Electrocution and electrification injuries can be incredibly painful and leave you with surprisingly severe injuries. They are also one of the leading types of work injury, and one of the most fatal work injuries.
For help with a claim after a work-related electrocution injury, you should work with an attorney. We can help you get the medical evidence you need, bring your claim, and get payment for the ongoing medical care, plus lost earnings.
For a free case review, call Cardamone Law’s electrocution injury attorneys at (267) 651-7945.
Effects of Electrocution Injuries
While “electrocution” is technically a combination of “electrification” and “execution” – implying a deadly injury – all kinds of electric shock injuries are called “electrocution” injuries, whether they are fatal or not. These accidents can cause three major categories of effects and symptoms:
Burns
Electrical burns can come from the electrocution itself or from something more dangerous, like arc flash or arc blast accidents. These burns can cause incredible scarring and other damage. Severe burns that affect multiple layers of skin could require grafts or even amputation of burned fingers, hands, and limbs.
Heart Issues
Electrical currents can disrupt your normal heart rhythms, much like how a defibrillator can shock irregular beats back to normal. This can have the opposite effect, potentially causing a heart attack, stopping your heart, or otherwise causing ongoing conditions.
Other Tissue Damage
Electricity running through your body can cause immense damage to muscle and other tissue. This can leave you with severe organ damage, “compartment syndrome” (swelling that cuts off blood flow), and more. Electricity can even stop whole organs from working, requiring immediate medical care.
Getting Damages for Electric Shock Injuries at Work
When you get hurt at work, you can often file a Workers’ Compensation claim. This is essentially a no-fault system, where your employer is required to cover medical bills, wage-loss benefits, and specific loss benefits, regardless of how the accident happened.
Cause of Injury
As long as your work conditions or work tasks were the cause of your injury, you can file a claim. It does not matter who specifically caused the accident, which is important for electrocution and shock injuries.
Most accidents involving electricity are pure accidents that cannot be blamed on anyone. Workers’ Comp should still cover these, even though no one can really be considered “at fault.” However, if someone was at fault, you may be able to sue them on top of filing for Workers’ Comp.
Proof Required
You must show that your injury was work-related, as discussed above, but you also need medical evidence of the injury. This is the only way that your employer or a Workers’ Comp Judge (WCJ) can see that the injury is both work-related and disabling (the required elements for your claim).
You may also need evidence, such as
- Doctor’s reports
- Witness testimony
- Your testimony
- Security footage (if available)
- Technical information about how the accident happened and whether anyone (e.g., a manufacturer of defective safety gear) could be liable.
If we have evidence of some third-party liability (i.e., not you or your employer), then we can potentially use that for a lawsuit as well.
Damages Paid Through Workers’ Comp
As mentioned, Workers’ Comp covers medical bills, wage-loss benefits, and specific loss benefits.
Medical Benefits
The entirety of your medical care should be paid for, from hospital stays to skin grafts to surgeries to rehabilitation and physical therapy. This money is typically paid directly to the care provider.
Wage-Loss Benefits
If you miss work because of your injury and recovery needs, you should be reimbursed. Typically, total missed work results in 2/3 of your pre-injury AWW (average weekly wage). Partial missed work or reduced hours results in 2/3 of the difference in what you made before and after the injury.
These also face caps and floors:
- Up to the statewide AWW
- Down to the lower of 1/2 the statewide AWW or 90% of your AWW.
Specific Loss
Specific loss benefits reimburse you for
- Significant facial scarring
- Lost vision
- Lost hearing
- Amputation or total lost function.
These injuries are all possible with electrocution. The specific rate you get is typically 2/3 of your AWW, with the same cap at the statewide AWW and a floor at half that.
The duration of these payments depends on the specific injury.
FAQs for Electrocution Injuries at Work in Pittsburgh
Can I Sue for Work Injuries?
You cannot sue your employer for work-related injuries, but you may have other parties who were at fault.
For example, if you were doing construction when you cut into a live wire that the electrician told you was powered down, you might have a case against the electrician. Similarly, if you were electrocuted because safety gear failed, you might have a case against the manufacturer.
Can I Get Pain and Suffering?
Electrocution injuries and burns are often quite painful, but you cannot get compensation for pain and suffering through Workers’ Comp. You can get specific loss benefits to cover an amputation or the other listed injuries, but this is not the same thing.
Pain and suffering is only available in a claim against an at-fault third party.
How Long Does My Case Take?
Workers’ Comp claims often take around 3-8 months, or longer if they are contested. Lawsuits can take 1-2 years or more.
Every case is different, so talk to our electrocution injury lawyers about the potential timeline for your case.
How Do I File?
Workers’ Comp claims start with notice to your employer. This is required within 120 days, but typically expected within 21 days. They then get 21 days to respond.
If you are denied, you have 3 years from the injury to file a Claim Petition in court. From there, we will collect evidence, get medical reports, and attend hearings where the judge will decide your benefits. At any point, we can settle with your employer to get your benefits paid without waiting for the judge’s decision.
Can You Get Workers’ Comp for a Loved One’s Death?
If your loved one was killed by electrocution at work, you can file a claim for their lost wages, medical care, and funeral expenses. The percentage of their AWW you receive as wage-loss benefits changes depending on how many people are in your family, but the funeral expenses are typically up to $7,000 paid directly to the funeral home/undertaker.
Call Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers for Electrocution in Pittsburgh
If you were hurt at work in an electrocution accident, call Cardamone Law’s electrocution injury attorneys at (267) 651-7945.
