A serious burn injury doesn’t just mark your skin — it reshapes your life. Medical bills mount quickly, careers are interrupted, and the physical and emotional toll can stretch across years of recovery. If the burn happened because of someone else’s negligence — a defective product, a workplace safety failure, a property owner’s carelessness, or a driver’s reckless conduct — Texas law gives you a path to hold that person or entity accountable and recover compensation for what you’ve lost.
But the legal process after a burn injury is complicated, and the choices you make in the first days after the incident can significantly affect your ability to recover fair compensation. Evidence can disappear, witnesses’ memories fade, insurance adjusters start working immediately to limit the at-fault party’s exposure, and the statute of limitations is always ticking.
At LGR Law Firm, we’ve represented burn injury victims throughout Austin, Travis County, Kaufman County, and the surrounding communities. This guide explains your legal rights under Texas law, who can be held responsible, what compensation may be available, and what you should do — and what you should avoid — in the aftermath of a serious burn.
Understanding Burn Injuries Under Texas Law
In Texas, burn injuries typically become the basis for a personal injury claim when they are caused by another party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. Medically, burns are generally classified by severity:
First- and second-degree burns: surface-level damage that heals with medical care but can still support a claim if caused by negligence.
Third-degree burns: damage through the full thickness of the skin, often requiring hospitalization, surgery, and skin grafts.
Fourth- and fifth-degree burns: catastrophic injuries that extend beyond the skin into fat, muscle, and bone. These typically require multiple surgeries, long hospital stays, and permanent adaptive care.
The more severe the burn, the more expensive and prolonged the treatment — and the higher the potential value of the legal claim. But severity alone doesn’t determine a case’s outcome. The strength of a burn injury claim depends on the quality of evidence, the clarity of liability, and the legal strategy behind the case.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Burn injury cases are time-sensitive. Evidence from the scene — defective products, safety records, maintenance logs, or accident reports — can be altered, lost, or destroyed within days. The sooner a burn injury attorney begins preserving evidence, the stronger the claim.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Burn Injury?
Liability in a burn injury case depends on how and where the injury happened. Common defendants in Texas burn injury cases include:
Property owners and managers whose negligence — faulty wiring, unsafe premises, inadequate fire safety — directly caused the burn. These claims typically proceed as premises liability matters.
Employers in cases where workplace safety failures, insufficient training, or missing protective equipment led to the burn. Burn injuries on the job often produce significant recovery opportunities, especially when the employer has opted out of Texas workers’ compensation.
Manufacturers of defective products — appliances, industrial equipment, vehicle components, or flammable consumer goods — that caused the burn. These claims proceed under product liability law.
Utility companies or contractors responsible for electrical or gas infrastructure failures.
Drivers whose negligence caused a collision that led to a post-crash fire or chemical exposure. These claims often involve burn injuries layered on top of standard auto accident damages.
In many cases, multiple parties share liability. An experienced Austin burn injury lawyer will investigate every possible source of recovery — the more defendants correctly identified, the more coverage available for your damages.
What Compensation Is Available in a Texas Burn Injury Case?
Texas law allows burn injury victims to pursue compensation in several categories. While every case is different, recoverable damages typically include the following.
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses: medical expenses (past and future), lost wages, reduced earning capacity, rehabilitation and therapy costs, assistive devices, home modifications for accessibility, and transportation to medical appointments.
Non-economic damages cover harms that don’t come with a receipt but are no less real: physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement and scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, and mental anguish — particularly relevant in burn cases where visible injury can produce long-term psychological impact.
Punitive damages may be available in Texas when the at-fault party’s conduct was grossly negligent or intentional. These are designed to punish particularly reckless behavior and deter similar conduct.
As LGR Managing Partner Tray Gober has made clear:
“Representing injury clients is about so much more than the money value of the case. No amount of money will be worth what has been taken. I start with the human and emotional value and build from there to seek a just amount.”
— Kenneth “Tray” Gober, Managing Partner, LGR Law Firm
Calculating the full value of a burn injury claim requires careful analysis — often with the help of life care planners, medical experts, vocational specialists, and economic consultants. Insurance companies are incentivized to undervalue these cases. The right legal team ensures every category of loss is accounted for.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Compensation in a Texas burn injury case is rarely just about medical bills. Future care, lost earning capacity, disfigurement, and mental anguish often represent the majority of a claim’s value — and those are the categories insurers most aggressively try to minimize.
The Texas Statute of Limitations for Burn Injury Claims
Under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, burn injury victims generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If this deadline passes, the claim is almost always barred entirely, no matter how strong the underlying facts.
