New York Construction Attorneys Help You after Electrocution Injury

Whether caused by overhead lines, buried wires, or the wrong kind of personal protection, an accident involving errant electrical energy on a construction site in New York City can be deadly.

With more than 100 years of combined successful experience serving injured construction workers in the Bronx and surrounding boroughs, The Law Offices of Evan W. Kohn and Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm provide straightforward legal service when you are injured through the negligence of others on the jobsite.

Experienced legal service when you are injured by high voltage in the New York

After injury in an electrical accident in the workplace, the workers’ compensation insurance policy of your employer is intended to support speedy medical and wage relief to help you heal and return to your job. However, if your injury was caused by a third-party contractor or their employee, you may have a legal claim for compensation beyond what workers’ comp provides.

Understanding the danger of electrocution on New York City construction sites

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ranks electrocution among the top four causes of death and injury on construction sites. Contact with an energized line or tool can instantly disrupt physical function. Electrocution is the term used to describe a fatal electrical injury.

Just some of the ways that electricity comes into dangerous play on a construction site includes:

• Contact with unidentified or unmarked utility equipment
• A strike on an overhead power line
• Poorly grounded, constructed, or protected tools
• Absent or inappropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)

OSHA describes the methods of electrical injury most likely to occur on a construction site, which include:

• Burns: Whether from an explosion, contact, or through electrical shock, burns result at the point of contact, exit, or exposure to electric energy. Burns also result from fires caused by faulty electrical equipment or poor safety practices.
• Shock: When the body conducts energy from point to point, it is called electrical shock.
• Arc: When containment fails and electricity arcs through the air, the resulting heat and light cause injury, with temperatures in the range of 35,000 F.
• Explosions: Electricity can energize matter hanging in the air, causing a devastating explosion.

Construction site electrical accidents cause a wide variety of injuries. Here are the types of injuries associated with electrical injury:

• Organ damage: Passage of excessive electrical energy through the body impacts the function of internal organs, often causing heart or organ failure.
• Tissue damage: Human tissue, like nerves and muscles, can be destroyed by contact with an energized object or through electrical shock.
• Burns: Anywhere on or in the body can be burned and destroyed by electric shock.
• Neurological damage: For those who survive electrical injury, neurological damage is common and may be permanent.
• Physical injury: Being struck by electrical current can throw the body against objects or cause people to fall down, or from elevated worksite areas.

We regularly work with clients who are injured through electric discharge, ladder falls, or struck-by accidents on construction sites. If you are injured, contact us as soon as possible after your accident.

In addition to the statute of limitations which limits how long you have to bring a legal claim, working with an attorney at the outset of your injury helps us build your case to obtain the best possible compensation for your circumstances.

Over 100 years of combined experience committed to helping you after a construction accident in New York City

With over three decades of experience serving Bronx injury victims, The Law Offices of Evan W. Kohn has partnered with the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm of Manhattan for over 100 years of combined experience and the knowledge and skill to resolve even the toughest cases. If you suffer an electrical or other jobsite injury, call us at 718-409-5500 or contact us today.