Electrocution is a significant cause of death in construction work accidents. About 1,000 people are killed as a result of an electrical injury every year. Overall, electrocution is the fifth-leading cause of occupational injury deaths in our country.
Electrical shock injury or electrocution occurs when contact is made with a live electric wire or electric current. Electricity flows through the body, sometimes causing no injury, other times causing serious injury or fatality. The injury depends in part on the amount of current that travels through the person’s body.
Burns are common injuries from electric shocks. However if the voltage is high enough, the heart, brain or muscles may sustain serious internal damage.
CAUSES OF ELECTRICAL ACCIDENTS
Causes of electrical accidents or fatal electrocution include:
- Water on the floor, along with an exposed electrical source or an electrical outlet
- Lack of warning or communication to various subcontractors and workers that electricity is going live on a job site, leading a worker to come in contact with an exposed electrical source, including wiring or an appliance
- Contact between an exposed live electrical wire or current and a metal ladder, railing, tool or machine on a construction site
Have you been injured by electricity on a construction site? Have you lost a loved one as a result of electrocution on a job site? Do you have questions about the accident that remain unanswered? Are you uncertain whether the accident was caused by someone’s carelessness or negligence?
If the injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence, whether it was an employer who failed to follow legal safety standards, a contractor who cut too many corners or a worker who was careless, you may have reason to file a third-party personal injury claim. This means that you can potentially seek compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses related to the accident.
LEARN YOUR RIGHTS. ATTORNEYS AT MALLON AND TRANGER, IN FREEHOLD, NJ
If you have concerns about a construction site accident, including accidents involving electrical shock or the electrocution of a loved one, we can answer your questions. At Mallon and Tranger, our legal practice centers on representing the rights of the injured in workers’ compensation claims as well as in personal injury claimsand third-party construction injury claims.
Call (732) 410-6094 or contact us online to schedule a free, private consultation with a knowledgeable lawyer in our Freehold, New Jersey, office.