Burn injury in El Paso: where care is, who pays and what to do about a claim
University Medical Center of El Paso opened its Burn Program in December 2025. Before that, people with serious burns often traveled about 300 miles to Lubbock or Albuquerque. A chemical or electrical burn is a reason to call 911 right away. Texas generally gives you 2 years to sue, and a city claim is due in 90 days.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (36)
Where can I get burn care in El Paso?
At University Medical Center. Its Burn Program opened in December 2025. UMC says the care covers thermal, electrical and chemical burns. UMC is also the city's Level 1 trauma center, at (915) 544-1200.
Texas Tech Health El Paso's Surgery Clinic lists burn surgery among its services. Its surgeons operate at UMC. For a clinic visit, you need a written referral from your doctor. Call 915-215-5300. Texas Tech Physicians' plastic surgeons also list burns and keloids among their care.
Which burns are an emergency in El Paso?
- Burns from chemicals or electricity.
- Burns from breathing smoke, steam, hot air or chemical fumes. They can burn the airway.
- Deep burns that look white or blackened and may feel numb.
- Second-degree burns on the hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks or over a major joint.
The West Texas Regional Poison Center is at UMC and answers 24 hours a day in English and Spanish at 1-800-222-1222. Call it for a chemical exposure while you are on the way to care.
Watch for infection in the days after. Warning signs of infection include pus, a fever, growing pain and red streaks that spread out from the burn. A burn scar can tighten and limit movement, which is called contracture.
Who pays for a burn injury in El Paso?
| How you were burned | Who may be responsible | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A heater, appliance or product | The maker. A seller that did not make it is usually protected unless it knew of the defect | Keep the item. You must show a safer design existed |
| At work | Workers' comp, or the employer if it chose not to carry it | Tell your employer within 30 days |
| In a rental home | The landlord, in some cases, such as a hidden defect it knew of | Texas requires a smoke alarm in each separate bedroom |
| By a city vehicle or property | The City of El Paso | Sworn notice to the Mayor in 90 days |
The Marathon refinery east of downtown employs about 400 people. A refinery or plant worker burned on the job is a work injury. Call the OSHA area office at (915) 534-6251, in Suite 200 at 4849 North Mesa. An employer must report an in-patient hospitalization or amputation to OSHA within 24 hours.
Can I ask for punishment damages after a burn in Texas?
Only in a narrow case. Exemplary damages need clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence. When allowed, the cap is the greater of two times economic damages plus noneconomic damages up to $750,000, or $200,000. That is a legal ceiling, not an expected amount.
How fast does hot water burn a child in El Paso homes?
Fast. A six-second exposure to 140 degree water can cause a burn, and so can 30 seconds at 130 degrees. A water heater turned too high is a common cause. Take a photo of the setting and the tank label before anyone changes it.
For a child, Texas does not count the time as a minor against the lawsuit deadline. The City of El Paso's 90-day notice rule still applies if the city is involved.
Questions
Is a burn claim different if the fire was in my apartment in El Paso?
It can be. A landlord is liable in some cases, such as when it hid a known defect. Texas also requires smoke alarms in each separate bedroom.
What if my employer has no workers' comp?
Not all Texas employers carry it. Ask the state to check whether yours has coverage; it answers within one business day.
Can a hospital put a lien on my burn recovery?
Only if you were admitted within 72 hours of the accident.
Burn injury in El Paso? See if you are owed money.
A free case review. $0 upfront. No fee unless you win.
See if I’m owed moneySources (36)
- UMC El Paso, UMC Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “Before the Burn Program opened in December 2025”
- UMC El Paso, UMC Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “patients with serious burn injuries often had to travel approximately 300 miles to receive specialized treatment in either Lubbock, Texas, or Albuquerque, New Mexico”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “The burn is caused by chemicals or electricity.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
- City of El Paso City Attorney, Filing a Claim, checked 2026-11-08. “shall within 90 days or within 6 months for good cause shown from the date the damage occurred or the injury was received, give notice in writing to the mayor”
- UMC El Paso, UMC Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “including thermal, electrical and chemical burns”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “The most serious burns can be painless.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “You can also burn your airways if you breathe in smoke, steam, superheated air, or chemical fumes”
- OSHA, checked 2026-11-09. “An in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss must be reported within 24 hours.”
- Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003, checked 2026-11-09. “exemplary damages may be awarded only if the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence”
- UMC El Paso, 2024 Annual Report, checked 2026-11-08. “UMC Receives Reverification as Level 1 Trauma Center”
- University Medical Center of El Paso, checked 2026-11-08. “Main Number: (915) 544-1200”
- Texas Tech Health El Paso, Surgery Clinic, checked 2026-11-09. “Acute Care Surgery - Audiology - Breast Cancer - Burn Surgery”
- Texas Tech Health El Paso, Surgery Clinic, checked 2026-11-09. “All surgeries are performed at University Medical Center of El Paso.”
- Texas Tech Health El Paso, Surgery Clinic, checked 2026-11-09. “All patients presenting to the clinic must have written referrals from their primary or referring physician in order for surgical evaluations to be performed.”
- Texas Tech Health El Paso, Surgery Clinic, checked 2026-11-09. “For clinic appointments: 915-215-5300”
- Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso, Plastic Surgery, checked 2026-11-09. “Burns - Abdominal wall hernias - Face trauma - Chronic wounds - Keloids”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Full-thickness burns (formerly known as third-degree burns) affect the deep layers of skin.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Second-degree burns on the hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks, or over a major joint”
- Texas Poison Center Network, checked 2026-11-09. “at University Medical Center of El Paso is America’s first 24-hour bilingual regional poison control center”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Red streaks spreading from the burn”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Scarring after traumatic injury or burns”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.003, checked 2026-11-09. “A seller that did not manufacture a product is not liable for harm caused to the claimant by that product unless the claimant proves”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.005, checked 2026-11-09. “there was a safer alternative design”
- Texas Department of Insurance, checked 2026-11-09. “In Texas, private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation insurance coverage (subscribers), but it is not required in most cases.”
- Texas Labor Code 409.001, checked 2026-11-09. “not later than the 30th day after the date on which”
- Texas Supreme Court, Johnson County Sheriff's Posse v. Endsley (1996), checked 2026-11-09. “A lessor who conceals defects on the leased premises of which the lessor is aware may also be liable.”
- Texas Property Code 92.255, checked 2026-11-09. “A landlord shall install at least one smoke alarm in each separate bedroom in a dwelling unit.”
- City of El Paso City Attorney, Filing a Claim, checked 2026-11-08. “shall be sworn to by the person claiming damages or by someone authorized by him to do so on his behalf”
- Marathon Petroleum, checked 2026-11-09. “Our El Paso refinery is located approximately three miles east of downtown El Paso, Texas.”
- OSHA, Texas area offices, checked 2026-11-09. “El Paso Area Office U.S. Dept. of Labor - OSHA 4849 N. Mesa, Suite 200 El Paso, TX 79912-5936 (915) 534-6251”
- Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.008, checked 2026-11-09. “two times the amount of economic damages; plus (B) an amount equal to any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or (2) $200,000”
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, checked 2026-11-09. “Burns will also occur with a six-second exposure to 140 degree water or with a thirty second exposure to 130 degree water.”
- Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.001, checked 2026-11-09. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”
- Texas Department of Insurance, checked 2026-11-09. “A DWC representative will respond and provide coverage information within one business day.”
- Tex. Prop. Code § 55.002, checked 2026-11-09. “For the lien to attach, the individual must be admitted to a hospital not later than 72 hours after the accident.”