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Answers to the Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions in Electrical Accident Cases (1)
1. Who can sue for an electrical accident?
Any person injured or the survivors of a family member
killed by an electrical accident can bring a lawsuit if the
accident was caused by the negligence or wrongdoing of another,
or at least partially caused by the negligence or wrongdoing of
another. This is true whether the injured person or deceased
family member was a minor or an adult.
2. What are my remedies if I am injured or a loved one is
killed by the improper conduct of a utility company?
Because of the high risk of serious injury or death from
escaping electricity, a power company or person maintaining
electrical wires must use increased care proportionate to the
danger. The electrical company has a higher standard of care
because of the known danger of electricity. You will be able to
recover for your injuries or death to a family member if you can
establish that the utility company violated the expected standard
of care in its electrical operations.
3. My child was electrocuted when he came in contact with power
lines. What must I prove to be able to win my case against
the power company?
You will have to prove that the power company was negligent.
Examples of negligence include: electrical lines that were
either installed or maintained without proper insulation,
electrical lines without enough clearance from the ground,
buildings or combustibles; or, lines that were improperly
guarded.
Further, you may be able to establish liability against the
power company if you can demonstrate that the power company
failed to perform thorough inspections of its lines and failed to
keep them safe from natural deterioration, foreseeable uses of
the underlying or adjacent property and changed conditions that
made the power lines hazardous.
The same rules that apply to children apply to adults;
however, a power company will have to use extra care if it knows
children play in the area of its lines.
4. Are there special rules and regulations pertaining to power
companies, and if there are what is the affect of these
regulations on my injury or wrongful death case?
Power companies are heavily regulated by local, state and
federal governments. Regulations include the necessity of
establishing sufficient clearance of an electrical line above the
road, sufficient clearance of an electric line above the ground,
maintenance of insulation material; specified markings on poles
carrying high voltage lines; and, duties to raise a line once the
power company knows or should have known that it was too low.
If you can establish that one of these regulations was
violated in your case, then there is a presumption under the law
that the power company was negligent, which means that the power
company has the burden of proving it acted reasonably under the
circumstances.
5. I was injured by a negligently maintained power line.
However, the power company is denying responsibility because
they say I was injured due to the negligence of a contractor
it had hired to maintain the lines. The contractor does not
have any insurance or significant assets. What can I do?
You can sue the power company. They have an absolute "non-delegable" duty to construct and maintain their power lines.
This means that they are responsible for the negligence of a
contractor they hire.
6. My neighbor hired a contractor to do some work around
electrical lines. I assumed that the lines had been de-energized, but they were not. When I went to pick one up, I
was electrocuted and received severe burn injuries. Who can
I sue for my injuries?
You can sue the power company, if they were advised that the
work was going to be performed, and you can also sue your
neighbor and the contractor if they failed to post sufficient
warnings or take safeguards or other necessary precautions which
led to your injury.
7. How long do I have to bring my electrical accident case?
If the defendant is a public entity, you have six months
from the date of the accident to bring a claim. Otherwise, you
have one year from the date of the accident to bring a claim,
although the time period may be extended for delayed discovery.
8. Do I need to retain an attorney?
Yes. The chances of a power or utility company or other
defendant settling an electrical accident case without an
attorney are negligible. You should hire an attorney in any
electrical accident case as soon as possible because an early
investigation will be critical.
9. What damages am I entitled to recover in an electric
accident case?
Plaintiff is entitled to recover damages for past and future
medical treatment, past and future wage loss, damages for pain,
suffering and emotional distress, and, if the plaintiff can
establish bad enough conduct on the part of the business or
homeowner punitive damages (i.e. damages intended to punish the
business or homeowner).
If the plaintiff dies, his or her survivors are entitled to
recover full compensation for their economic losses that result
from the plaintiff's death as well as emotional distress damages
which stem from the loss of society care and comfort of the
decedent. If the survivors can prove that the plaintiff lived
for a period of time between the negligent act and death, they
can also bring an action for punitive damages.
10. Will my case settle out of court?
Probably. 90 - 95% of electric accident cases settle at
some time before trial.
1. Most legal questions require complex answers. The answers
provided here may not be complete or fully accurate but attempt
to provide consumers with abbreviated answers. For more detailed
answers to these questions, a consumer should check out other
articles in this section of this web site, research other legal
articles and texts on the subject matter or consult with an
attorney.
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