Electrocution Accidents
Battle-Tested Advocacy for the Injured
Louisiana Injury Lawyers for Electrical Injuries
Electricity is everywhere. You can look up on any street in America and see power lines flanking the road. Unfortunately, as abundant and necessary as it is, electricity is also incredibly dangerous when something is faulty or when someone is negligent. We can be exposed to an electrical source at the workplace, in our homes, or out in the world. An electric shock can lead to grave injuries, and can even be fatal.
When you experience electrical injuries, you need the experienced Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers at the Joubert Law Firm on your side as soon as possible after the accident. Whether you’ve personally suffered an electrical injury, want assistance getting workers compensation, or need help filing a wrongful death claim for a deceased loved one, a Louisiana electrocution injury lawyer from our law firm can help. Our dedicated attorneys have been handling electrocution cases and other personal injuries in the Baton Rouge area for more than twenty-five years and are prepared to take on yours, as well.
How an electrocution accident occurred will be essential to dealing with it in court, as knowing what caused an electric shock will help you figure out who’s responsible.
There are a variety of ways an electrical accident can occur; some are simple accidents, and some are the result of gross negligence on behalf of another party. Our experienced personal injury lawyers can investigate and gather information about the cause of the accident to help you file a claim and in the case of a lawsuit.
Here are some of the more common causes of electric shock:
Lack of Safety Equipment or Training
There are some people who are more likely to be the victim of electrocution than others due to their job. For instance, construction workers come in contact with electrical wiring all the time in the course of their day-to-day work. If managers or supervisors haven’t provided enough training or enough safety equipment, a construction site can quickly become more dangerous than it needs to be.
Untrained workers or workers without proper tools may leave wires exposed, may not install electrical equipment correctly, or may take safety risks that leave themselves and others vulnerable to an electrical shock.
Faulty Wiring
An electrocution accident can easily occur due to faulty wiring, which can mean anything from poorly-installed appliances to an overloaded extension cord.
For example, if your electrician doesn’t wire your house correctly when it’s built, not only will you have constant trouble keeping the lights from flickering or keeping your phone charged, you also run the risk of electrocuting yourself trying to plug something in. If a circuit overloads, anything plugged into it could also end up fried, leaving you with property damage.
Let’s talk about another scenario. If your boss doesn’t have the wiring at your office regularly inspected by a professional, that could become very dangerous for anyone plugging anything into an electrical outlet. If a property owner fails to keep their property safe from potential electrocution accidents, a premises liability lawsuit may be warranted.
Faulty Appliances
By appliance, we don’t just mean your oven or your microwave, though both of those things fall into this category. An appliance can be anything that uses electricity to function; your phone or TV could be an appliance.
With any appliance powered by electricity, there is a basic understanding that electricity will be able to safely pass through electrical cords and power the device. That isn’t always the case; for instance, if the inner mechanisms of the plug or appliance are faulty, that disrupts the flow of electricity, which places you in immediate danger of an electric shock. If electrocution occurs as a result of defective equipment or a faulty appliance, our Baton Rouge product liability lawyers will thoroughly investigate the case and make sure any and all contributing parties are held accountable for their negligence and your resulting injuries.
Damaged Power Lines
We don’t often think of how dangerous power lines can be when they are damaged or exposed. That’s where utility companies come in. The utility company in your area is responsible for keeping the public safe from an electrocution accident. They have to be aware that the public may approach power lines. The law requires utility companies to insulate their lines with something like rubber to prevent an electrocution accident if someone were to touch the power line.
However, accidents still happen. Car accidents, for instance, can bring a power line down and cause devastating injuries as a result. Utility companies have a responsibility to move quickly and respond to situations like these to prevent electrocution accidents.
If you or a loved one has suffered electric shock injuries, call an electrocution accident lawyer immediately to gather intel and information about how your electrocution accident occurred and begin building your claim against the negligent parties.
Types of Electrocution Injuries
Electrical injuries are often very serious and sometimes even catastrophic injuries. This means those who suffer electrical injuries could be dealing with the fallout for years to come. Here are some of the more common electrocution injuries we see:
Severe burn injuries
Nerve and muscle damage
Cardiac arrest and heart damage
Broken bones (this might happen if the electrical shock occurs when the person is up on a ladder, sending them falling to the ground)
Brain trauma
A brain injury is a much more serious injury that electrocution victims may suffer. There are two different kinds of brain damage a person might endure as an electrocution injury: traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, and diffuse brain injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injuries (or TBIs) are severe injuries that can occur when there is a hard blow to the head, and the brain makes contact with the skull.
