Electricians today might consider Benjamin Franklin as one of the first in their trade, remembering him in this, his birth month (Franklin’s birthday is on January 17, 1706), for his contributions to the scientific perceptions of electricity with his famous Kite Experiment. Not only did Franklin’s key on a kite prove the existence of electricity in the air, it is credited with helping to create many of the safety protocols still used today to keep people safe from electrical injury or death. See, “The Electric Dr. Franklin: Explore Online,” published by the National Museum of American History; and “Benjamin Franklin’s Pioneering Electrical Work Influenced Today’s Technology,” published by the Smithsonian Institution on November 16, 2021.
Luckily, Ben Franklin did not suffer a fatal injury from sending up a metal key on a wire into a thunderstorm. No electrician working in Illinois or Indiana would advise such an experiment today, of course. The hazards of being around electricity are numerous, and the risk of death from any contact with electricity is always high. Consider the following:
Dangers for Injury or Death When Working With Electricity
Electricity at any level of strength or duration can cause catastrophic or deadly bodily harm, in all sorts of ways. It is never safe to be working with electricity. Electricians are to be respected for their courage in doing so, day after day, in different situations and circumstances. Go onto any construction site, and there will be many who are unafraid to climb to great heights or to climb into the tightest confined area but will tip their hat to the electrician tasked with jobs involving electric currents or connections.
The human body conducts electricity. And, exposure to electric current can hurt the human body in an instant in personal injuries that include:
1. Brain Damage: the electrical current passing through the body can cause the brain to short-circuit, with seizures, loss of consciousness, and neurological harm that results in traumatic brain injuries or death.
2. Burns – External: electricity can damage skin, tissue, nerves, and muscles with serious harm that includes loss of use, permanent scarring and disfigurement, etc.
3. Burns – Internal: electric current freely enters the body, and can damage internal organs, tissues, the nervous system, and more, with harm that is not easily seen by looking at the victim.
4. Heart Attack / Cardiac Arrest: the electric current can disrupt the heart’s normal electrical rhythm causing ventricular fibrillation leading to a fatal arrhythmia (deadly heart attack) if not promptly treated.
5. Internal Organs: various internal organs can suffer thermal damage or loss of function from the passing of current through the body (think liver, kidneys, pancreas).
6. Lungs / Respiratory Arrest: electricity can stop the muscles that control the lungs, with muscle paralysis that may halt breathing of the victim.
And, of course, in addition to these immediate injuries are the long-term consequences, from chronic pain and suffering; possible amputation; psychological trauma; loss of use of limb; disfigurement, and more. A work injury suffered by a professional electrician in a matter of seconds can mean months, years, or a lifetime of tragic consequences.
Read, Runde, Daniel P. “Electrical Injuries.” Merck Manuals Consumer Version, Merck & Co., Reviewed/Revised Nov. 2024, Modified Apr. 2025; “Borke, Jesse. Electrical Injury.” MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine (U.S.), 2 Nov. 2023; and “Electrical Safety: The Dangerous Effects and How to Avoid Them,” published by the National Safety Council (2019).
Reliance on Others and Electrician Hurt on the Job: Third Party Liability Claims
Electricians are licensed professionals, who come to the worksite with extensive experience and education even during their years of apprenticeship. They are on the job in high-risk locations, like overhead power-line work; institutional mechanical and electrical rooms; hazardous material storage facilities; utility substations; industrial sites and factories (steel mills, food processing plants, etc.); and of course, on busy construction sites.
Rarely does the electrician have total control over the job site. There must be reliance upon others, often several different people or companies, that the place is safe. It is an unavoidable vulnerability. If any one of these third parties fails to meet their legal duties of care and safety, it can mean a horrific electrician work accident.
Examples of Electrician Dangers
This dependence means that the electrician can be hurt or killed through no fault of their own. No matter how they have surveyed the site, de-energized the area; worn Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”); coordinated with the owners and operators on the site; and followed the rules, things can happen:
- There may be direct contact with energized conductors.
- There could be an arc-flash or an arc-blast.
- There could be an explosion or fire.
- The electrician might fall from a scaffold, pole, etc. in automatic response to a shock.
Potential Liability to Electrician After Work Accident
After a serious work accident, an electrician in Illinois or Indiana has a legal right under the law to independently investigate the event to learn all the reasons for why it happened. If the investigation reveals that there have been failures in following legal safety regulations or industrial safety standards, then the electrician may decide to pursue legal claims for civil damages against those who caused the accident. See, Common & Severe Work Related Injuries: How Do Attorneys Protect Workers?
Potential parties to an electrician’s claims for damages suffered in a job site accident involving exposure to electric current include:
- Owner and/or Lessor of the Site: Dangerous conditions may form the basis of liability when investigations reveal there were hidden hazards; poor upkeep or maintenance; lack of repair; lack of checking for recalls; bad lighting; inadequate warning signs or labels.
- General Contractor or Project Manager: Construction sites are filled with hazards that those in possession, custody, or control of any aspect of the workplace are responsible for monitoring and removing or minimizing risks, and there may be liability for failure to secure the site, failing to sequence the trades properly, etc.
- Subcontractors and Co-Workers: Other contractors on the worksite at the time of the accident may have legal liability for things like substandard rigging, failures in temporary wiring, faulty equipment (like a bad ladder, scaffold, etc.)
- Manufacturers, Distributors, Sellers: Whenever a product, tool, or material contributed to the electrician’s accident (including their PPE), then those who designed, made, distributed, or sold it may have liability for things like flawed insulation; no warning labels or signs; ineffective warning labels or signs; defects in tools, equipment, or machinery, etc., under state product liability laws.
- Architects and Engineers: Those who design and implement the site’s design can be liable for professional malpractice if plans and specifications failed to identify electricity risks, showed erroneous specs, etc.
- Utility Companies: Failures in the upkeep and maintenance of the electrical infrastructure may create liability for the companies who own or operate it.
Electricians suffering severe bodily harm in a work accident may seek legal recompense against any and all parties and individuals whose failures are found to have contributed to the worker’s harm. Damages can be demanded and claims pursued against these wrongdoers independently of any workers’ compensation claims filed by the injured victim.
For more, read:
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Accident Injuries and Warning Labels: How Many Have Legal Liability for the Victim’s Harm?
- When Tools Are to Blame for Serious Work Accidents: Who’s Responsible? Product Liability
- Engineers, Architects: Professional Liability for a Road Construction Work Zone Accident
- Are There Civil Claims for Damages Against Third-Parties for Your Work Accident?
Electricians take their courage with them every day they go to work. It is a life’s work inherent with danger and the risk of death is real on every job site. Sadly, these professionals are often hurt or killed when others fail in their legal duties. Please be careful out there!
