Electrocution can cause severe, life-altering injuries and health complications. Employees who get electrocuted on the job in South Carolina may have the right to seek financial benefits and compensation for medical care, lost earnings, and other losses.
After an electrocution accident at work, let Jebaily Law Firm help you pursue the compensation you need to recover from your injuries. Contact our firm for a free consultation with one of our workplace electrocution accident lawyers in SC.
Why You Should Choose Our SC Electrical Accident Lawyers
When you’ve been hurt in an electrical accident at work, you deserve legal representation that will not only pursue maximum financial relief for you but will also provide the excellent client service you need during this difficult time.
For over five decades, injured people in South Carolina have turned to Jebaily Law Firm for help pursuing compensation because:
- We treat every client like family, protecting their rights and advocating for their safety and well-being. We make ourselves available to talk with clients whenever and wherever they need, including in person, over the phone, or via video chat, email, or text.
- We strive to fulfill our core values of obtaining justice for every person in South Carolina facing legal challenges. Our attorneys take a team approach to working on our clients’ cases, as our best results come from leveraging our collective knowledge, experience, and skill.
- We take seriously our duty to give back to our South Carolina community, working with numerous civic and charitable organizations and working tirelessly to make South Carolina an even better place to live.
What Is Electrocution and How Does It Happen?
A person gets electrocuted when any part of their body touches a live electrical wire, which allows electric current to flow through the person’s bodily tissues. People may also suffer electrocution during natural phenomena, such as lightning strikes.
Employees may suffer electrocution when they touch live electrical wiring, such as a power cord or wiring inside a powered tool, electrical equipment, machinery, or other electrical hazards. Faulty safety equipment is often a factor in electrical accidents. Workers in specific industries, such as utility workers and construction workers, may suffer electrocutions when they touch a live power line, either directly or with a metal tool, or when they stand on a metal piece of equipment like a ladder or cherry picker that touches overhead power lines.
What Are the Different Types of Electrocution Injuries?
Electrocution can cause several types of workplace injuries when a person gets exposed to a high voltage or even when exposed to low voltage for more than a few seconds. Burns are the most common example of electrocution injury, as electrical currents entering and exiting the body can damage the skin. However, when a high-voltage current enters the body, the electrical current can also burn internal organs and tissues.
Electrocution can also cause traumatic brain injuries either by damaging brain tissue or disrupting the signals traveling between nerve cells in the brain. Disruptions to nerve function may also cause vital functions to fall out of rhythm or stop. Electrocution can stop the heart and breathing and cause severe damage that leads to organ failure.
Understanding the Impact of Electric Shock on the Body
A brief low-voltage shock typically does not cause any lasting damage. However, more prolonged exposure to low voltages or even a momentary exposure to high voltage can cause debilitating or even fatal injuries.
Electric shock injuries can cause burns that result in permanent scarring or cause damage severe enough to result in limb loss. Brain damage from an electric shock can also cause permanent cognitive and physical disabilities. Shocks can also stop a person’s heartbeat and breathing, leading to permanent brain damage or death without prompt resuscitation.
Exploring the Causes of Negligent Electrocution Accidents in the Workplace
Some of the top causes of electrocution accidents in the workplace include:
- Defective or negligently maintained tools, equipment, or machinery
- Inadequate or defective safety gear or personal protective equipment
- Failure to note the presence of power lines
- Allowing live wires to touch wet ground, puddles of water, or metal structures like ladders, scaffolding, or lifts
- Improper use of extension cords
- Ground faults
- Failure to label or put warning signs around energized equipment
Who Is Responsible for Electrocution Accidents at Work?
When you suffer electrocution at work, your employer likely bears the responsibility to provide you with workers’ compensation benefits. South Carolina’s workers’ compensation law is a no-fault system. That means you can recover workers’ compensation benefits regardless of whether you or your employer did anything wrong.
Depending on the circumstances of the electrocution, third parties may also bear liability for your injuries and losses. For example, if you get electrocuted due to a dangerous condition on someone else’s property, you might have a third-party claim against the property owner. Construction or utility workers who sustain electrical injuries due to the negligence of other contractors on a construction site may have claims against the at-fault contractors. A worker electrocuted by defective equipment may have a product liability claim against the equipment’s manufacturer.
What Compensation Can Be Recovered for an Electrical Accident at Work?
After an electrical accident at work, you may have the right to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits from your employer. Benefits available under South Carolina’s workers’ comp system include:
- Payment of all authorized medical expenses incurred to treat a work injury
- Temporary disability benefits, which provide partial reimbursement of a portion of lost wages when a worker misses time from work or has reduced earnings due to a work injury
- Permanent disability benefits, which make financial payments based on the type and severity of a permanent disability or loss of a body part or bodily function
- Death benefits in cases of fatal electrical injuries
Under certain circumstances, you might also have a personal injury claim against someone other than your employer or co-workers who were at fault for your electric shock injury, such as another contractor or the manufacturer of defective equipment. In a third-party personal injury claim, you could recover compensation for financial and personal losses, such as:
- Medical bills for treatment and rehabilitation
- Costs of long-term care and support services for prolonged or permanent disabilities that interfere with your daily living
- All your lost income (workers’ compensation pays only two-thirds up to a cap)
- Loss of future earning capacity and employment benefits
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life caused by permanent disability, disfigurement, and scarring
How Can Our South Carolina Electrocution Lawyers Help You?
After a work-related electrocution accident in South Carolina, turn to an electrical injury lawyer at Jebaily Law Firm to fight for your rights. Our firm can help you by investigating the electrocution accident, identifying all liable parties and potential sources of compensation, and determining your best legal options. Our electric shock injury attorneys will document your injuries and losses to ensure we pursue maximum compensation, even if that means fighting for you in formal workers’ compensation hearings or court.
If you’ve suffered electrical injuries on the job in South Carolina, you deserve to seek compensation. Contact Jebaily Law Firm today for a free case evaluation with one of our workplace electrocution lawyers.
