What to Know About Electrocution and Electrical Personal Injuries

Personal injuries can happen anywhere and at any time. While some may only lead to minor soft tissue damage, electrical shocks can cause major, permanent damage. If you were recently shocked or electrocuted and someone else is to blame, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Keep reading to learn more to better protect yourself.

What Are the Common Causes of Electrocution and Electrical Personal Injuries?

Minor to moderate electrical personal injuries can come from any source with an electrical charge, such as a fault wire, damaged socket, poorly designed electrical appliances, etc. Naturally, if your actions alone caused the shock, you can't sue, but if someone else caused the injury, you may have a case. Major electrocution, however, may come from public utilities, such as a down powerline.

After any electrical injury, you should see your doctor to determine there is no underlying damage to your internal tissues and organs. This is incredibly important if you are going to file a lawsuit because you'll need medical records to show the extent of the injuries.

What Are the Complications of Electrical Injuries?

One of the more common symptoms of an electrical injury is burnt skin, which can range from mild firstdegree burns to severe burns that spread into other tissues, such as muscle and nerve. If too much tissue is damaged, it may need to be removed. For example, if the muscles and nerves in your legs die after electrocution, the leg may need to be removed to prevent pain and promote healing.

Many symptoms, however, are internal, such as, irregular heartbeat, broken bones, headache, seizures, and problems with vision or hearing. Because of the sudden jolt of electricity to your heart, even a small shock cause cardiac arrest. People experiencing a heart attack may experience chest, arm, and back pain.

Who Can You Sue for Electrical Injuries?

Who you can sue, if you can sue, depends on who caused the injury. If your actions fully caused the injury, you can't sue. However, if you were shocked at your own home because the system was just updated by a professional electrician incorrectly, you may be able to sue them. If you're at someone else's house when shocked, the responsibility may fall on the homeowner, even if the system was installed incorrectly.

If the injury happened from public utilities, you'll have to find out who is responsible and sue them. For example, if you are passing a construction site, and you touch a damaged electrical cord hanging over the construction fence, you may able to sue the construction company.

What Happens if the Injury Happened at Work?

A lot of electrical injuries happen on the job, especially if your job involves high voltage. As long as you were working and not drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time of the injury, you should qualify for typical workers' compensation. Workers' compensation only covers a fraction of what you may need however, because it doesn't include pain and suffering. It doesn't even include all your lost income.

If the shock was due to a faulty product, however, you may be able to sue the manufacturer and/or distributer. This is usually possible if the product design flaws caused the shock or if there simply weren't proper instructions and warnings on the label.

Shocks can leave you with little to no symptoms, or they can change your appearance and life forever. If someone else caused your injury, you may deserve a higher settlement. If you would like to learn more personal injury cases involving electrical injuries, contact us at Frank W. Thompson Attorney at Law, Erwin Thompson Faillers today.