Chicago Electrician Injury Lawyers

Let Us Light Up Your Case

Electricians keep the light on for us all. But who is there for them when they could use some legal illumination? McHargue & Jones, LLC in Chicago, that’s who. We are proud to be the attorneys that local electricians trust when they need assistance with a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit. If you were hurt on the job while working as an electrician, please call (312) 739-0000 right away. No-cost, no-obligation consultations are available!

Common Electrical Accidents

We don’t need to tell you that the work of an electrician can be dangerous. At any point that you are around an electrical source, it can be a hazard. Even electrical sources that aren’t supposed to be live can be a problem because a defect can cause them to become live without any warning. Our lawyers can assist you, no matter what sort of electrical accident you were in.

Three common causes of electrical accidents are:

• Direct contact: Touching a live wire without the appropriate protective gear can result in an immediate shock. The intensity of the shock and the severity of the injuries caused by it will depend on the strength of the electrical source.
• Arcs: When electricity running through a system runs from one connection to another, it can cause an arc if the connections are not fully touching or are damaged. Contact with an electrical arc can be extremely dangerous.
• Equipment failures: Defective electrical equipment can cause an electrical accident without warning. When an electrical accident happens because of an equipment defect, the liable party could be the company that manufactured that part.

Four Main Types of Electrical Injuries

If you suffer an electrical accident, the consequences could be varied and severe. You should be provided full benefits through workers’ compensation to help make sure you can recover without breaking your finances, no matter what type of injury you suffered.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notes the most common electrical injuries are:

• Electrocution: If someone suffers an electrical shock strong enough to cause a fatality, then OSHA considers it an electrocution. At that point, a workers’ compensation claim could be filed by the worker’s family in pursuit of death benefits.
• Shock: Contact with an electrical source or current that causes an injury but not death is an electric shock. Strong electric shocks can damage soft tissues, blood vessels, and organs, requiring immediate medical attention.
• Burn: Electrical arcs and flares that make contact with the skin often result in painful burn injuries, as if the worker touched an open flame. The burn can be larger than the point of contact depending on how the electricity coursed through them.
• Fall: OSHA notes that some of the worst on-the-job injuries suffered by electricians are caused not by the shock or burn but by the fall they suffer because they were shocked. Electricians in high positions around a job site, for example, can seizure and fall over when shocked, causing them to fall.

How to Prevent Workplace Electrical Accidents

The best way to avoid the complications of an electrical accident workers’ comp case is to prevent the electrical accident from ever occurring. Employers and electricians alike should always prioritize safety when on a jobsite, whether it is a large construction site or a client’s home. Simple and universal safety steps to follow include following clear lockout/tagout procedures, using nonconductive tools and materials around electrical sources, and replacing any equipment with frayed wires or damaged parts.

For more information about electrical safety in the workplace, you can click here to visit the official OSHA website about safe practices around electricity when working.

Call Today to Learn More About Your Options

No matter who caused your electrical accident at work, including yourself, you deserve full workers’ compensation benefits as you recover. Our Chicago electrician injury attorneys from McHargue & Jones, LLC in Chicago are here to help you make the most of your claim. When we are on the case, you can get off your feet and find some time to rest and recover.

Call (312) 739-0000 or contact us online. We look forward to helping.