If you or a family member received burn treatment at the UTMB Blocker Burn Unit, your medical records document the full severity of your injuries. Those records are critical evidence in a burn injury claim — and the time to act is now.
The Blocker Burn Unit at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston is one of the oldest and most respected burn treatment programs in the United States. Established in the early 1960s, the unit has treated tens of thousands of burn victims from across the Gulf Coast region, including survivors of industrial fires, chemical exposures, and oilfield accidents that are endemic to Galveston County and the broader Southeast Texas petrochemical corridor.
The facility is ABA-verified, meaning it meets the American Burn Association's rigorous standards for burn care staffing ratios, specialized equipment, treatment protocols, and patient outcomes. Verification is not automatic — burn centers must apply, undergo an independent review process, and re-verify periodically. When your records show treatment at an ABA-verified center, it signals to insurance companies and defense attorneys that your injuries were severe and required specialized care.
Galveston Island and the greater Galveston-Texas City industrial corridor host one of the most concentrated clusters of petrochemical facilities in the Western Hemisphere. The area includes the Texas City Refinery complex (site of one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history), the Port of Texas City, chemical manufacturing plants along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and major marine terminal operations at the Port of Galveston.
Workers in these industries face daily exposure to burn hazards including:
When accidents occur in these facilities, workers are frequently transported directly to the Blocker Burn Unit — the closest Level I-equivalent burn center for much of the region. This geographic reality means the unit's patient population skews heavily toward serious, work-related burns with significant third-party liability potential.
If you were treated at the Blocker Burn Unit following a workplace accident, you likely have rights under both Texas workers' compensation law and tort law. These systems operate in parallel:
Workers' Compensation: Covers medical expenses and a portion of lost wages without requiring you to prove fault. Most employers in Texas are not required to carry workers' comp (Texas is the only state without a mandatory requirement), but those who do carry it also gain immunity from personal injury lawsuits by employees — with important exceptions.
Third-Party Personal Injury Claims: If a contractor, equipment manufacturer, building owner, or other non-employer contributed to your burn injury, you can sue them directly regardless of workers' comp status. Third-party claims allow recovery of pain and suffering, disfigurement, and other damages unavailable through workers' comp.
Non-Subscriber Claims: If your employer did not carry workers' compensation insurance (a common situation in Texas), you can sue your employer directly in civil court — and the employer loses the right to raise comparative fault as a defense.
The UTMB Blocker Burn Unit maintains meticulous clinical records. In litigation, these records serve several critical functions:
An experienced burn injury attorney will obtain these records early in the case and retain a burn surgeon as an expert witness to translate clinical findings into terms that resonate with juries.
The first question is: who caused the accident? If a negligent employer (in Texas, only non-subscribers can be sued directly by employees), a contractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or other third party caused or contributed to your burn, you likely have a civil claim. The fact that you required treatment at the Blocker Burn Unit — an ABA-verified facility — helps establish the severity of your injuries. A free consultation with a burn injury attorney will identify who bears liability.
In Texas, the personal injury statute of limitations is generally 2 years from the date of injury. Some exceptions apply for minors or cases involving government entities. Do not rely on this general rule — contact an attorney to understand exactly when your deadline falls and what notice requirements apply to your case.
Yes. Under HIPAA, you have the right to obtain copies of your medical records from any facility that treated you. The UTMB Health Records department can be contacted directly. Your attorney will typically handle this process and may also issue a formal legal hold to preserve records. Do not delay — some institutions purge records after a period of time, and clinical records created close in time to the injury are the most valuable.
Get a free case review from a burn injury attorney familiar with the Galveston area.
Texas's 2-year statute of limitations means you cannot wait. Industrial burn cases require early investigation — accident scenes change, employers alter records, and witnesses become unavailable. Get your free review today.
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