Find a burn injury lawyer in Houston: where to get care and who investigates
For a serious burn, Memorial Hermann's John S. Dunn Burn Center says it is the only comprehensive burn center in Houston, with care available around the clock. Who investigates the cause depends on the burn: the Houston Fire Marshal, OSHA or a product regulator. A burn claim generally must be filed within 2 years.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (26)
Where do people with serious burns get treated in Houston?
A serious burn in Houston can mean a transfer. Memorial Hermann says its John S. Dunn Burn Center is the city's only comprehensive one, and transfer requests go through (713) 704-2500. It has 14 beds for acute inpatient care. It treats flame, inhalation, electrical and chemical burns, and its care includes burn reconstruction and scar management and rehabilitation.
Specialized burn care is available 24 hours a day, and transfer requests go through (713) 704-2500. Burns on hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks or a major joint count as major.
Who investigates what caused my burn in Houston?
| How you were burned | Who looks into it | Local detail |
|---|---|---|
| House, car or building fire | Houston Fire Marshal's Office, Arson Bureau | It handles arson and origin and cause work. Office line 832-395-8542 |
| Apartment hazard such as a blocked exit or broken fire safety | Houston Fire Marshal, hazards line | After-hours line 713-884-3143 |
| Complaint about an unsafe rental building | Houston's Multi-Family Habitability Program | It covers rental properties with three or more units |
| Workplace burn | OSHA | Employers must report a hospitalization within 24 hours. Houston South: 281-286-0583. Houston North: 936-760-3800 |
| Faulty appliance or product | CPSC through SaferProducts.gov | Fire is listed first among recent recall hazards |
Houston is a refining town. The Houston Ship Channel is called the largest petrochemical complex in the U.S., so industrial burns are a real part of local claims.
How fast can hot water burn skin in Houston rentals and homes?
A Houston tenant can check the water heater: at 140 degrees tap water burns skin in 6 seconds, and at 130 degrees it takes 30. A child or older adult in a rental with a water heater turned too high is at real risk. Check the setting, and report it in writing if it is the landlord's equipment.
What can a burn injury claim cover in Houston?
Medical care, therapy, scar treatment and lost pay. Doctors call it contracture when a burn scar limits movement. That is why a long record of care matters.
Texas allows extra damages to punish only with clear and convincing proof of fraud, malice or gross negligence. The cap is twice economic damages plus up to $750,000 in other damages, or $200,000. A jury must be unanimous on that.
At work, workers' comp pays benefits for life when a worker has third degree burns over at least 40 percent of the body with grafting. Most claims do not reach that level.
What deadline applies to a burn injury claim in Houston?
- Most burn claims: 2 years to sue.
- City of Houston: written notice within 90 days.
- Harris County needs written notice within 180 days, sent to Commissioners Court at 1001 Preston, Room 610.
- A minor: the clock does not run while under 18.
Texas Children's calls itself the only freestanding Level I pediatric trauma center in the region, which matters if a child was burned.
Questions
Can I see a burn center without a referral in Houston?
Memorial Hermann's burn team takes transfer requests at (713) 704-2500 and outpatient referrals at (713) 704-6500.
Does the Houston Fire Department report prove who caused my burn?
Not by itself. The Fire Marshal's Arson Bureau handles origin and cause work, which can support a claim.
Does scarring from a burn change the value of a claim in Houston?
It can. Texas lists disfigurement as its own kind of noneconomic damage, so photograph scars over time.
Burn injury in Houston? See if you are owed money.
A free case review. $0 upfront. No fee unless you win.
See if I’m owed moneySources (26)
- Memorial Hermann, John S. Dunn Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “The John S. Dunn Burn Center is the only comprehensive burn center in Houston.”
- Memorial Hermann, John S. Dunn Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “All requests for transfers are handled through the Transfer Center at (713) 704-2500.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “The most serious burns can be painless.”
- Memorial Hermann, John S. Dunn Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “It contains 14 beds for acute inpatient care.”
- Houston Fire Department, Fire Marshal Office, checked 2026-11-09. “The Fire Marshal's Office oversees the Arson Bureau which includes arson, origin/cause, intelligence, prosecution”
- Houston Fire Department, Fire Marshal Office, checked 2026-11-09. “HFD Arson Office: 832.395.8542”
- OSHA, checked 2026-11-09. “An in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss must be reported within 24 hours.”
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.001, checked 2026-11-09. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”
- Memorial Hermann, John S. Dunn Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “every type of burn injury including flame, inhalation, electrical, chemical and various skin disorders”
- Memorial Hermann, John S. Dunn Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “including critical care, acute inpatient care, burn reconstruction and scar management and rehabilitation”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Second-degree burns on the hands, feet, face, groin, buttocks, or over a major joint”
- Houston Fire Department, Fire Marshal Office, checked 2026-11-09. “Hazards / Violations (Non-Business Hours): 713.884.3143”
- Houston Permitting Center, Overview of Apartment Inspection Ordinance, March 2026, checked 2026-11-08. “monitors multi-family rental properties with three or more units”
- OSHA, Texas Area Offices, checked 2026-11-08. “Houston South Area Office 17625 El Camino Real, Suite 400 Houston, TX 77058 (281) 286-0583”
- OSHA, Texas Area Offices, checked 2026-11-08. “Houston North Area Office 690 S. Loop 336 W., Suite 400 Conroe, TX 77304 (936) 760-3800”
- CPSC, checked 2026-11-09. “Fire - Use of the product may lead to a fire”
- Greater Houston Port Bureau, presentation to Houston City Council committee, Nov. 12, 2024, checked 2026-11-09. “Houston Ship Channel Recognized as the Largest Petrochemical Complex in the U.S.”
- 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.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Scarring after traumatic injury or burns”
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 41.008, checked 2026-11-09. “any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or (2) $200,000”
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 41.003, checked 2026-11-09. “Exemplary damages may be awarded only if the jury was unanimous in regard to finding liability for and the amount of exemplary damages.”
- Texas Labor Code § 408.161, checked 2026-11-09. “third degree burns that cover at least 40 percent of the body and require grafting”
- City of Houston Legal Department, Filing a Claim, checked 2026-11-08. “duly verified, within 90 days after the same has been sustained”
- Harris County, Claim Filing Procedures, checked 2026-11-08. “Written notice of your claim must be mailed or delivered in person within 180 days of the occurrence to: Harris County Commissioners Court 1001 Preston, Room 610 Houston, Texas 77002”
- Texas Children's, Trauma System, checked 2026-11-09. “the only freestanding Level I pediatric trauma center in the region”