electrocuted-at-work

If you were electrocuted at work, it is critical you know your legal options. While you may survive the on-the-job accident, your life will probably be changed because of it. You may have limited mobility, be unable to care for yourself or participate in activities or social events you once enjoyed, experience chronic pain or psychological trauma, and face a reduced quality of life overall.

These losses warrant compensation.

Legal Options for Electrocuted Workers

Under Texas Law, you can hold the party responsible for creating the dangerous situation that injured you to pay for your damages through two types of lawsuits:

  1. workers’ compensation nonsubscriber lawsuit or;
  2. a third-party personal injury lawsuit.

How Shared Fault Can Impact Your Claim

However, Texas follows a shared fault system. This means that accident victims can sue the at-fault party for damages as long as the victims themselves do not hold more than 50% of the blame for the accident.

The at-fault party and their insurance company will work hard to put at least some of the blame for your electrical accident on you, perhaps claiming you ignored safety regulations or entered a prohibited area. An experienced work injury lawyer can protect you from false or inflated accusations and compile comprehensive evidence to hold the true at-fault party accountable.

Protecting Your Electrical Injury Claim

Most times, you will need emergency medical care after an electrical accident. However, even if you do not think your injuries are serious, see a doctor anyway. Sometimes, what seems like a surface injury, perhaps a moderate burn, actually causes significant internal damage. For example, if a current travels through internal organs, those organs can be damaged even if their failure is not immediately apparent.

If you do not get prompt care, you put your health and your potential personal injury claim at risk. When you delay treatment, you allow time for your condition to worsen, or even turn fatal. Additionally, you afford the at-fault party a “way out” or a way to reduce the compensation they owe you. Should your injury become aggravated because of a lack of care, the at-fault party can claim your condition is your fault rather than theirs.

Should your injury become aggravated because of a lack of care, the at-fault party can claim your condition is your fault rather than theirs.

Possible At-Fault Parties for a Work-Related Electrocution

Knowing whom to hold responsible is essential to the success of an electrical injury case. Since you have to prove another party’s negligence caused your injury, you must be sure to collect evidence against that party. This investigation requires the skill, time, and resources of an experienced personal injury attorney. Among other reasons, electrical injuries can be caused by:

  • Violations of state or federal (OSHA) safety regulations
  • Lack of adequate training
  • Preventable and foreseeable electrical workplace hazards
  • Malfunctioning electrical equipment
  • Another worker’s error
  • Misplaced public utility lines

Whatever the cause, your attorney’s job is to conduct a thorough investigation to uncover it.

Financial Compensation for Electrocution Accident Victims

Even minor electrical injuries can have long-lasting and severe consequences affecting your ability to earn a living and how you live your life. An electrical accident will, at the least, leave you out of work temporarily. More likely, you will face a very long recovery or the aftermath of losing your loved one to the workplace accident. The severity of your injuries and their consequences and the at-fault party’s degree of negligence have a tremendous impact on the amount you receive. This is why it is critical that your personal injury lawyer fight hard to get you the amount you need and deserve.

There is no “average” settlement amount or case value for a workplace electrocution or electrical injury. However, your injury attorney will fight for economic and non-economic damages. Any accident-related consequence that hits your finances falls under the economic damages category. These include your medical bills, future medical care, income loss, and, if your injuries prevent you from ever returning to work, your potential earnings and job-related benefits.

If your loved one was killed on the job, you could receive death expenses, related medical costs, and your loved one’s potential earnings and benefits as part of a wrongful death claim. If you file a wrongful death claim, your loss of relationship and emotional suffering should be acknowledged. Our experienced workplace accident lawyers will know how to calculate an appropriate dollar amount.

The Lubbock Work Injury Attorneys can take your case through the entire legal process and will fight to get you the maximum compensation you are entitled to.