Electrocution Accident Lawyer

Electrical accidents result in severe injuries and, in many cases, they're fatal. If a family member is the victim of an electrocution in the workplace or on public or private property, the family can recover compensation. Our electrocution lawyers file a claim for medical treatment, loss of income, and other economic and non-economic damages caused by the victim's loss. We'll represent you in legal proceedings and take the liable party to court if required.

Our California Law Firm handles claims and lawsuits involving electrocutions. If a family member suffered a fatal injury due to someone's negligence, you deserve compensation. Families of fatal electrocution victims have a claim against the responsible party. Let us assist you with recovering a favorable settlement.

We have experience handling legal procedures and protecting your rights for a safe workplace and public or private space. Contact our legal team for representation if a family member experiences electrocution and you lose a loved one to a fatal accident. We'll get you the compensation you deserve.

What Is Electrocution?

Electrical accidents have different levels of severity, and electrocution is a fatal electrical accident. In contrast, if you receive an electrical injury, that would be an electric shock accident. Electrocutions are often workplace accidents. However, they can occur on public and private property as well.

Electrocution is often a devastating incident. Since most cases are workplace accidents, it usually involves the death of a family's breadwinner. The family has no income and a mountain of medical costs and burial and funeral expenses. The family may feel distraught during the grieving process and endure severe emotional stress.

An electrocution accident lawyer understands how to review and investigate the accident. They check the site of the incident, speak to witnesses, and request documents to prove negligence on the part of the responsible party. Contact a California electrocution lawyer. Our firm offers a free consultation with an experienced legal professional.

Can You Sue If You Get Electrocuted?

When someone dies in an electrical accident due to someone else's carelessness, the surviving family members can take legal actions against the responsible party for the accident. Our lawyers will ensure they identify liability in the responsible party, bringing justice to the loss of your loved one.

Our California law firm has a team of highly qualified electrocution lawyers. Our attorneys will gather evidence, prove liability for your claim, and guide you through the legal process, earning you the settlement you deserve.

Where Do Electrocution Accidents Happen?

Where do electrocutions occur? What are the common causes of electrocutions? Let's unpack the details surrounding the events of electrocution.

  • Retail Locations.
  • The workplace.
  • Industrial Areas.
  • Construction sites.
  • Downed Power Lines.
    Electrocutions involve large amounts of electricity, usually involving 'third-phase' power. So, it's more common for them to occur around large transformers or in outdoor locations. Workplaces or construction commonly use third-phase power.

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International report, 54% of severe electrical accidents occur on construction sites. Young workers inexperienced with site safety procedures are the highest victim demographic.
While many cases involve employee neglect, many occur due to employer negligence. If your loved one is the victim of electrocution, you shouldn't have to suffer at the hands of someone's negligence. Our attorneys are experts at identifying the party liable for the electrocution. We'll represent you in all legal matters and take the employer to court if required.

How Does an Electrocution Accident Occur?

There are several factors resulting in electrocutions. Most accidents involve employees failing to comply with electricity protocols or failure to provide sufficient protocols by management. Here are examples of common electrocution scenarios.

Exposure to Current

Employees working around transformers and electrical substations expose themselves to the risk of electrocution. These employees must have the safety training required to operate in hazardous areas. Making contact with electrical components of substations and transformers without following the correct safety protocols may result in electrocution.

Tampering with Live Machinery

Industrial machinery operates on third-phase power. Exposure to the current powering large industrial machines can result in severe electrical accidents and possibly electrocution. The machine may have faulty or exposed wiring that the employee doesn't notice.

Contact with Overhead Power Lines

When a person comes in contact with the power lines by climbing metal scaffolding, ladders, or lifts, they have a chance of electrocution. There is also the risk of electrocution from downed live power lines in neighborhoods, streets, or highways.

Contacting Underground Power Cables

People digging in their backyard or workers digging around a Jobsite may accidentally strike buried power cables, resulting in electrocution.

Our experienced electrocution accident lawyer will review the circumstances surrounding the electrocution. We'll investigate the liability of the employer or responsible party, file a case on your behalf, and seek compensation. Contact our legal firm for a free consultation. We'll ensure your receive the compensation you deserve.

How Does Electricity Cause Injuries?

Many people assume high voltage is responsible for electrocution. However, that's not the case. The Amperage of the current is the real killer in electrical accidents. Typically, third-phase power carries a much higher amperage and current than the two-phase power found in residences across California.

