If you or a family member received burn treatment at the University of Florida Shands Burn Center, your medical records document the full severity of your injuries in precise clinical detail. Those records — burn depth assessments, total body surface area calculations, surgical logs, and rehabilitation notes — are critical evidence in a burn injury claim, and Florida's 4-year statute of limitations preserves meaningful time to act while evidence is still fresh.
The University of Florida Shands Burn Center in Gainesville is the primary burn treatment resource for North Central Florida, part of the UF Health academic medical system affiliated with the University of Florida College of Medicine. As a referral destination for serious thermal, chemical, electrical, and inhalation injuries across the region, it treats burn patients transferred from rural counties, agricultural communities, and small cities throughout the northern half of the state.
An academic burn program produces some of the most thorough and scientifically grounded clinical documentation available. From admission forward, clinicians record burn depth, total body surface area involvement, the mechanism of injury, and the complete course of surgical and rehabilitative treatment. That record frequently becomes the most compelling evidence of how severe an injury was — and of the lifelong medical, functional, and psychological consequences a survivor faces.
North Central Florida's economy places distinctive burn hazards in front of the workers this center treats. Unlike the state's coastal metros, the region around Gainesville is defined by agriculture, forestry and timber, the university and its research laboratories, and a growing construction sector — each of which produces its own category of serious burn injury, and each of which frequently involves a negligent third party.
The industries of North Central Florida generate serious and legally significant burn injuries. Agricultural operations expose workers to anhydrous ammonia, fumigants, and equipment fires. Timber and forestry work involves controlled burns and processing equipment. University and research settings handle flammable solvents and reactive chemicals. And the region's construction growth adds welding, arc-flash, and gas-line hazards. In each setting, a manufacturer, contractor, or property owner is frequently responsible.
Florida requires virtually all employers with four or more employees to carry workers' compensation under Florida Statutes § 440.02, and workers' comp is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer — Florida does not allow most workers to sue their employer in tort. This makes identifying third-party defendants essential. Florida Statutes § 440.39 preserves your right to file a separate civil lawsuit against any party other than your employer whose negligence caused your burn. Potential defendants include:
Florida's statute of limitations for personal injury is 4 years from the date of injury under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a) — one of the most generous in the country. Florida follows a modified comparative negligence rule (Fla. Stat. § 768.81, as amended in 2023): if you are found more than 50% at fault you recover nothing, and otherwise your damages are reduced by your share of fault. Claims against government entities require a pre-suit notice under the Florida Tort Claims Act (§ 768.28). A longer deadline does not mean you should wait — surveillance footage, safety records, and witnesses can all be lost within weeks.
Records from an academic burn center provide the clinical detail on which damages presentations are built. Documentation from the University of Florida Shands Burn Center typically includes:
Your attorney will obtain these records with your written authorization and build your damages case around them. An experienced Florida burn injury attorney knows how to read this academic-quality documentation and how to identify the equipment makers, chemical suppliers, contractors, and property owners whose negligence caused your injury.
If your burn was caused by someone else's negligence — a hazardous worksite, defective equipment, a chemical manufacturer's failure to warn, a contractor's unsafe practices, or a property owner's dangerous conditions — you likely have a viable claim. Because Florida bars most suits against your direct employer, identifying third-party defendants is critical. Treatment at an academic burn center is strong evidence of injury severity. A free consultation will identify who is liable and what your claim may be worth. Call us or submit the form — no fee unless you win.
Florida's statute of limitations for personal injury is 4 years from the date of injury under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(a) — among the longest in the country. Claims against government entities require a separate pre-suit notice under the Florida Tort Claims Act (§ 768.28). Even with a longer window, evidence is perishable: surveillance footage is overwritten and safety records are purged. Contact an attorney as soon as you are medically able.
Yes. Under HIPAA and Florida law you have the right to copies of your complete medical records. Submit a written authorization through the UF Health medical records department, or authorize your attorney to request them on your behalf — usually the most efficient approach when records are needed for litigation.
Get a free case review from a burn injury attorney familiar with Gainesville and North Central Florida.
Florida's 4-year statute of limitations is among the most generous in the nation, but surveillance footage, safety records, and witness memories can vanish within days. Get your free review today and protect your rights.
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