Electric Shock

The body is a good conductor of electricity. Direct contact with an electrical current may be fatal. Cardiac arrest, muscle and tissue destruction, and thermal burns can occur due to electricity passing so easily through the body. These injuries can arise due to contact with exposed electrical wiring or appliances, machines, or high voltage power lines. Symptoms of electric shock include changes in consciousness, seizures, skin burns, muscle spasms, headaches, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, numbness, and problems with vision or hearing. If you suffer electric shock on someone else's property, you may want to explore your options with the Los Angeles premises liability attorneys at Sharifi Firm.

Accidental electric shock happens more often than you might think. It often arises on another person's property due to a failure to make repairs or provide warnings. In California, landowners or occupiers may be responsible for injuries suffered by visitors on the property. Under Civil Code section 1714(a), anyone can be held liable for injuries caused to another by a lack of ordinary care in managing property, except to the extent the victim brings the injury upon him or herself. As a result, those that control property must use ordinary care in managing it in order to avoid exposing visitors to an unreasonable risk of harm.

In a premises liability case, a plaintiff will need to show that the defendant controlled or owned the premises, the defendant negligently used or maintained the premises, the plaintiff was hurt or injured on the property, and the defendant's negligent acts or omissions were a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff.

A defendant is considered negligent in how it uses or maintains property when a dangerous condition on the property causes an unreasonable risk of harm, the defendant knew or should have known about it in the exercise of reasonable care, and the defendant failed to repair the dangerous condition or provide warnings or other protection against the condition. For example, if you are shopping at an electronics store, and exposed electric wires are hanging inconspicuously in the TV area, you might inadvertently brush against them and suffer a severe electric shock. The jury would be likely to find that the store owner knew or should have known about the exposed wiring, and either repaired it or cordoned off the area so that customers would not be harmed.

If your attorney can prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence, you likely can recover compensatory damages. However, an accident victim's recovery may be reduced if he or she is partially responsible for the harm suffered. The jury can determine the total damages and also assign a percentage of fault to both the plaintiff and the defendant. A plaintiff's recovery will be reduced by an amount equal to his or her degree of fault.

Residents of Los Angeles and the surrounding cities can consult the injury lawyers at Sharifi Firm if they suffer an electric shock on someone else's property. We understand the unique challenges of premises liability cases. Sharifi Firm represents accident victims in Temecula, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Rancho Cucamonga, among other Southern California cities. Contact us at (866) 422-7222 or via our online form for a free, no-obligation consultation.