Workers’ compensation may apply, but often so do other responsible parties for your injuries or for the loss of a family member due to electrocution
In almost all states today, if an electrocution death or electric shock injury occurs while you are on the job, workers’ compensation will apply and serves as the “exclusive remedy” afforded to the worker and his or her family against his or her employer.
But often the employer is not the only one responsible, and other parties may bear substantial liability.
This is how many of my electrocution cases begin, and it is by far one of the most common questions I receive as an attorney.
A common mistake that many lawyers make if they are handling their first electrocution lawsuit is only pursuing a work comp claim. These attorneys overlook that often other parties may also be responsible for injuries or for the loss of a family member who has been electrocuted while working. But it takes an understanding of the industry, and how electrocution occurs to often find the parties that are also responsible and also should be liable for the losses and harms they have caused.
How things can be more complicated for electrocuted utility pole workers
The utility business today serves as a perfect example of how responsible parties often get missed.
Given the number of contractors who may be involved in the inspection, maintenance and repair of utility lines and structures, there’s potential in most situations involving an electrocuted utility worker for additional parties (aside from the direct employer) to be held accountable under the tort liability system applicable to non-employer/employee relationships. The attorneys who are advising the family members of a person who has been electrocuted that there is no lawsuit and that workers comp is the sole and exclusive remedy they have miss this entirely. And sadly this happens all the time as personal injury lawyers who are not familiar with shock and electrocution lawsuits try to handle these cases.
But what if an employee is barred from suing his employer under work comp?
The information above applies even in cases where the employee is barred from suing the employer under the work comp law, as it currently applies in most states today.
For example, if a utility company employee was seriously injured in an accident with a power line, he may be able to sue the company that was supposed to inspect the poles, or the company that was supposed to properly maintain the tree branches in the vicinity of the power line, or the company that designed or manufactured the component that failed.
For more information, here’s a video from attorney Jeffrey Feldman. You’re also welcome to call our electrocution attorneys at [phone-text], and we can answer all of your questions and concerns, at no cost to you.