Limited exceptions exist — such as cases involving minors, delayed discovery of an injury, or certain workplace claims — but they are narrow and require careful legal analysis. Relying on an exception without confirming it with a qualified attorney is extremely risky.
The practical reality is simpler: the earlier you involve counsel after a burn injury, the more evidence can be preserved and the stronger your eventual claim will be. Waiting until the statute of limitations is approaching often means losing access to witnesses, records, and physical evidence that cannot be recreated.
What to Do in the First Days After a Serious Burn
The hours and days immediately following a serious burn are critical — both for your health and for your legal rights. A few practical steps can make a meaningful difference.
Prioritize medical care. Follow every recommendation from emergency and follow-up physicians. Beyond your recovery, thorough medical records are the backbone of any legal claim.
Document everything you can. Photographs of the injury, the scene, the product involved (if any), and your environment — clothing, vehicles, or property conditions — can all become important evidence. If you cannot document on your own, ask a family member or friend to help.
Avoid giving statements to insurers. The at-fault party’s insurance company may call quickly, sometimes within a day. Anything you say can be used to reduce your recovery. Do not give a recorded statement until you have consulted an attorney.
Preserve physical evidence. If a defective product caused the burn, do not return it, throw it away, or attempt to repair it. The product itself is often central to a product liability claim.
Contact a burn injury attorney early. Preserving evidence, interviewing witnesses, and investigating the scene are all time-sensitive. Even if you are unsure whether you have a case, a free consultation carries no cost or obligation.
How LGR Handles Austin Burn Injury Cases
From our offices in Austin and Terrell, LGR Law Firm represents burn injury victims across Travis County, Kaufman County, and the surrounding Texas communities. Every burn injury case we accept is handled on a contingency fee basis — no upfront cost, and no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Our approach is built around rigorous investigation. We work with burn specialists, fire investigators, product safety experts, and life care planners to fully document the scope of injury and establish liability. When insurers try to undervalue a claim — as they routinely do in catastrophic cases — we are prepared to file suit and take the case to a Travis County or Kaufman County jury if that is what fair resolution requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a burn injury claim in Texas?
Texas generally gives burn injury victims two years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. Missing this deadline nearly always ends your right to recover compensation. Limited exceptions exist, but they require careful legal analysis — don’t rely on one without confirming it with an attorney.
Can I recover compensation if the burn happened at work?
Yes, though the specific path depends on your employer’s insurance structure. Texas is unusual in that employers can opt out of workers’ compensation. Employees of “non-subscriber” employers may be able to file a standard personal injury claim against their employer — and often recover more than workers’ compensation would have provided. An attorney can review your employer’s coverage status and advise you on your options.
What if the burn injury was partially my fault?
Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule. If you are 50% or less at fault, you can still recover damages — reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are 51% or more at fault, Texas law bars recovery. Insurance companies often try to shift blame onto the injured party, which is one of many reasons having counsel matters.
Who pays for medical expenses before my case settles?
Medical bills typically accumulate long before a case resolves. Depending on the circumstances, health insurance, Med Pay coverage, or letters of protection arranged through your attorney can bridge the gap. LGR regularly helps clients manage the medical billing side of a case so they can focus on healing.
Do I need a lawyer for a burn injury claim?
Burn injury cases are among the most complex personal injury matters. They involve disputed liability, catastrophic damages, layered insurance policies, and often multiple defendants. Represented claimants consistently recover more than unrepresented ones — often substantially more, even after attorney fees. Hiring experienced counsel after a burn injury is one of the most important decisions a victim can make.
Ready to Protect Your Recovery?
If you or someone you love has suffered a burn injury in Austin, Travis County, Kaufman County, or anywhere in Texas, LGR Law Firm is ready to review your case at no cost and no obligation. You will walk away with a clear understanding of your rights and the options available to you under Texas law.
Call (512) 800-8000 for a free, no-obligation case review, or contact us online today.
This information is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique — contact our office for a free consultation about your specific situation.
About The Author
Kenneth "Tray" Gober III, J.D., is the Managing Partner of Lee, Gober & Reyna, PLLC in Austin, Texas. A 2005 magna cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University and a cum laude graduate of Baylor Law School, Tray is admitted to the State Bars of Texas (Bar No. 24061986), Colorado, Louisiana and Pennsylvania. He is also admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas and U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas.
He represents personal injury clients across Texas in car accidents, truck accidents, autonomous vehicle claims, wrongful death, drunk driving collisions, premises liability, and product liability matters. He is one of Texas's most frequently quoted legal voices on the law surrounding autonomous vehicles and AI-driven transportation. Tray also served as an adjunct professor of Paralegal Studies at the University of Texas School of Law.