Eskenazi Health Burn Center
Indianapolis, Indiana

About Eskenazi Health Burn Center

Eskenazi Health Burn Center, formerly known as the Wishard Hospital Burn Center, is Indiana's preeminent ABA-verified burn treatment facility and a cornerstone of the Eskenazi Health system on the near-west side of Indianapolis. The center operates in close affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine, one of the nation's largest medical schools, and functions as a Level I Trauma Center capable of managing the most critical burn cases from across Indiana and the broader tri-state region. Its history as Wishard's burn program spans decades, making it one of the most experienced burn care operations in the Midwest.

The center provides comprehensive acute burn care including escharotomy, skin grafting, wound closure, inhalation injury management, and long-term reconstructive surgery. Patients are referred from hospitals throughout central and northern Indiana, as well as from neighboring Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky, particularly when injuries involve significant total body surface area involvement or complex associated trauma. The academic affiliation with IUSM means that clinical documentation is produced to research-grade standards — a fact that significantly strengthens the evidentiary value of Eskenazi burn center records in litigation.

Indiana's industrial economy creates a steady and serious demand for advanced burn care. From the steel mills of Gary and East Chicago to the automotive assembly plants spread across the state to the sprawling pharmaceutical campuses of Indianapolis, workers throughout Indiana face burn hazards that are often traceable to preventable safety failures by employers, equipment manufacturers, or property owners.

Regional Burn Risks: Indiana's Industrial Economy

Indiana ranks among the most industrialized states in the nation on a per-capita basis. Its economy is built on steel production, automotive manufacturing, pharmaceutical research and production, and chemical processing — all industries with serious and well-documented burn hazard profiles. Workers injured in Indiana's industrial sector deserve to understand the full scope of their legal rights, which extend well beyond the limited benefits provided by Indiana workers' compensation.

• Steel manufacturing burns (Gary Works and Northwest Indiana): U.S. Steel's Gary Works, one of the largest integrated steel mills in North America, along with the network of steel operations stretching through East Chicago, Hammond, and Burns Harbor, creates enormous heat, molten metal, and chemical hazard exposure for steelworkers. Slag burns, molten metal splatter, coke oven gas exposure, and arc flash injuries are among the most serious and common injuries in this sector. Third-party equipment manufacturers and contractors working within these facilities are frequently liable parties.
• Automotive plant burns: Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA) in Lafayette and Honda Manufacturing of Indiana in Greensburg are among the state's largest employers. Paint booth operations, welding, press operations, and robotic cell maintenance all carry burn hazard exposure. Defective welding equipment, inadequate PPE supplied by contractors, and failures by staffing agencies to properly screen workers for hazardous job placements are recurring liability theories.
• Pharmaceutical and chemical processing burns: Eli Lilly and Company's extensive Indianapolis campus and the broader pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing sector throughout central Indiana involve handling of highly reactive and corrosive chemicals. Thermal and chemical burn injuries from reactor vessel failures, inadequate ventilation, and hazardous material spills have been the basis of significant industrial injury litigation in Indiana.
• Electrical arc flash: Indiana's electrical utility infrastructure — including high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and distribution systems operated by AES Indiana, Duke Energy Indiana, and various rural electric cooperatives — creates arc flash burn risks for lineworkers, electricians, and utility maintenance personnel. Defective protective equipment and failures to de-energize circuits before maintenance operations are the most common contributing factors.
• Construction and infrastructure burns: Indianapolis's sustained construction boom, combined with ongoing infrastructure improvement projects throughout the state, creates continuous exposure to torch cutting, welding, roofing kettle, and gas line hazards for construction workers.

Your Legal Rights After Treatment at Eskenazi Health Burn Center

Indiana requires all employers with two or more employees to carry workers' compensation insurance under Indiana Code § 22-3-2-5. Workers' comp will cover your medical treatment at Eskenazi Health Burn Center and provide two-thirds of your average weekly wage as temporary disability benefits. However, the workers' compensation system does not compensate you for pain and suffering, permanent disfigurement, or the full economic impact of a life-altering burn injury — and it bars you from suing your direct employer for those losses.

Indiana law, however, preserves your right to file a separate civil lawsuit against any third party whose negligence contributed to your burn injury. Under Indiana Code § 22-3-2-13, your workers' compensation lien does not prevent you from pursuing a third-party claim, and any recovery from a third-party lawsuit is separate from the workers' comp benefits you receive. Common third-party defendants in Indiana burn injury cases include:

• General contractors who controlled a worksite where you were employed by a subcontractor and who failed to enforce adequate safety protocols
• Equipment manufacturers whose defective machinery, inadequate guarding, or failed safety systems caused or contributed to your burn under Indiana's product liability statute (IC § 34-20)
• Chemical manufacturers and suppliers who failed to provide adequate hazard warnings or safety data sheets for burn-causing substances
• Property owners who maintained unreasonably dangerous conditions at a facility where you were injured as a contractor, vendor, or invitee

Indiana's statute of limitations for personal injury claims is 2 years from the date of injury under Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4. For claims against government entities, Indiana's Tort Claims Act (IC § 34-13-3) requires notice within 270 days of the loss. Failing to meet these deadlines permanently extinguishes your right to recover. Do not wait.

How Eskenazi Burn Center Records Strengthen Your Claim

Medical records from an ABA-verified academic burn center like Eskenazi Health are among the most powerful forms of evidence in a burn injury lawsuit. The clinical documentation generated at this facility typically includes:

• Burn mapping and TBSA calculations documenting the precise extent and distribution of injuries across the body
• Burn depth classifications establishing the severity of tissue destruction from superficial to full-thickness and subdermal burns
• Operative reports for skin grafting, escharotomy, fasciotomy, and reconstructive procedures
• Inhalation injury workups including bronchoscopy findings and pulmonary function assessments
• Rehabilitation and occupational therapy records tracking functional recovery and residual limitations
• Psychological assessments supporting claims for PTSD, depression, and diminished quality of life

An experienced burn injury attorney knows how to work with life care planners, vocational rehabilitation experts, and burn care specialists to translate these records into a compelling damages presentation that reflects the true long-term cost of a serious burn injury.

Frequently Asked Questions