Electricity always poses a significant risk of injury or death. While most of time electricity is well contained, according to the American Burn Association on average 400 people die from electrocution and 4,400 are injured each year because of electrical hazards. When an electrical accident results from negligence, people injured or the families of those killed may be eligible to recover compensation with the help of an electrocution accident lawyer.
For more information, contact Attorney Group today. We offer free, confidential, no obligation consultations. We can help answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a claim we can connect you with an affiliated electrocution accident lawyer who can assist you throughout the legal process.
Causes of Electrocutions
Electrocutions in the home typically result from defective or malfunctioning products, such as power tools, appliances and medical devices, including heart catheters and mechanical pacemakers. Children may experience an electrical shock due to a failure of a child-safety product. Construction contractors or other home-workers may perform faulty repairs or installations that pose a risk of electrocution.
In the workplace, electrocutions can be caused by poor safety practices such as working on a metal scaffolding that is installed too closely to uninsulated overhead power lines. Workers may also suffer an electrocution by defective or malfunctioning tools or machinery while on the job or while on another individual’s property.
When social visitors, business patrons or workers are exposed to dangerous electricity in unexpected places without prior warning from the property owner, they may unknowingly be at risk for electrocutions. A victim may contact electricity from high-voltage power lines or in a light switch that may potentially arc and flash.
Electrocutions are almost always severe, and can often be deadly. Coming into contact with electricity can cause severe burns to the surface of the body and the deep muscles, heart fibrillation or the fluttery muscle contractions that disrupt the natural rhythm of the heart and may cause cardiac arrest, and neuropathy, or the failure of nerve cells to properly function.
Although these injuries may quickly become fatal, those who survive an electrical shock may also suffer from several other medical complications, including:
- Seizures
- Damage to bones, joints, brain and other internal organs
- Changes in temperament or personality
- Loss of memory, hearing, vision or cognitive abilities
How an Electrocution Accident Lawyer Can Help
There are several laws through which an electrocution accident lawyer can help victims recover damages for their injuries, including premises liability, product liability, workers’ compensation and negligence laws. In some cases, victims may be able to hold more than one party responsible for their injuries, including employers, manufacturers, property owners, retailers, inspectors, contractors and other workers. If a party’s negligence resulted in the electrocution, that party can be liable for the damages caused.
When negligence results in injury, an injured party suffers loss in various ways. The law allows an injured party to pursue damages to recover those losses. Common types of damages recoverable in a personal injury case include:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Loss of ability to earn
- Scarring and disfigurement
When someone’s negligence results in the death of another person, family members of the person killed may recover damages for the wrongful death of their loved one. Wrongful death damages include:
- Medical expenses incurred prior to death
- Conscious pain and suffering prior to death
- Loss of the economic support of the loved one
- Loss of the companionship of the loved one
- Funeral expenses
If the actions causing injury are malicious or so reckless that intent to harm can be inferred, the responsible party can be liable for punitive damages to punish wrongful conduct and deter similar conduct in the future.
Victims of electrocution, or the families of those killed, are encouraged to seek the advice of an electrocution accident lawyer to learn more about their rights and remedies.
For more information, contact Attorney Group. When you contact us, an attorney will follow up with you to speak with you about your case or answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim or file a lawsuit for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.
