Why Hire Electrocution Injury Claim Lawyers?

Scope of Electrocution Injuries

Electrocution or electrical injuries can be caused due to wrongly touching a live wire or being exposed to low or high-voltage power electrical sources.

The injuries can be severe depending on various factors like the strength of voltage, type of electric current, health status of a person, time of exposure, and many others.

The type of electrical injuries covered under electrocution injury claims includes:

Flash Injuries

Flash injuries are electrical shocks that are usually unharming but could lead to superficial burns.

This is because the electrical current in flash injuries doesn’t go past the skin.

Lightning Injuries

These injuries are caused when coming in contact with lighting.

The electrical current in these cases can slightly pass through the body, making them a bit serious.

Flame Injuries

Injuries include the presence of flames and electrical current, both at the same time.

For example, this could occur when there are sparks as a result of an electrical fault.

The flying sparks can result in fire and when caught by clothes.

True Injuries

These are the most powerful electrical shocks that make the current pass throughout your body, damaging it badly in the process.

For example, this could occur when stepping barefoot on a live wire carrying a high voltage current.

Serious and fatal electrical injuries are generally termed electrocution injuries, whereas non-fatal ones are termed electrical injuries in law.

Parties to Sue for Electrocution Injuries

Depending on where the incident takes place, the defendant in case of electrocution injuries can vary.

Based on the same, electrocution injuries can be caused at:

The Workplace

The workplace can be construction sites, commercial buildings, offices, and somebody’s home for people like electricians, roofers, painters, plumbers, etc.

Some of the workers are regularly exposed to electric shocks due to their nature of work.

These people are more likely to suffer from such injuries than those with white-collar jobs.

The manufacturing industry, hospitality, leisure, and service injuries are less prone than the construction sector.

Some of the common reasons for electrical injuries include:

• Defective electrical equipment
• Obsolete and unmaintained electrical wiring system
• Open wires
• Underground electric lines (faced by miners)
• Misuse of electrical equipment

According to ESFI Occupational Injury and Fatality Statistics, 8% of the electrical injuries in the year 2019 were fatal.

Also, the year 2019 saw 3.75% more electrical injuries than in 2018.

The construction and extraction occupation has the maximum percentage of fatalities at 43%.

The least affected injury is management.

Also, in the US, the private sector (93%) is more susceptible to electrical injuries than the government.

Home

Homes are also a common site for electrical injuries.

Children are the most affected member of the family resulting in home electrical injuries.

If a defective product caused the injury, you can sue the manufacturer.

How to Claim Compensation for Electrocution Injuries?

The burden of proof in case of electrocution injuries falls on the plaintiff.

For example, if you work in a construction company, you have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer.

The grounds for suing an employer for electrocution injuries include:

• Negligence on the part of the employer
• Devoid of proper pre-training before handling equipment
• Not providing adequate safe working conditions
• Violating the rules of OSHA

If you are electrocuted at home and seriously injured, you can file a personal injury lawsuit depending on the cause of the incident.

The basis for these cases can be:

• Poor maintenance services of the apartment, community place
• Defective electrical appliance
• Poor installation of electrical wires by an electrical technician
• Insufficient product warning on a dangerous product

Proving Electrocution Injuries

While proving your case for fighting against the claim for electrocution injuries, you should prove that:

• The defendant owed a duty of care.
• Defendant failed to provide any duty of care and exposed the plaintiff to danger.
• The injuries are severe and life-threatening by providing adequate records of hospital bills, medical bills, physiotherapy bills, etc.

Like in every personal injury case, the plaintiff is eligible to seek monetary and non-monetary damages in case of electrocution injuries.

In addition, the party can also claim for wrongful death if the plaintiff died due to a fatal electrical injury.

For more details, contact our electrocution injury claim lawyers today.