Wisconsin Electric Shock Injury Attorney

Electricity is essential to the modern world. Without it, we would be unable to work many of our current jobs, stay in touch with family, or even enjoy cold, refrigerated food. Nonetheless, electricity is a real, ever-present risk.

Any accidental electrocution can send someone to the hospital with serious, possibly fatal, injuries. Electrical currents cause pain, disability, and job loss, with many victims struggling financially following an electrical shock. Call Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Butler, LLC. We are a team of personal injury attorneys who can seek monetary compensation for any electrical shock injury. In a free consultation, we can analyze whether you can sue.

Our experienced personal injury attorneys handle all types of electrocution injury cases, including Green Bay electrocution injuries, workplace accidents, and cases involving property defects or manufacturing defects. Finding an attorney for electric shock injuries requires specialized experience, and our firm works with electrical engineers, medical specialists, and expert witnesses to build the strongest possible case for every client. A contingency fee arrangement means you pay us nothing unless we recover compensation for you, which makes quality legal help accessible to every injury victim regardless of their financial situation.

Electric Shock Injuries

Electricity can lead to some devastating injuries, including:

• Burns
• Heart damage
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or fibrillation
• Brain injury
• Nerve damage
• Amputation
• Blindness
• Hearing loss
• Chronic pain
• Organ damage

There is also a risk of secondary injuries. For example, someone working on a ladder could be electrocuted when the aluminum ladder touches a live wire. The person can then fall and suffer injuries when they hit the ground, including concussions, paralysis, and back injuries.

Electrical injuries may cause deep internal tissue damage and neurological issues that are not visible from the outside. Electric shock injuries can lead to muscle and tissue destruction, and severe internal muscle damage can result even when there are only minor external injuries to the skin. Just how devastating burns and internal damage can be often surprises people who assume electric shock injuries are less serious than they look, when in reality the opposite is frequently true.

Severe electrical injuries and severe burn injuries often require extensive medical treatment over a long period of time. Severe burns can destroy skin, tissue, and underlying structures, and severe burn victims frequently need multiple surgeries, skin grafts, and months of rehabilitation. The physical and emotional scars from a serious electrocution injury can last a lifetime, and both the injured individual and their family deserve support through the entire recovery process.

Signs of an Electric Shock Injury

Many injuries are internal and, therefore, invisible. Some people are unsure of whether they suffered an injury at all. They know they were zapped—but they feel “ok” in the immediate aftermath.

Some signs to watch out for include:

• Burns on your palms or the soles of your feet
• Abdominal pain
• Irregular heartbeat
• Memory loss or confusion
• Blurred vision
• Continuing pain in a hand or foot
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Difficulty concentrating
• Disrupted sleep, such as sleeping too much or too little
• Unexplained mood swings

You should go to the doctor and explain how you were electrocuted. A doctor might order an imaging test to uncover internal injuries.

Preserving evidence is critical in electric shock cases, including photographs of the accident scene and detailed medical records from every visit. If the electrocution accident happened at a workplace or on someone’s property, document everything you can before anything is cleaned up or repaired. Electric shock injury cases involve complex scientific and medical evidence, and the more documentation you have early on, the better positioned your personal injury lawyer will be to build a compelling case.

Accidents Which Lead to Electrocution

Our lawyers are prepared to help anyone suffering from electric shock. Most accidents are caused by:

• Defective products. A product with a design defect or shoddy materials could accidentally electrocute a user. Sometimes, safety labels or warnings are missing, so the product is defective because the typical consumer doesn’t know how to use it safely. People are electrocuted by all types of consumer products, including toys, electronics, toaster ovens, and cell phones.
• Construction defects. A defect with wiring could lead to electrical surges and electric shock. Ultimately, the person who constructed the home could be to blame.
• Workplace accidents. Many workers are injured due to power surges or accidental contact with wires. Construction is a leading industry with many electric shock victims. In workplace electrocution injury cases, you may need to file both a personal injury claim and a workers’ compensation claim to fully recover medical expenses, lost income, and workers’ compensation death benefits if a loved one was killed.

Our firm can investigate what happened and whether you have a valid personal injury claim. For example, Wisconsin has a product liability law that empowers injured consumers to sue when a defective product injures them. Employers and property owners have a legal duty to properly maintain electrical systems and ensure electrical safety to protect workers and visitors from electrical hazards and manufacturing defects that could cause an electrocution injury.

How Much is Your Claim Worth?

Electric shock injuries range from minor to life-threatening. Some of our clients spend only a few thousand dollars for medical care. Others are in the Intensive Care Unit for weeks. No two electric shock cases are the same.

At Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Butler, LLC, we patiently review how an electrical injury has disrupted our clients’ lives. Some of the major concerns include:

• The cost of medical care. Some electrical injuries will require surgery or time in the hospital. An electrical injury that results in amputation could have ongoing medical expenses.
• Lost wages. Any bodily injury can disrupt a work schedule. Our clients need some time to recover physically and mentally while waiting for pain to subside. The severity of your injury will determine if you can get back to work. Some injuries, like blindness, could prevent you from ever returning to your job. You should share all income information with your lawyer.
• Pain and suffering. Bodily pain is a fact of life for many victims of electric shock. You could feel chronic pain in a limb or internal pain. Many medical treatments, like surgery, are inherently painful. Rest and recovery are necessary.
• Emotional distress or mental anguish. The mental component of electric shock is also worthy of comment. Many people become depressed or frustrated due to their injuries. Electrocution can also lead to depression or increased anxiety.

Wisconsin follows comparative negligence laws, which means that even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may still be able to recover compensation as long as your share of fault does not exceed 50 percent. The amount you recover is reduced by your percentage of fault. An experienced electrocution injury attorney will work to minimize any fault attributed to you so that you can recover maximum compensation for your losses.

Importance of an Electric Shock Attorney

An inexperienced lawyer, or someone without an attorney, can make critical mistakes when trying to negotiate a settlement. Our team knows how to:

• Ask for enough compensation. Electrocution injuries can require ongoing medical treatment. There is also a loss of earning capacity. Our legal team makes sure to request a fair amount for all past, present, and future losses.
• Find sufficient evidence of an accident. We need to prove someone is at fault for the electrical shock. If you knowingly grabbed a live wire, then no one else is to blame but you. We need to show how someone else—a contractor, product manufacturer, property owner, and so forth—is to blame.
• Meet deadlines. In Wisconsin, a personal injury victim usually has three years to file a lawsuit based on an electrocution accident. (Wisc. Stat. § 893.54). If you miss the deadline, then a judge can prevent you from suing for compensation.
• Negotiate for a fair settlement. Our lawyers can negotiate with the person at fault for the accident for a settlement. We might attend mediation, if helpful, to move along the process.
• File a personal injury suit. Although we settle most claims, we aren’t afraid to litigate in court to hold a defendant liable for hurting you. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Electric Shock Injury Claims in Wisconsin

Can I file a personal injury claim if I was hurt on someone else’s property?

Yes. If an electrocution injury occurs on someone else’s property due to unsafe electrical conditions or a failure to properly maintain electrical systems, you may have a valid personal injury claim against the property owner. Cases involving property defects are among the most common types of electrocution injury claims we handle. The property owner’s duty to maintain a safe environment extends to electrical hazards, and when they fail to uphold that duty, they can be held legally responsible for injuries that result.

What if I was electrocuted at work?

Workplace electrocution injuries often involve both a workers’ compensation claim and a potential personal injury lawsuit against a third party. For example, if a contractor’s negligence or a defective piece of equipment caused the electric shock, you may have a claim against those parties in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits. You may need both claims to fully recover medical expenses, lost wages, and other losses, and an experienced injury lawyer can help you understand how to pursue both at the same time.

What is a spinal cord injury, and can it result from electric shock?

A spinal cord injury is damage to the bundle of nerves running through the spine, and it can result from the fall or trauma that often follows an electrocution accident. When someone is thrown from a ladder or knocked to the ground by an electric shock, spinal cord injury and brain injuries are serious risks alongside the direct electrical damage. These catastrophic injuries often require extensive medical treatment and long-term care, and they can permanently affect a victim’s ability to work and enjoy daily life.

Call Us Now to Learn More

Electric shock injuries are uniquely disabling. Many victims struggle with pain but are waiting patiently for medical professionals to diagnose what is wrong. If you need legal help with your case, call Fitzpatrick, Skemp & Butler, LLC at (608) 784-4370 today. Our team of legal professionals can jump in and start the process of bringing a personal injury claim. Please schedule a free consultation where you can get answers to your questions and find out more about our legal services.

Our skilled personal injury lawyer team is ready to help every electrocution injury victim in Wisconsin understand their rights, evaluate their electric shock injury case, and pursue the maximum compensation they deserve. Whether your electrocution accident happened at work, on someone’s property, or due to a defective product, we are here to fight for you. Contact us today and let our experienced electrocution injury attorneys put their knowledge to work for you.