Third-phase power is common in factories and around electrical sites, like substations. It requires conversion from a transformer and operates large machinery and industrial equipment with higher power demands than the blender in your kitchen.

It's challenging for the power in your home to cause electrocution, but it can happen. However, it's more common for electrocutions to occur around industrial and construction sites. When a large dose of current runs through the body, it disrupts all physiological processes, resulting in death. Let's look at the injuries sustained by electrocutions.

Central Nervous System (CNS) Damage

An electrical shock can damage your central nervous system. When the electrical current passes through your body, it disrupts the function of the central nervous system. In electrocutions, the current is strong enough to cut the nervous system response from the brain to the rest of the body, causing sudden death in the victim.

Survivors of electrical accidents may experience seizures, spinal cord problems, brain damage, and other severe issues with the central nervous system. These effects may last for years after the accident. In some cases, the results of the accident on the CNS are permanent, requiring lifelong treatment to help the victim cope with their condition.

Cardiovascular Damage

The heart operates through electrical impulses produced by the brain. When the body experiences electrocution, the current is so strong that it interferes with the heart's electrical pulses, causing sudden death in the victim.

Survivors of electrical accidents may experience arrhythmia in the heart, requiring immediate medical treatment to stabilize the cardiovascular system. Some cases may involve extensive damage to the heart, requiring the victim to use a pacemaker.

Musculoskeletal Damage

The muscular system operates on a network of nerves connected and controlled by the brain. The brain produces electrical signals that drive muscular movements. So, when you experience a surge of current running through your body, it causes your muscular system to contract.

For this reason, people who grab a live power line can't let go of it. The current causes their hands to grip the cable rather than release it. Survivors of electrical accidents may experience the onset of muscular conditions like 'rhabdomyolysis,' leading to kidney damage.

Skin and Soft Tissue Damage

High levels of electrical current passing through the body damage soft tissues and organs, often resulting in organ death. Electrical accident survivors may experience severe burns and organ failure, resulting in amputations or skin graft procedures.

What Are the Medical Consequences of an Electrical Injury?

In most electrocutions, the victim passes away at the scene. Large doses of electrical current cause instant death in the victim. However, some electrical accidents may not expose the victim to lethal current.

Electrical accident survivors may experience severe outcomes requiring immediate medical assistance. The survivor will experience the following immediate and long-term effects on their physiology.

Immediate Effects

The immediate effects of electrical accidents include;

  • Electrical burns.
  • Breathing problems.
  • Cardiac arrest.
  • Tingling in body parts.
  • Discomfort and numbness.
  • Confusion.

    Long-term Effects

    The long-effects of electrical accidents are;

  • Weakness of the heart muscles.
  • Severe heart trauma.
  • Psychological trauma.
  • Eye and ear disorders (hearing and sight).
  • Difficulty breathing.
  • Amnesia.
  • Amputation
  • Seizures.
  • Spinal Cord injuries.
  • Nerve damage.
    Electrocution usually results in the victim passing away from sudden death. Our attorneys will help you identify the responsible party liable for the electrocution. We'll recover all funeral costs and a settlement for lost income, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.

However, survivors of electrical accidents incur medical expenses for treating their immediate and long-term injuries. Physiotherapy and care during recovery are expensive. The victim may not be able to work for months. Or their injuries may be so extensive that they can never return to work.

Our electrocution and electrical accident lawyers help victims, and their families recover fair compensation for their injuries or loss. Reach out to our offices and speak with an electrical accident or electrocution lawyer. We offer you a free consultation.

What to Do After an Electrocution Accident?

After experiencing an electrocution accident, seek medical attention immediately. Properly trained first-aid responders on-site can perform the following procedures.

  • Shut off the power source immediately.
  • Call for emergency medical transport.
  • Lay the victim on level ground.
  • Examine the victim's injuries.
  • Administer CPR where necessary.
  • Prepare the victim for transport.
    After the responders stabilize the victim, they prepare them for transport to a medical facility. The first responders must inform management immediately, and the administration must notify the victim's next of kin.

Due to the nature of the accident, especially in fatal cases, the victim's family may not think about calling an attorney immediately. In fatal accidents, the employer must report the incident to the police immediately., Investigators will arrive on the scene and take photos of the area before removing the victim.

Your attorney can access the police file and build a case of employer neglect and liability. We'll earn the family a settlement covering lost income from your partner and for the pain and suffering involved with your loss. We seek compensation for economic and non-economic damages incurred. We file a claim for lost income from the family's primary breadwinner.

