Electric Shock Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Electric shock is when electricity passes through one part of the body to another. The extent of any injuries will depend on the part of the body involved, the voltage you were exposed to and several other factors. Electrocution is often a fatal form of electric shock, or at best will cause severe injury. If you or a loved one have suffered electric shock or electrocution because somebody else was negligent, you could be entitled to compensation.

Whether you’ve suffered an electric shock from a defective product or from an electric shock at work, we’re ready to help you claim compensation. Our team of specialists will offer a free consultation in which the merits of your claim will be assessed. After you’ve been given free legal advice, we could connect you with one of our personal injury solicitors if your case is strong enough. They’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if your claim is accepted meaning you’ll only have to pay them if you receive compensation.

Please call us on 0800 652 1345 if you’d like to claim compensation for an electric shock injury. Otherwise, please continue reading to find out more about how claims are processed.

Can I claim compensation for electric shock injury?

Our team of personal injury lawyers want to help as many people who’ve been injured by electric shock through no fault of their own to get access to the justice they deserve. As such, before accepting a claim, they’ll check whether it has a reasonable chance of success. To do this, they’ll check whether:

• The claimant was owed a legal duty of care by the defendant; and
• The defendant was negligent in some way and caused an accident; and
• As a direct result of the accident, the claimant suffered injuries caused by electric shock.

You don’t need to be too concerned about proving a duty of care as this is something your solicitor will verify before accepting your case. It suffices to say that there are many ways this can be proven. For example, employers have a legal duty to try and keep their employees safe whilst they are working. Similarly, product manufacturers have a duty to meet safety guidelines for any products they sell.

Once the duty of care has been established, your role will be to help obtain as much information about how your accident occurred and how you suffered as a result. As such, we’ll explain the proof you could use to support your electric shock compensation claim later on.

Claiming compensation for electric shock at work

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the organisation that provides advice on workplace safety. According to its website, any of the following electrical injuries can occur:

• Electric shock. This is where electricity is applied between two different parts of the body. The current that flows between the two parts can block signals from the brain and the muscles. This can result in muscle spasms, breathing problems and it can also stop the heart from beating correctly.
• Electrical burns. Where electricity flows through the body, it will heat the tissue it passes through. This can result in tissue damage that can be permanently disabling. High voltages usually lead to electrical burns but lower voltage shocks that last for more than a few fractions of a second can also cause burns too.
• Impaired muscle control. Normally, if you touch something that hurts you, the natural reaction is to back away. However, electric shock can cause spasms which make you tighten your grip. This can lead to more serious burns. This process can also result in more serious burn injuries. For example, if you suffer a serious electric shock whilst working at height, you could fall and suffer head injuries and brain damage.

The type of injuries you sustain will largely depend on the voltage of electricity you’re exposed to, the length of exposure and environmental conditions. You could claim for any type of injury after electric shock at work if the accident was caused by somebody else. We can also help with electrocution claims if you’ve lost a loved one in an accident resulting from somebody else’s negligence.

Electrocution at work

As mentioned above, all employers must take steps to keep their staff as safe as possible. This means assessing risks in the workplace and removing dangers where necessary. You could be compensated for injuries caused by electrocution at work if the accident was caused by:

• A lack of training.
• Faulty, damaged or poorly maintained equipment.
• Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Several pieces of legislation could form the basis of your claim including the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It’s important to point out that it’s illegal to be treated differently for claiming compensation for electric shock or electrocution against your employer. So legally you cannot be fired, demoted, bullied at work or prevented from promotion because you’ve made an electric shock compensation claim. For these reasons, do not be put off from making a claim for the compensation you might be entitled to.

Electric shock from faulty or defective products

It’s also possible to claim compensation if you’re electrocuted by a faulty product. The Consumer Protection Act 1987 means that all electrical products must meet strict safety guidelines before being sold and they should remain safe when being used correctly. If you believe you’ve suffered an electrical injury because of a faulty or defective product, why not get in touch with us to check your options.

Public place electric shock injury claims

Similarly, you may wish to claim if you’ve been electrocuted in a public place such as a gym, a shop or a hotel.

All businesses have a duty of care to try and keep visitors, staff and customers to their premises as safe as possible. So, if you suffer an electric shock in a public place because of poor cabling, damaged equipment or exposed wires amongst other things, we could help you to claim compensation for your injuries.

