An electrical burn injury occurs when a high-energy electrical current travels through a person’s body. This transmission of energy from a power source generates heat, resulting in electrical burns. Besides severe burns, electrical currents can also cause someone to suffer a heart attack, experience organ failure, or even go into respiratory arrest. Undergoing this kind of traumatic injury can be devastating to a person’s health, making it especially important for those whose injuries were caused by a defective electrical product, to reach out to an experienced Miami burn injury lawyer for help filing a claim against the manufacturer.
Types of Electrical Burns
There are actually two types of electrical burns: direct contact burns and arc burns. The former occurs when someone touches a surface that has been heated by electricity or comes into direct contact with an electrical current. Arc burns, on the other hand, happen when electricity travels between conductors. Both types of electrical burn injuries can have serious, and even potentially fatal consequences.
Sources of Electrical Burns
Electrical burn injuries are a risk any time live electricity is present, even when a device isn’t being used. This is because electrical currents still flow through devices as long as they are plugged into an outlet and don’t necessarily need to be turned on or operating in order to conduct enough electricity to cause an injury. While electrical injuries are often caused by defective outlets, an alarming number of these kinds of accidents have been linked to the use of defective consumer products, such as:
- Kitchen and home appliances, including washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, blenders, and toasters;
- Space heaters and electrical blankets;
- Power tools;
- Lawnmowers and yard equipment; and
- Personal use items, like curling irons and hair dryers.
When these accidents can be linked to a product’s faulty wiring, negligent installation, or a design defect, the manufacturer of the product could be held liable for a victim’s losses, including medical bills and lost wages.
Electrical Burn Injuries
Whether an electrical injury causes a first, second, or third-degree burn to the skin depends on a few different factors, including the amount of time that the person was exposed to the current and the strength of the current itself. Hands are the most common entry point for electrical currents because people are usually working closely with an electrical device at the time of injury. This does not, however, mean that injuries will be limited to the hands. Rather, the electric current can travel throughout the body, causing not only burn injuries to the skin, but also internal injuries like:
- Organ damage;
- Cardiac arrest;
- Muscle wasting due to nerve damage;
- Coma;
- Tissue destruction;
- Internal bleeding;
- Involuntary muscle spasms;
- Respiratory distress; and
- Compartment syndrome, which occurs when muscle damage causes the limbs to swell.
Often, internal injuries don’t make themselves immediately apparent, which can have devastating consequences for victims.
Available 24 Hours a Day
To learn more about the ins and outs of filing a product liability claim against the company whose product caused your own injury, please contact the Miami burn injury lawyers at Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum, LLP. Feel free to call us at 305-371-2692 today.