Can You Sue Someone Other Than Your Employer After a Burn at Work?
Often, yes. Washington's workers' compensation system blocks most lawsuits against your own employer, but it preserves your right to pursue a third party whose negligence caused the burn: an equipment maker, a contractor, a chemical supplier, a property owner. A workplace burn injury lawyer in Yakima can tell you whether such a party exists in your case.
Most burned workers hear one thing on day one: file with L&I, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, and that is that. The advice is half right. Workers' compensation is usually the only route against your employer, and it is capped, which becomes a real problem when a burn means grafts and permanent scarring.
Key Takeaways About Third-Party Workplace Burn Claims
- Washington's workers' compensation act abolished most civil suits against employers, under RCW 51.04.010, which is why the third-party route matters so much.
- RCW 51.24.030 lets an injured worker elect to seek damages from a third person who is "not in a worker's same employ," on top of L&I benefits.
- A third-party claim can reach pain and suffering and full wage loss, which workers' compensation does not pay.
- L&I holds a lien on the recovery, but RCW 51.24.060 pays attorney fees and costs first, then pays the worker 25 percent of the balance before L&I is reimbursed.
- Our firm handles the third-party injury claim. We do not handle the workers' compensation claim itself.
Numbers Worth Knowing About Burns on the Job
- Nationwide in 2024, 93 workers died in fires and explosions and 53 more died from exposure to temperature extremes (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries).
- Washington's private-industry injury rate was 3.2 per 100 full-time workers in 2024 against a national 2.3, across 76,400 reported cases (BLS Western Information Office).
- Agriculture is Yakima County's largest employment sector at roughly 29,200 covered jobs, with manufacturing adding about 7,900 (Washington Employment Security Department). Those are the industries where steam lines and hot oil sit closest to workers.
What Is a Third-Party Claim, in Plain English?
It is an injury lawsuit against someone other than your employer or a coworker. Workers' compensation is a trade: benefits without proving fault, in exchange for giving up the right to sue the company. That trade never covered outside businesses.
| Workers' compensation claim | Third-party injury claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is against | Your employer, through L&I or a self-insurer | An outside company or person |
| Fault required | No | Yes, you must prove negligence |
| Pays medical and time loss | Yes | Yes, as part of damages |
| Pays pain, suffering, and disfigurement | No | Yes |
| Who at our firm handles it | Not us | Our attorneys |
Who usually counts as a third party in a burn case?
The equipment manufacturer, a maintenance contractor, a chemical or gas supplier, a landlord, and any other contractor on the same site. Rented equipment is a frequent source, since the rental company controls inspection and servicing rather than your employer. Where a machine failed, defective equipment can be a source of workplace burns and a path to third-party liability.
Does bringing a third-party case put your L&I benefits at risk?
No, and the statute spells out the order of payment. Under RCW 51.24.060, fees and costs come off first and are shared proportionately, the worker is then paid 25 percent of the balance, and only after that is L&I reimbursed. Anything left goes to the worker, subject to an offset against future benefits.
L&I can also compromise its lien. That is a negotiation, not a fixed number, and one reason to have a lawyer running the third-party side.
Where Serious Burns Tend to Happen in the Valley
A Washington study of hospitalized work-related burns identified flame and fire as the largest source at 22.9 percent of cases, followed by electrical equipment, hot water, cooking oils, and asphalt, with construction, food service, and manufacturing carrying the heaviest case counts (Washington L&I SHARP research).
In Yakima County that shows up in packing houses, orchard operations, food processing lines, road work, and restaurant kitchens. Severe burns often qualify as catastrophic injuries under Washington law.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONCommon Problems Workers Face With These Claims
The biggest is timing, and it runs on two clocks. Most third-party injury claims in Washington must be filed within three years under RCW 4.16.080. The practical clock is shorter: a comp claim can run for months before anyone raises a third-party case, and by then the machine has been repaired or scrapped.
The second is silence. A claims adjuster is not obligated to tell you an outside contractor may be responsible, and employers rarely volunteer that another company's equipment failed. The third is the assumption that hiring a lawyer will jeopardize benefits, which is not how the statute works.
Records That Help a Third-Party Burn Claim
Many injured workers find it helpful to keep their own copy of anything with a date on it: incident reports, the make, model, and serial number of the equipment, rental or service agreements, safety data sheets for any chemical involved, and the names of every company with people on site.
Photos taken before the area is cleaned up beat any description written later, and so does a note about who else saw it.
Workplace Burn Questions Answered by Attorneys
My employer told me I already signed away my right to sue. Is that true?
Not for a third party. The comp system removes the right to sue your own employer for negligence, and no form you signed at hiring changes the statute preserving claims against outside companies. Have someone read the actual paperwork.
I was hurt by a machine my employer rented. Does that change anything?
It often helps. Rental and leasing companies typically keep responsibility for inspection, maintenance, and safe delivery, which makes them a separate defendant from your employer. Rental agreements and service logs are the first documents worth requesting.
How does hiring a lawyer work if money is already tight?
These cases run on a contingency fee, so there is no hourly bill and no retainer. The Yakima injury attorneys at our firm review the case at no charge, and you owe a fee only if there is a recovery.
Burns Heal on a Schedule. The Claim Does Not.
Grafts, contractures, and scar revision play out over a year or more, and a burn case is not worth pricing until doctors can say what the skin will look like at the end. Meanwhile the evidence about the machine and the contractor is aging out.
John Kapuza and Greg Lighty have each spent decades handling serious injury claims in this valley, and the firm's recorded results include a $2 million settlement in a forklift accident case. Prior results do not predict the outcome of any other case, and we will say so plainly if the third-party facts are not there.
Call +1 (509) 866-4166 for a free review. Spanish-speaking intake is available, and you owe no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
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