Electric shock drownings happen far more often than we think but until it strikes home, it’s not something many of us give much thought to. Recent incidents, however, have led to an increased awareness of this danger, and the recourse people have when it happens to you. Learn about electric shock injuries in water, the hazards that can lead to drowning and how a personal injury lawyer can help.
Electric Shock Injuries
Electric shock injuries can take many forms, from burns to severe nerve damage and even death from electrocution. In May of 2016, a teenage girl died from electric shock drowning, which led her family to speak out and raise awareness of this problem in hopes of preventing it in the future.
Electric Shock Drowning
When electricity leaks into a body of water and people enter, they can become paralyzed from the shock—effectively electrocuted, and makes them incapable of swimming. This results in drowning. Even worse, once the process starts, it is very hard to rescue the victim because anyone else who enters the water would also be shocked.
Believe it or not, it does not matter how massive the body of water is, you can suffer a serious shock from electricity. This is because water is an ideal conductor. Sadly, while this has been recorded since around the mid-80s, until now only boating journals have covered the issue.
Uncertain Numbers
It gets even worse—as crazy as it might seem, many cases of ESD go unreported because many coroners and medical examiners do not even look for electrocution when a person drowns. This means that we do not know how many victims of this kind of death there are.
New Precautions
It is becoming ever more important to take precautions to prevent this problem, including installing circuit interrupters on equipment so that if a short or other electric leak occurs, it can be shut down. Circuit breakers and interrupters are another important safety step.
People do not realize that with the current features and amenities on pools, the danger is only growing. Now we have pools with electric heating elements, automatic cleaners and even lights embedded in the bottom of the water.
What You Can Do
If you or a loved one is injured due to ESD and it is because inadequate precautions have not been taken, or because equipment was faulty that led to the electrical leak, you are entitled to compensation for your injuries. The problem could be product liability, it could be premises liability or it could fall under any number of personal injury law statutes.
What is important when this happens is that you secure the services of a personal injury attorney. Only an attorney will be able to fight the insurance companies, prove fault and get you the compensation you deserve. Take some time to read more about electrocution, and call us to talk about your case today.
Image via flickr by Naval
