I was burned in a crash or at work. What are my rights?

Burn injuries are among the most painful there are

Serious burns are measured by how deep they go and how much of the body they cover. Superficial burns heal on their own. Deeper burns destroy the layers of skin that regrow, and often require skin grafts, repeated surgeries, and months of wound care and therapy. The pain of treatment itself can be severe. Scarring can tighten skin across joints and limit movement, and the emotional effect of a visible scar is real and lasting.

How burns happen in Texas cases

In car and truck cases, burns come from vehicle fires after a crash, fuel leaks, battery fires, and contact with hot engine parts or pavement. Tanker trucks hauling fuel and chemicals through Houston and along I-10 add the risk of fire and chemical exposure. At work, especially along the Houston Ship Channel and in the refineries and plants of Pasadena, Baytown and Channelview, burns come from explosions, flash fires, steam and chemical releases, and electrical accidents.

Who can be responsible

A burn case often has more than one responsible party. The driver who caused a crash is responsible for what followed, including a fire. If a vehicle’s fuel system or battery was defectively designed or built, the manufacturer may be liable under Texas products liability law. A trucking company hauling hazardous materials is held to additional federal rules, and must carry more insurance than an ordinary carrier — up to $5 million for some of the most dangerous cargoes. In an industrial explosion, the plant owner, the operator, contractors on the site and the makers of failed equipment may all share responsibility.

Burns at work

If you were burned on the job, the first question is whether your employer carries workers’ compensation. If it does, benefits generally come through that system, but companies other than your employer — a plant owner, a general contractor, an equipment maker — can often be sued separately. If your employer is a non-subscriber, you may be able to sue the employer directly, and that employer loses important defenses. If a worker was killed by the employer’s gross negligence or an intentional act or omission, Texas allows the surviving spouse or the worker’s children and other direct descendants to seek exemplary damages even against an employer that carries workers’ compensation.

What a burn claim includes

Texas law recognizes physical pain and mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement as separate parts of a claim, both past and future, along with medical care and lost earning capacity. In a burn case, disfigurement and future medical care are often the largest parts: reconstructive surgery and scar treatment can continue for years, especially for children, whose scars do not grow with them. A life care plan that prices that future care, prepared by qualified experts, is usually part of a serious burn case.

The evidence burns up too

In a fire, much of the evidence is damaged or destroyed, and what survives — the vehicle, the fuel system, the failed valve or fitting — is often hauled off, repaired or scrapped quickly. Keeping that physical evidence, and having it examined by qualified experts before anyone alters it, is one of the first things that has to happen.

Chemical and electrical burns

Not every burn comes from fire. Chemical burns from acids, caustics and industrial products can keep damaging tissue after the initial contact until the chemical is fully removed, and the product’s safety data and the decontamination at the scene both matter. Electrical burns can look small on the surface while causing serious damage deep inside the body, including to muscle, nerves and the heart, so anyone who has had an electrical injury needs a full medical evaluation even if the visible burn is minor. In both kinds of case, the questions include whether the right protective equipment, warnings, lockout procedures and training were in place, and who was responsible for them.

Authority: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 82 (products liability) · Tex. Labor Code §§ 406.033, 408.001 (non-subscribers; exclusive remedy)