If you were burned at work in California, two separate legal systems may apply. Workers’ compensation covers the injury without anyone having to prove fault, and it is usually your only remedy against the employer. A separate injury claim may exist against anyone else whose negligence or defective product caused the burn. That second claim is easy to overlook, and it is the kind of claim we handle.
Against your employer, workers’ comp is usually the only remedy
Labor Code section 3600 makes an employer liable for workers’ compensation “without regard to negligence” for injuries arising out of and in the course of employment, and that liability is “in lieu of any other liability.” Labor Code section 3602(a) then makes compensation “the sole and exclusive remedy” of the employee against the employer when those conditions are met.
So you generally cannot sue your own employer for a burn, even if the employer was careless. Workers’ compensation pays for medical treatment and disability benefits set by statute, but it does not pay damages for pain and suffering. A workers’ compensation claim has its own rules, forms, and judges, and you should get advice specific to that claim.
The exceptions are narrow
Section 3602(b) allows a lawsuit against the employer in only three situations:
- The injury or death was proximately caused by a willful physical assault by the employer.
- The injury was aggravated by the employer’s fraudulent concealment of the injury and its connection with the employment. Even then, the employer is liable only for the damage the aggravation caused.
- The injury or death was proximately caused by a defective product the employer made and sold, leased, or otherwise transferred for value to an independent third person, who then provided it for the employee’s use.
Separately, Labor Code section 3706 allows an injured worker to sue an employer that failed to secure workers’ compensation coverage, and Labor Code section 4558 allows a suit when an employer knowingly removed, or knowingly failed to install, a required guard on a power press. Outside those situations, a safety violation by the employer, even a serious one, generally stays inside the workers’ compensation system.
The claim against someone other than your employer
Labor Code section 3852 says an employee’s claim for compensation “does not affect” the right to recover all damages from “any person other than the employer.” That claim is an ordinary injury case: you must prove negligence or a product defect, but you can recover the full range of damages, including pain and suffering.
Burns at work often involve outside companies. Common third parties include:
- The manufacturer or seller of a defective fryer, boiler, pressure vessel, welding rig, battery, or electrical component.
- A chemical maker or supplier whose labels or safety data sheets did not warn of the hazard.
- Another contractor on a construction site whose crew left a line energized, cut into a gas line, or otherwise created the hazard.
- The owner of a property where you were sent to work, if the owner knew or should have known of a concealed danger that your employer could not reasonably discover, and failed to warn.
- A driver who caused a crash and fire while you were driving for work.
Claims against the company that hired your employer, such as a general contractor or a property owner, are more limited under California law. They usually depend on whether that company kept some control over the work and actually used that control in a way that contributed to the injury, or knew or should have known of a concealed hazard that your employer did not know about and could not reasonably discover, and failed to warn. These cases turn on details, so the contracts and site records matter.
Your employer can be repaid out of that recovery
The workers’ compensation carrier does not walk away when a third party pays. Under section 3852, an employer that pays or owes compensation may also make a claim against the third party. If the employee sues alone, Labor Code section 3856(b) gives the employer a first lien on the judgment for the compensation it paid, but only after the litigation expenses and a reasonable fee for the worker’s lawyer are paid out of the judgment. Under Labor Code section 3860, a settlement with the third party is not valid or binding without notice to both the employer and the employee, and the settlement is subject to the employer’s claim for reimbursement.
So the two cases have to be coordinated, and the comp carrier’s claim is part of any settlement discussion. Under Labor Code section 3859(b), you can settle your own third-party claim without the employer’s consent, but the settlement stays subject to the employer’s right to recover what it paid. Do not sign a release from an outside company or its insurer until that claim has been accounted for.
Report the injury in writing, right away
Labor Code section 5400 calls for written notice of the injury to your employer within 30 days for a workers’ compensation claim. Under Labor Code sections 5402 and 5403, late notice does not automatically end the claim: a supervisor’s knowledge of the injury counts as notice, and a late or defective notice is excused if the employer was not misled or prejudiced. Do not count on that. Report it the same day if you can, in writing, and keep a copy or a photo of what you submitted.
Once the employer has notice or knowledge of an injury that causes lost time beyond your shift or needs treatment beyond first aid, Labor Code section 5401 requires it to give you a claim form within one working day. If you do not get one, ask for it. The completed form goes back to your employer, not to a court, and that filing protects your comp deadlines while the claim is decided.
Cal/OSHA and the evidence
For a serious injury, Labor Code section 6409.1(b) requires the employer to report immediately to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA. A Cal/OSHA inspection can produce photographs, measurements, and the names of witnesses that point to what went wrong. The citation itself, or the lack of one, is not admissible in an injury lawsuit against an outside company (Labor Code section 6304.5), so the facts behind it have to be proven with other evidence. Ask whether a report was made and whether an inspector came out.
Equipment that burned someone tends to get repaired, replaced, or thrown away quickly, and third-party claims depend heavily on whether that evidence survives. As early as you can:
- Photograph the equipment, the work area, labels, and warning stickers, if you can do so safely.
- Write down the name of every company on site and every coworker who saw what happened.
- Keep your own copies of incident reports, safety data sheets, and texts about the hazard.
- Ask that the equipment be preserved, and have a formal preservation letter go to the outside companies quickly.
Burn treatment generates records that matter for years, so keep every record, bill, and photograph from it. Our burn injury page covers these claims more broadly.
Deadlines
The third-party injury lawsuit generally must be filed within two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If the third party is a public entity, such as a city whose vehicle caused the crash, a written claim is due within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Workers’ compensation has its own, separate deadlines.
What to do this week
- Give your employer written notice of the injury and keep a copy.
- Fill out the claim form, return it to your employer, and keep a copy.
- Write down what happened, what equipment or chemical was involved, and which other companies were on site.
- Photograph your burns as they heal, and keep every medical record.
- Do not give a recorded statement to an outside company’s insurer before reading our guide on recorded statements.
- Have the possible third-party claim reviewed while the evidence still exists.
About the author. Joshua B. Adelpour is the founder of Not My Fault Law Group, APC, a California personal injury firm based in Woodland Hills. He is licensed by the State Bar of California, Bar No. 318226, and spent nearly a decade defending insurance companies in civil litigation before opening the firm. Call (213) 800-0706 for a free consultation.
This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Last updated October 6, 2026.