This can happen when an electrocution victim is thrown back from the live electric current they touched. A traumatic brain injury can be relatively minor, such as a concussion or a contusion, but can also lead to a more permanent injury like a brain bleed.
Diffuse Brain Injury
Electric shock injuries can impact large parts of the brain. In these cases, it is called a diffuse brain injury, since it affects more than one section of the brain. This is one of several electrical injuries that can lead to lifelong impairments, and at their worst, they can even be critical injuries.
Electrical Fatalities
The chief danger of electrocution accidents is that introduction to an electrical current will throw the human body into cardiac arrest. Fatal electrical injuries occur when the voltage of the shock is extremely high, when the victim is either very young or very old, or if they already from something like a heart condition.
Whenever you suffer an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to file a personal injury claim against that negligent party. An experienced personal injury lawyer can help fight for your rights in court during electrocution accident lawsuits, even if your injury is due to the negligence of a large utility company.
Electric Company Negligence
Proving negligence of a large company can be tricky, and requires a competent and thorough attorney. There are a few basic elements of proving negligence of another party:
Proving duty of care. Utility companies, property owners, and others are responsible for preventing electrocution accidents; therefore, they have a duty of care to the public.
Breached duty of care. When someone suffers an electrocution injury due to something like faulty electrical wiring in a commercial space or downed power lines, a utility company has breached their duty of care.
Cause of injury. You need to prove the injury you suffered was due to the shock you received.
Damages. Proof that any losses you incurred were a direct result of the injury.
What Damages Can I Recover for Electrocution Injuries?
Electrical injuries are very serious, both emotionally and physically. An electrical injury can leave someone unable to work for long periods of time–or unable to work ever again. It could leave a family with reduced income and a mountain of medical bills.
Fortunately, Louisiana law entitles electric shock victims to compensation through a personal injury claim after an accident. The damages you can recover from electrocution accidents depend on the damage done, so to speak, and the costs involved in your care and recovery. Here is a list of the compensation skilled electrocution lawyers like ours can obtain for electrical injury victims:
Lost wages or reduced ability to earn in the future
Compensation for medical expenses
Compensation for property damage
Restitution for unseen damages like pain and suffering
In the unfortunate event that a more serious accident results in a fatality, immediate family members can recover damages via awrongful death lawsuit. Our Baton Rouge wrongful death attorneys at Joubert Law Firm will go into more detail about these types of claims below.
Workers’ Compensation Claim
Good personal injury lawyers can provide you with a free case evaluation to determine what losses you can recoup from workers comp after serious injuries on the job in Louisiana. Construction workers, for instance, have rigorous occupational safety guidelines to follow on a construction site. The same is true for workers who complete repairs on power lines and who are constantly at risk of coming into contact with a high-voltage electrical source.
But sometimes these safety measures fail, or workers don’t have the appropriate safety equipment on construction sites. An electrical shock occurs, and a worker takes several months to recover. Workers’ comp can cover that loss in income.
Wrongful Death Claim
Unfortunately, fatal electrical injuries do happen. In the case of a fatality, immediate family members of the deceased can recover damages for:
Medical treatment
Lost income
Funeral costs
Pain and suffering
Immediate family members include spouses, children, and parents if there is no spouse or children, or siblings if there are no parents, no spouse, and no children.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help With Your Electrical Injury Claim
After electrocution accidents, medical bills tend to pile up, and Louisiana has a stringent statute of limitations on filing personal injury suits. A Louisiana personal injury attorney can gather the information needed to make your electrocution injury claim within the proper timeframe and, if necessary, fight for your rights in court.
Experienced Electrocution Accident Lawyer in Baton Rouge, LA
Electricity is everywhere, but accidental contact with it can be devastating. You need an attorney who will handle your electrocution injury case with dedication and care. Whether through workers’ compensation or a personal injury lawsuit, you deserve restitution when negligence leads to an electric shock.
When electrocution accidents occur, call the Joubert Law Firm to speak to our personal injury attorneys at (225) 777-8853, or fill out our online intake form for a free case evaluation. Once a formal attorney-client relationship is established, our dedicated injury lawyers will get straight to work building and strengthening your case to ensure maximum compensation is achieved on your behalf.
As a thank you to all military members and veterans and to show our appreciation for your sacrifice and service, we would like to offer a discount for your legal cases.
“Johnny went above & beyond to help me in a very difficult time. If you need someone to advocate for you, he’s the one to call! So thankful for him & how he handled a case I thought was impossible to help. Give him a call!”