How much compensation for electric shock can I claim?

When you seek compensation following an electric shock, you need to explain a) how you’ve suffered (general damages) and b) what costs you’ve incurred because of your injuries (special damages). Consequently, when evaluating the value of your electric shock compensation claim, your solicitor will consider:

• How much pain your injuries have caused.
• What effect your injuries have had on you psychologically.
• Any impact on your social life or hobbies (compensation for loss of amenity).
• Any earnings you’ve lost or will lose because of your injuries.
• The cost of replacing any personal property damaged during your accident.
• Medical expenses.
• Care costs if a friend or relative spent time supporting you while you were injured.
• The cost of modifying your home if electrocution has left you permanently disabled.
• Travel expenses you’ve incurred because of your injuries.

Our solicitors are experienced in electric shock and electrocution claims and will try to secure the maximum amount of compensation for you if your claim is accepted.

Claiming compensation for fatal electrocution

We know that compensation won’t make things better if you’ve lost a loved one following electrocution. However, it could help with any financial implications their loss has caused. Firstly, a claim could be bought by the executor of their will to cover the deceased’s pain and suffering prior to death.

Additionally, you could claim compensation if you were financially dependent on the deceased’s income, pension or other benefits. Finally, it might be possible to claim back any other costs (including funeral expenses) that you have incurred. Please call an advisor if you’d like to know more.

Providing proof for an electric shock compensation claim

Providing proof to corroborate your claim is essential if you’re to be compensated. You must be able to demonstrate how the electric shock occurred, who caused it and what injuries you had to endure because of it. The types of proof you could use include:

• Medical Records. Seeking professional medical assistance is vital in electric shock or electrocution compensation claims as not all injuries are visible. After treatment at a hospital or minor injuries unit, you could request a copy of your medical notes to help prove how seriously injured you were.
• CCTV footage. If your accident was recorded on camera, you are entitled to ask for a copy of the relevant footage. This should be requested quickly as it will probably be deleted within a month or so.
• Witness details. You should calmly ask anybody else who was present to give you their contact details. If necessary, they might be asked to provide a statement of the events they witnessed at a later date.
• Photographic proof. If you’re able to do so safely, you should take pictures of the cause of your accident on your phone. The best time to do this is right after the accident and before anything is replaced, repaired or removed.
• Accident reports. It’s important to report any public place or workplace accident. By doing so, you should be given a copy of the accident report that could be a good way of proving when and when you were electrocuted.

You may also wish to keep a diary of events if you decide to claim. This can be a good way to help prove what impact your electric shock injury has had. For example, you could record expenses, lost income and details of any events you missed while injured.

Electric shock injury claims time limits

As you might already know, personal injury claims have a 3-year time limit in the UK. For an electric shock injury, this will begin from the date of your accident in most cases.

We would suggest that while 3-years is a long time, you shouldn’t wait too long before starting the claims process. This will allow you plenty of time to collect proof to support your case and it might also mean the defendant in your case could make an interim payment so that you can receive private medical treatment before your case is settled.

Importantly, you won’t need to worry about the time limit for electric shock injuries involving children as parents can take action at any time before the child turns 18-years old.

Claiming compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis

We believe it’s best to have a personal injury solicitor on your side when claiming for any type of injury. Don’t be put off by the cost of employing a legal representative though as our solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service for any electric shock compensation claim they take on.

That means you’ll only pay for your solicitor’s work if they win the case for you. Before you both agree to work together, you’ll both sign a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This will show you what percentage of your settlement will be deducted as a ‘success fee’ if you are compensated.

Legally, solicitors can’t take any more than 25% of your compensation to cover the cost of their work when using a CFA.

To check if you could use one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors, you can arrange a free claim consultation here.

Start an electric shock compensation claim today

Hopefully, this article has explained everything important that you need to know about claiming compensation for an electric shock, or electrocution. If you’ve decided to start the claims process, you can contact our team for free legal advice on 0800 652 1345. If your claim is suitable, we’ll appoint a No Win, No Fee solicitor to try and secure the maximum compensation possible for your injuries.

If you have any further questions on electric shock compensation claims, please feel free to connect with us via live chat.