One day, you are working, the next, you are in a burn unit. Your biggest question is no longer just when you will heal, but whether you will ever return to your job. Perhaps your supervisor is already inquiring about your return date, or you are staring at bandages, wondering how you will receive a paycheck. That uncertainty is heavy when others depend on your income.
People in Amarillo face these questions after refineries, oilfields, farms, plants, and trucking routes become the scene of a serious burn. A burn injury echoes through your career, your confidence, and your future. If you are worried about being replaced, forced back too soon, or pushed into a lower-paying role, you are not overreacting.
At Wood Law Firm LLP, our attorneys have over 40 years of combined experience handling catastrophic injury cases across Texas, including severe burns from workplace injuries and vehicle crashes. Our team includes a Board-Certified Personal Injury Trial Law attorney who prepares cases with long-term employability in mind. In this guide, we share how a serious burn affects your future earning power and your legal options.
How Severe Burns Change Your Ability To Work
Severe burns cause physical limitations that can end a career. Deep burns create scar tissue and contractures, which are stiff areas that pull joints out of position. If an injury affects the hands, arms, neck, or legs, you may lose the ability to lift, reach, climb, or stand for long periods. In Amarillo, where oilfield, plant, and construction work demand physical strength, these impairments often make returning to a previous role impossible.
Nerve damage and sensory issues further complicate employment. Numbness can destroy grip strength and fine motor skills, while oversensitivity can make wearing protective gear or working near heat and chemicals unbearable. Even light-duty desk work can be excruciating if skin grafts or scarring make sitting for hours painful. Additionally, the psychological toll, including PTSD, anxiety, and the social challenges of visible scarring, can limit your ability to concentrate or work in public-facing roles.
Common Job & Income Problems After a Burn Injury in Amarillo
After the initial hospital stay, the struggle shifts to the workplace. Many Amarillo workers find that initial employer support fades as recovery extends. Supervisors may push for a return before medical clearance or demand "full duty or nothing," ignoring restrictions on lifting, bending, or chemical exposure.
Frequent medical appointments for skin grafts, surgeries, and physical therapy can also create friction. Employers may respond to necessary absences with disciplinary write-ups or difficult shift changes. Our firm analyzes pay stubs, schedules, and supervisor communications to document this pattern of demotion or constructive push-out. We use this evidence to seek compensation for both lost wages and the long-term impact on your career.
Your Legal Rights To Medical Leave & Workplace Accommodations
Some Amarillo burn survivors have legal protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When applicable, these federal laws provide job-protected leave and reasonable accommodations for serious health conditions or disabilities.
FMLA allow eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition. However, FMLA typically applies only if you have met specific work-hour requirements and your employer meets minimum staff size thresholds. Because this leave is unpaid, securing wage replacement from other sources is often necessary.
The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities that limit major life activities. For burn survivors, this might include modified schedules, specialized protective gear, cooler workspaces, or reassignment to vacant positions. While employers are not required to create new roles or eliminate essential duties, documenting accommodation requests and employer responses is critical. We track these interactions to demonstrate patterns of misconduct, which can influence the value of your legal claim.
Workers’ Compensation, Nonsubscribers & Third Party Claims in Texas
In Texas, the type of legal claim you have after a burn injury depends in part on who was responsible and whether your employer carries workers’ compensation. Traditional workers’ compensation is a system where, if your employer participates, you generally cannot sue them for negligence, but you may receive certain benefits without having to prove fault. Those benefits can include medical coverage and some wage replacement, although the wage checks are usually only a portion of your regular earnings and do not cover all losses.
Many employers in Texas choose not to carry workers’ compensation. If you work for a nonsubscriber and you are burned on the job because of unsafe conditions or negligence, you may be able to bring a direct claim against the employer. Nonsubscriber cases follow different rules and can allow recovery for a broader range of damages, including full lost wages and loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses recognized under Texas law.
There are also many situations where a third party is at fault for a burn, separate from your employer. For example, you might be burned in a fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver, by a defective piece of industrial equipment at a plant, or by a dangerous product used at home. In those cases, you may have a personal injury claim against the at fault driver, manufacturer, or property owner.
How Burn Injuries Affect Future Earning Capacity
There is a significant difference between missing a few weeks of pay and losing your entire earning power. Future earning capacity compares what you could have earned over your working life without the injury to what you can realistically earn now. For a burn survivor unable to return to heavy labor or skilled trades, this gap is often substantial, especially if the injury occurred during prime earning years.
To determine this loss, we evaluate your education, skills, and work history against the labor market in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle. A refinery worker unable to work around heat or chemicals may be forced into lower-paying clerical or retail roles that do not utilize their experience. Even if you return to work, the injury may permanently cap your income potential.
Building a claim for lost earning capacity requires detailed evidence. Medical records and functional capacity evaluations document physical restrictions, while vocational proffessionals assess realistic job options and local pay scales. Economists then project lost income and benefits over your work-life expectancy, accounting for inflation. Because insurance companies often argue that you can easily retrain or recover your income, we gather this evidence early to prove the true long-term financial impact of your burn injury.
Practical Steps If Your Burn Injury Is Jeopardizing Your Job
- Maintain Written Medical Records: Ask doctors for written work restrictions and keep copies of every updated version. When submitting these to your employer, use email or take photos to establish a clear paper trail of what they received and when.
- Track Employer Interactions: Document dates, names, and details of all conversations regarding your work status, light duty, or schedule changes in a notebook or app. Save all correspondence, including emails, texts, and letters, concerning your performance, attendance, or job status to identify patterns of behavior over time.
- Exercise Caution Before Signing Documents: Avoid resigning, signing settlements, or agreeing to broad releases without professional review. Routine paperwork may contain waivers that limit your future legal rights or affect your eligibility for benefits.
When To Talk With an Amarillo Burn Injury Lawyer About Your Employment
Many people wait longer than they should to get legal guidance, in part because they hope things will improve at work. There are some clear red flags that signal it is time to talk with a lawyer. These include being told there is no light duty when your doctor says you cannot safely do full duty, being written up for absences directly tied to surgeries or wound care, sudden schedule changes that feel like punishment, or comments from supervisors that hint your job might go away if you do not return quickly.
If you see these signs, it does not automatically mean you will have a claim against your employer. However, it usually means your income and job are at real risk, and your injury claim strategy should take that into account. A personal injury lawyer who handles catastrophic burn cases can help you understand how your job situation fits with workers’ compensation, nonsubscriber rules, and any third-party claims. Planning early around employment issues can keep you from unknowingly giving up rights or undervaluing your case.
Talk With an Amarillo Burn Injury Lawyer About Protecting Your Livelihood
A serious burn can change your body, your confidence, and the kind of work you can safely do. It does not have to leave you guessing about your rights or facing employers and insurance companies alone. With the right medical care, careful documentation, and a legal strategy focused on your long term earning capacity, you can take back some control over what comes next for you and your family. Every burn injury and every job situation is different, and small details can make a big difference in your options. If your burn injury in Amarillo is putting your job or income at risk, we invite you to talk with us about what you are facing and what can be done.
Call (806) 304-0447 Wood Law Firm LLP to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help you protect both your recovery and your future.