Electrocution Law is a type of civil litigation. A downed power line can change your family’s life in a flash. All too often, electrocution is a fatal event. The attorneys at Christensen Law have experience handling electrocution cases. They can help you understand the law and get the recovery you and your family need.
Electrocution law is a kind of tort – or civil litigation – based on negligence. In order to recover, you and your attorney will need to show that the utility company or other defendant failed to take reasonable care installing, maintaining, or repairing the power lines.
Suppliers of utilities like gas and electricity are held to a high standard of care in delivering the utilities. They must take care to properly install and upkeep their equipment and respond promptly to reports of problems. An electrical company doesn’t have a duty to unilaterally inspect the lines. But it does have a duty to prevent a downed line.
For example, in one Michigan Court of Appeals case, a person was electrocuted and killed as he ran across a neighbor’s lawn to warn him about a fire caused by a downed power line. The court said that the electric company had a duty to maintain overhead lines and that failing to do so could reasonably be expected to cause injury to people on the ground, including people coming to aid someone in an emergency.
Even if there is no downed line, the electrical company may still be found negligent for stray voltage or arcing electricity that causes injury. Once again, recovery will depend on whether the utility company took reasonable care to prevent an injury it could have reasonably predicted.
Sometimes the hardest part of an electrocution case is proving who was at fault for the injury. Lawyers for utility companies will often say that the victim caused the injury himself or herself. They may claim that the person should have taken more care trimming trees near the lines, or should have known to stay away from the downed line. When that’s the case, the family’s recovery could be substantially reduced based on the victim’s “comparative negligence.”
Electrocution cases can be very complex. Don’t trust just any lawyer to protect your family’s interests. The Michigan electrocution accident lawyer at Christensen Law know what it takes to win an electrocution lawsuit. Contact Christensen Law today to schedule a consultation.
