By Danielle Jordan. Last Updated 12th June 2024. You could make electric shock injury compensation claims if you suffered an electric shock due to third-party negligence. To learn more, please continue reading this guide or get in touch with us today for a free consultation with legal advice.
The effects of electricity on the body are devastating and have serious consequences if not treated immediately. Electrocutions (death by an electric shock) in the workplace are not uncommon. Electricity is a very useful utility. It would be very hard to imagine the world today without it. However, electricity is a very dangerous utility that should not be taken lightly. Every year there are thousands of cases of people being injured by electric shocks and suffering severe health problems due to negligence in a workplace environment or in a public place, and this may entitle them to make an electric shock claim.
If you have suffered an electric shock at work or have lost a loved one who was electrocuted, it is important to understand that there are ways in which you can be compensated for your injury or for your loss.
That’s where we can help. This guide is just the starting point. We can provide free legal advice on electric shock claims. We can also explain how the personal injury claims process works. We’ll also talk about how you can take advantage of a No Win No Fee agreement to pursue the justice and electric shock injury compensation claims you deserve.
Our team of advisers is standing by to help you now. You can reach them in a variety of ways:
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- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Write to us about your case by heading here
- Or chat with us now using our live chat feature.
You can also watch our video which gives you the key points from the guide:
To learn more about how to make electric shock injury compensation claims, please continue reading.
Select a Section
- Electric Shock Injuries – How Much Compensation Could I Get?
- Who Is Entitled To Make Electric Shock Accident Claims?
- What To Do If You Are Involved In An Electric Shock Accident.
- Electric Shock Accident Claims With Our No Win No Fee Lawyers
- Helpful Links On Electric Shock Injury Compensation Claims
Electric Shock Injuries – How Much Compensation Could I Get?
If you’ve sustained an electric shock burn or any other electric shock injuries due to someone’s negligence, you could potentially make a claim. In a successful claim, the severity of your electrocution injury and its impact on your quality of life will determine the amount of general damages compensation you might receive.
If you’ve incurred financial losses as a direct result of your electrocution injury, these could also potentially be addressed in your claim – though you would need to provide receipts showing your expenses. This would be your special damages compensation.
Solicitors can consider compensation amounts from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) when valuing general damages in claims. The table below uses compensation brackets from the 2022 edition of the JCG. However, the amounts in the table may not match the payout you receive as they are only a guide.
| Injury | Severity | JCG guideline figures |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple serious injuries with financial losses | Serious | Up to £750,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Moderately severe (b) | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Less severe (d) | £18,700 to £52,550 | |
| Chest | Total removal of one lung and/or serious heart damage (a) | £122,850 to £183,190 |
| Traumatic injury (b) | £80,240 to 122,850 | |
| Scarring to body | Significant burns | Likely to exceed £127,930 |
| Facial disfigurement | Very severe (a) | £36,340 to £118,790 |
| Less severe (b) | £21,920 to £59,090 | |
| Significant (c) | £11,120 to £36,720 |
Electric Shock Injuries – Could I Be Owed Special Damages?
In addition to general damages, your settlement may also consist of special damages. This is to compensate you for any financial losses caused by your electric shock injuries.
Examples of expenses that could be covered by special damages when claiming for an electrical accident include:
- Care costs if you required a carer to help cope with your daily life while you recover
- Loss of earnings, including pension contributions, for time off work to recover from your electric shock injury
- Medical costs. These can include prescription costs, specialist creams to minimise scarring, plastic surgery, and therapy
- Travel expenses, such as taking a taxi to medical appointments
To claim special damages, you should submit proof of your losses. For example, receipts, invoices, and wage slips could be beneficial.
Get in touch with an advisor from our team if you have any questions about what financial losses could be recovered as part of your claim. They can also provide you with a free claim evaluation.
Who Is Entitled To Make Electric Shock Accident Claims?
While at work or when out in public, you are owed a duty of care. If the parties responsible for owing you a duty of care breach their duty, and you suffer an electric shock due to their breach, you could be eligible to make an electric shock accident claim.
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, your employer owes you a duty of care while you are at work. Employers must take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure your well-being and safety. For example, employers must give you the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is needed for you to complete your workplace tasks safely.
Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, occupiers (those in control) of public spaces owe you a duty of care while you are a public visitor of their space. Occupiers must take steps to ensure your reasonable safety and well-being while you are on their premises. For example, occupiers must respond to any reports of hazards as soon as they can.
As such, you must prove this eligibility criteria applies to you in order to begin the electric shock claims process:
- You were owed a duty of care, either by an employer or occupier.
