Electricity is essential in everyday life because it powers all devices, machinery, equipment, and lighting. However, electrical accidents are alarmingly common in workplaces and can cause devastating injuries.
If you or your loved one suffered an electrical-related accident at work or while performing your job duties, a local work injury attorney could help you determine whether you have sufficient legal grounds to pursue a lawsuit against your employer or other responsible parties. A League City workplace electrocution lawyer from Schechter, Shaffer & Harris could meet with you to learn what happened and explain your legal rights.
Causes of Electricity-Related Work Accidents
Electricity-related accidents typically occur when someone touches a live electrical current. While electrical injuries can occur in many different workplaces, an attorney in League City could explain to you how they most frequently happen on construction sites, where workers risk exposure to different types of electrical hazards.
Power Lines
Both overhead and underground power lines carry dangerous levels of high voltage, and workers performing their job duties near those lines might not be aware of those dangers, particularly when the power lines are underground. Before any work occurs on a site, companies should identify and clearly mark all underground power lines. Energized power lines can also attract metal objects, such as tools and equipment, so construction equipment should not touch or be right next to them.
When heavy equipment, such as cranes, trucks, or other machinery, touches energized power lines, the equipment’s operator and any workers performing their jobs close by are at risk.
Defective Equipment
Power tools with loose or exposed wiring, due to defective equipment, could be hazardous to workers.
Lack of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters
Workers are at risk of electrical shocks when working in older buildings that lack up-to-date electrical receptacles with adequate ground fault circuit interrupters. You may also be at risk of experiencing shocks when using power tools in wet conditions.
Faulty Wiring
Faulty or exposed wiring can result in electricity-related accidents. Incorrectly using extension cords can also increase the chance of electrocution accidents.
Flashing or Arcing
Electrical currents can jump circuit gaps and enter a person’s body through a flash or arc burn.
People who work in other industries are also at elevated risk of electrocution. Other professions where workers regularly perform their job duties around electricity include:
- Tree trimmers
- Electricians
- Firefighters
- Agricultural workers
- Machinery operators
- Truck drivers
- Mechanics
Our seasoned legal team has extensive experience handling a wide range of workplace electrocution cases. We could thoroughly investigate your accident to determine its cause and identify who may be responsible.
What Kind of Harm Can Workers Experience From Electrocution Accidents?
Electricity-related accidents can cause injuries ranging from minor, low-voltage shocks to deadly harm. Some of the more common types of injuries include:
- Electrical burns, most commonly at the points of contact, which are usually the hands, feet, and head
- Muscle damage
- Nerve damage
- Internal organ damage
- Cardiac arrest
- Seizures
- Eye or ear damage
- Disfiguring scars
Suffering an electrocution can also cause a worker to stumble and fall, risking other types of injuries, such as broken bones, back and neck trauma, and head injuries. Our compassionate League City attorneys could help you fight for fair compensation for all of your workplace injuries caused by electricity.
Contact Us To Speak With an Attorney in League City About electrocution Injuries in the Workplace
If you suffered a severe personal injury due to electricity-related accidents at work, you should not have to worry about your medical bills or other expenses. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with a League City workplace electrocution lawyer and review what legal options are available to you. You do not pay us unless we secure compensation for you.
