Electrical Burns

Electricity is a common force in everyday life. Most people deal with lights, televisions, computers, and a variety of other items that require electricity on a daily basis. These forces are generally safe, but a wide range of accidents involving electricity do occur. One of those injuries is an electrical burn.

Electrical burns are injuries caused by an electric current. The current jumps from the electrical outlet, a cord, appliance, or originates in the sky and passes through the body or makes contact with the skin. Where the current makes contact with the skin, electricity produces enough heat to burn the skin, sometimes deeply. When the current passes through the body, it may cause internal burns and injuries.

When an adult is the victim of an electrical burn or injury, the source of the electricity is most commonly from an occupational setting. Children, on the other hand, are often burned and injured by electricity in a domestic or household setting.

Electrical burns and injuries occurring at home can occur for a variety of reasons. There might be faulty wiring in an appliance, a shredded extension cord, or the person may have done something to invite the current to cross to the body. Inviting the current to cross over can be done by sticking a knife or other metal object into a toaster, dropping an appliance into water, chewing or playing with an electrical cord, or by sticking something into an electrical outlet. There are numerous other ways as well.

There are around 1000 annual deaths caused by electrical injuries. This represents between 3 and 5 percent of all electrical burns and injuries that occur.

Contact a Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by a faulty appliance’s wiring or burned while on the job, contact the Philadelphia personal injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams at 215-238-1130.