- The employer or occupier breached their duty of care. For example, your employer did not put out a warning sign to warn you about a faulty office plug.
- As a result of this breach, you suffered from an electric shock.
Electric Shock Injuries – How Long You Have To Claim
Under the Limitation Act 1980, the usual time limit to make an electric shock claim is 3 years. These 3 years begin from the date you sustained your injury.
However, the time limit may be paused for these circumstances:
- If the claimant is under the age of 18.
- If the claimant does not have the mental capacity to make their own claim.
To learn about what would happen in these circumstances, please ask one of our advisors. They can also provide you with information on what the average compensation for an electric shock is.
What To Do If You Are Involved in an Electric Shock Accident
If you have received an electric shock at work or in a public place, there are some steps you could look to follow before making any electric shock injury compensation claims.
Before all else, it’s advised that you seek medical treatment if you have been exposed to an electric shock. Some symptoms may initially seem quite minor. You may also experience delayed symptoms rather than no symptoms. However, you could have underlying injuries that need to be addressed.
Additionally, the medical reports that are generated as a result of your treatment can come in useful during the process of making your claim. You can present them as evidence to show the severity of the electric shock and the impact it may have had.
- Take photos of the place where you were shocked. This will prove very useful in making your claim. This could also be done by obtaining CCTV of the incident.
- Get witness details. These are eyewitness testimonies that will also serve to make your claim that much more verifiable.
- Visit a doctor or hospital for a medical exam, and make sure the injury is fully documented.
- Write down, yourself, what happened during and after the accident. Write about how you had been injured, the pain you felt, details about the doctor visit, the money you spent on medicine and prescription drugs you may have bought.
- Reach out for a solicitor to help you pursue your claim. The evidence you provide will speed up the process.
If you have finished the first four steps you can contact us for a free consultation and our personal injury claims team will start to work out the best way to go about getting you the electric shock compensation you are entitled too.
Our staff are here to help you through this process. You will not have to pay anything throughout the claims process, and if we lose the claim, you won’t pay us anything, as we will represent you under a No Win No Fee arrangement. You truly have nothing to lose.
Feel free to contact us now if you wish to query us about making electric shock injury compensation claims on a No Win No Fee basis.
Electric Shock Accident Claims With Our No Win No Fee Lawyers
Electric shock claims might seem daunting or complex, and you may not know where to start. But if you’ve suffered an electrocution injury and are eligible to pursue a personal injury claim, one of our lawyers may be able to help you.
Our lawyers offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis. They do this through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which allows you access to a lawyer without paying any upfront or ongoing fees for their work. Likewise, if your claim fails, then you won’t pay fees for their services.
However, if your claim succeeds, then you will pay a success fee. This is taken directly from your compensation as a small, legally-capped percentage. The legislative cap is in place to help make sure that you keep the majority of what you receive.
To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of our lawyers, contact a member of our team. One of our friendly advisors can offer a free consultation, through which they can evaluate your claim and answer any questions that you might have. To get started:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us online
- Use the live chat feature
Helpful Links On Electric Shock Injury Compensation Claims
Before we finish this guide to electric shock claims, we wanted to leave you with some further guides, as well as the answers to some commonly asked questions on these claims. Remember, if you have any queries, get in touch.
Accident At Work Claims Guide
If you’ve been injured in an accident at work and want to know what action you can take this guide will tell you what you need to know.
What Are My Legal Rights After An Accident At Work?
If you’re curious about your legal rights after suffering an injury in a workplace accident, this will tell you more.
Burn Injury Claims
Burn injuries are a common result of electric shocks, and this guide will tell you more about them.
The HSE’s Guide to Electrical Injuries
The Health and Safety Executive’s guide to injuries caused by electric shocks.
A Guide To Electrical Safety At Work
Another HSE guide on how to stay safe when working with electricity at work.
The NHS’s Guide To First Aid Relating To Electric Shocks
A detailed guide on what to do medically in cases of electric shock.
Stuck In A Lift Compensation Claims
Find out more.
Other Helpful Guides
- Psychological injury claims
- Would I Need To See A Doctor When Claiming For A Personal Injury?
- Death And Fatal Accident At Work Claims
- Factory Accident Claims
- Council And Local Authority Compensation Claims
- Defective Farm Equipment – Injury Compensation Claims
- How Much Can I Claim For An Accident Caused By Dangerous Machinery At Work?
- Accidents On Private Property
- Find out how to claim if you suffered a scalded hand or other burn injuries due to a hot drink.
Thank you for reading our guide to electric shock injury compensation claims.
