Electrical accidents are a major cause of on-the-job injuries and deaths each year in the U.S. Although fatal electrical injuries have declined by more than 50 percent in the past two decades, the risk of workplace electrocutions, burns, fires and explosions remains serious.
A worker who is injured by an electrical accident should be entitled to medical and lost wage benefits through the Florida workers’ compensation program. Likewise, the dependents of a worker killed by an electrical incident may have a claim for benefits.
To learn more, contact Frank M. Eidson, P.A., and schedule a free review about your case. We assist injured workers throughout Orlando and surrounding areas in central Florida.
How Common are Electrical Accidents?
The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) compiles occupational electrical injury trends based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the ESFI:
- 52 percent of the country’s total workplace electrical fatalities occur in the construction industry
- 3,708 non-fatal electrical accident injuries occur each year, causing workers to miss an average of four days away from work.
Who Is At Risk of an Electrical Accident?
The occupational groups with the most electrical injuries are:
- Electricians
- Construction laborers
- Roofers
- Painters, construction, and maintenance
- Carpenters
- Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers
- Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics/installers
- Telecommunications line installers/repairers
- Tree trimmers and pruners
- Landscapers and groundskeepers
- Truck drivers
- Material moving workers
- Agricultural workers.
What Types of Electrical Accidents Injure Workers?
ESFI divides electrical injury sources into event codes or categories, which include:
- Machine, tool, appliance or light fixture
- Wiring, transformers or other electrical components
- Overhead power lines
- Underground (buried) power lines
- Struck by lightning
- Contact with electrical current.
Why Do Electrical Accidents Happen?
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) notes that most electrical accidents are caused by one of these factors:
- Unsafe equipment or installation
- Unsafe environment
- Unsafe work practices.
In the construction industry (the leading industry for electrical accidents), OSHA identifies the following hazards as those most frequently to blame for electrical injuries:
- Lack of ground-fault protection
- Improper use of equipment
- Improper use of extension and flexible cords
- Path to ground missing or discontinuous.
What Types of Injuries Do Electrical Accidents Cause?
Electric current delivered in sufficient quantity to the human body is capable of causing death. As statistics reveal, close to 200 workers each year lose their lives after being electrocuted. Just 1 second of current flow at 50-150 milliamperes can cause death.
Even when it doesn’t kill, electricity can cause serious bodily harm in the form of burns and internal injuries. Workers who are electrocuted at a height can also fall or be thrown to a lower level, resulting in injury or death.
Common electrocution injuries include:
- Tissue damage
- Internal organ damage
- Hemorrhage
- Nerve, muscle and tendon damage
- Broken bones
- Amputation
How Can a Florida Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Help With Your Electrical Accident Injury?
After an electrical accident, you may be forced to miss work – possibly for an extended period of time. Your injuries might be serious enough to keep you out of work indefinitely. In the meantime your bills, including medical bills from your recent injury, will come due.
Florida workers’ compensation is designed to help workers make ends meet when an on-the-job injury renders them unable to provide. But if you are having trouble with your claim, workers’ compensation benefits won’t be available when you need them the most.
You might also need to go after additional sources of compensation, such as a property owner or employee of another company who caused your electrical injury.
Contact Frank M. Eidson, P.A., today to learn about the options available to you for seeking benefits and compensation. We will review your case for free.
For More Information
9 Common Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Workers Compensation Case