Personal Injury Q and A

A landscape worker suffered critical personal injuries in a Long Beach on-the-job accident the morning of June 9, 2009, CBS News reports. Long Beach Fire Department officials said the 28-year-old worker was shocked in the Long Beach on-the-job trench accident when he came in close contact with a power line. He went into cardiac and respiratory arrest. A 46-year-old supervisor, who apparently tried to remove the worker from the trench, was also shocked and suffered minor personal injuries. Fire department personnel and fellow workers performed CPR on the victim and were able to restore his pulse and breathing before he was taken to the emergency room.

My heart goes out to this worker who suffered critical injuries due to the electrical shock he received in this Los Angeles trench accident. I also sympathize with his family members who must be going through a tough time now. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), electric current exposes workers to a serious, widespread occupational hazard. Almost all members of the workforce are exposed to electrical energy during the performance of their daily duties and electrocutions can occur to workers in various job categories. Many workers are simply unaware of the potential electrical hazards present in their work environment, which makes them more vulnerable to the dangers of electrocution. Electrical injuries fall under the following categories: electrocution (fatal); electric shock, burns and falls as a result of contact with electrical energy.

So far no detailed national data is available on the number of workers killed each year by electric current. However, according to NIOSH, during the period 1982 to 1997, NIOSH investigated 1,281 fatal incidents involving electric current. Of these 152 involved installation maintenance, service and repair tasks. Three main factors contributed to these personal injury accidents:

The injured worker in this Long Beach on-the-job accident would be well advised to contact experienced California personal injury lawyers, who will determine whether there is a third-party claim here. Such claims basically look into any negligence or wrongdoing on the part of someone other than the worker's employer, which caused or contributed to the personal injury accident. If that was the case, this injured worker, in addition to workers compensation benefits, could receive compensation for medical expenses, loss of wages, pain and suffering and other related damages.