Speak to our electrocution attorneys, and we'll evaluate your case.

What Damages Does An Attorney Recover in an Electrocution Injury Lawsuit?

When a victim experiences an electrical injury, they can seek compensation for the following.

  • Medical bills.
  • Emotional distress.
  • Physical therapy.
  • Lost income.
  • Pain and suffering.
  • Court costs and legal fees
  • Future loss of earnings.
    Electrocution follows the same legal procedures as wrongful death or personal injury lawsuit. You'll need an experienced legal team to help you navigate the process and receive the compensation you deserve.

What Types of Burns Occur in an Electrocution Accident?

Electrocutions and electrical accidents cause burning on skin tissues. Here are the types of burns sustained by victims.

Arc Burns

Arcing is the electrical discharge occurring when an electrical current exists across a gap between conductors. The victim doesn't need to touch anything to receive this electrical burn. In these cases, electricity ionizes air particles, completing a circuit.

Flash Burns

The victim will sustain flash burns when electrical arcs appear on the skin. But these burns don't penetrate soft tissues.

Low Voltage Burns

Low voltage burns aren't severe, damaging the upper skin layer.

High Voltage Burns

These burns are severe injuries sustained during electrical accidents. Victims can suffer damage to the skin and soft tissues and experience organ failure.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Electrocution Cases?

If the victim is deceased, their family members have a claim against the responsible party for the accident. Any family member can file a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible party.

  • Children.
  • Domestic partner.
  • Spouse.
  • Grandchildren.

Comparative Fault and the Electrocution Cases in California

Regarding personal injury cases in California, state law has a comparative fault act if both parties have liability in the accident. Some people may seek compensation too soon or try to file a lawsuit in a hurry as they believe they contributed to the incident.

However, even if the victim was at-fault in the accident, you can receive compensation for your injuries. You will get financial compensation based on your responsibility for the accident. For instance, if you are 20% responsible and the other party carries the other 80% liability, you can file for 80% total compensation.

However, you will need a professional personal injury lawyer to assist you with managing your claim. If the responsible party wants to negotiate or refuses to accept liability, we will hold them accountable and negotiate on your behalf, with your best interests in mind.

Who Is Responsible for Paying for Electrical Injuries and Electrocution?

After discussing your case, your attorney will start their investigation into the accident. Your lawyer has the task of proving liability for the accident. In most electrocution cases, the responsible party is one of the following entities.

Property Owner

California law requires homeowners to maintain their property and prevent the possibility of electrical hazards occurring due to poor maintenance. If found negligent, the property owner has premises liability.

Manufacturer of Defective Products

Most electrocution injuries occur due to faulty wiring and machinery. If the machinery is defective, you have a claim against the manufacturer.

What Documents Are Required to Prove an Electrocution Injury Claim?

Your attorney needs the following documents to file your wrongful death or personal injury lawsuit.

  • Medical testimony.
  • Medical records.
  • Photographs of the accident site.
  • Eyewitness testimony.
  • Deposit statements.
  • Video surveillance footage (If available).
  • Accident reconstruction.
  • Written or recorded communications such as emails, text messages, and phone calls.
    Every case is different, and the evidence collection will depend on the circumstances. Contact California Law Firm. We'll arrange a free consultation to discuss the specific details surrounding your electrical accident.

How Long Do I Have to File My Claim If I Was in an Electrocution Injury?

You must file for an electrocution injury claim in California within two years after the accident date. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, the statute can be shorter or longer. It's important to take prompt legal action to start the process and receive your settlement as soon as possible.

How Can an Electrocution Accident Lawyer at our California Law Firm Help Your Case?

Our electrocution lawyers help you receive compensation for the following.

  • Long-term care.
  • Medical expenses.
  • Lost wages.
  • Scarring.
  • Disfigurement.
  • Emotional distress.
  • Pain and suffering.
  • Injury to reputation.
  • Punitive damages.
    We deal with wrongful death lawsuits and personal injury claims. Our lawyer helps you navigate the legal process from start to finish. We handle everything, so you don't have to deal with additional stress when morning a loss.

Contact An Electrocution Lawyer to Receive Compensation

Contact us to build a strong case against the responsible party. Your electrocution lawyer in California proves negligence and liability in the responsible party. Reach out to our team. We offer a free consultation to discuss your case.