor or service company on a well pad or job site controls its own equipment. Product makers answer for defective heaters, batteries and fuel cans. Utilities and propane dealers control lines and tanks. Restaurants control how hot their drinks are; the CPSC notes most adults suffer third-degree burns from 150°F water in two seconds (CPSC).

How Beverly Law helps in Wyoming

Beverly Law, a California firm, has attorneys licensed in California and Washington. Its referral network includes attorneys licensed in Wyoming, and the firm works with them on Wyoming burn injuries. A free case review links you to a Wyoming-licensed burn injury attorney, usually within one business day.

Related pages

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

This page is general information about Wyoming law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; a lawyer licensed in Wyoming 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.