Shaw Cowart represents accident injury victims in Austin and the surrounding areas

Austin Construction Accident Lawyers: Electrocution Injury Claims

The electrical current tore through your body before you even realized what happened—stopping your heart, burning tissue, and changing your life in an instant. Electrocution ranks among OSHA’s “Fatal Four” construction hazards, killing approximately 8% of workers who die on construction sites annually. Austin’s construction workers face electrical hazards from overhead power lines, unfinished electrical systems, and temporary power supplies on job sites throughout the city. Our Austin construction accident lawyers have represented electrocution victims and their families, understanding both the devastating injuries electricity causes and the safety failures that allow preventable contact. The Austin construction accident attorneys at Shaw Cowart fight aggressively for electrocution victims, pursuing full compensation from all responsible parties.

Electrical Hazards on Construction Sites

Construction sites present constant electrical hazards that proper safety management should control. Workers encounter energized power lines, incomplete electrical systems, and temporary power setups daily. Our construction accident lawyers Austin know that electrocution deaths and injuries are almost always preventable through proper lockout/tagout procedures, adequate clearances, and appropriate protective measures. The construction accident attorneys Austin at Shaw Cowart investigate electrocution accidents thoroughly to identify every party whose negligence contributed to preventable tragedy.

The Severity of Electrical Injuries

Electrical injuries are uniquely devastating. Beyond immediate effects like cardiac arrest and severe burns, electricity causes internal damage that may not be immediately apparent. Muscle destruction releases proteins that damage kidneys. Neurological damage may emerge over time. Survivors of significant electrical injury often face long recovery paths and permanent disabilities.

Common Electrocution Scenarios

Construction electrocutions follow predictable patterns.

Power Line Contact

Contact with overhead power lines causes approximately half of all construction electrocutions. Cranes, aerial lifts, scaffolding, ladders, and long materials like pipes and lumber contact energized lines with fatal results. Workers don’t need to touch lines directly—electricity can arc across gaps, especially in humid conditions.

Contact with Building Electrical Systems

Workers contact energized wiring, panels, and equipment within buildings under construction or renovation. Incomplete installations, improperly de-energized systems, and lack of covers on energized components cause contact.

Temporary Wiring

Construction sites use temporary electrical systems that may be improperly installed, damaged, or exposed. Frayed cords, missing covers, and improper grounding create shock and electrocution hazards.

Tools and Equipment

Defective tools with damaged cords or internal faults, and tools used improperly in wet conditions, cause electrical injuries.

Underground Utilities

Excavation workers strike buried electrical lines when utilities aren’t properly marked or when workers dig without checking markings.

How Electricity Injures

Electrical current harms the body through multiple mechanisms.

Cardiac Effects

Electrical current passing through the torso can disrupt heart rhythm, causing ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest. Without immediate defibrillation, cardiac arrest is fatal.

Burns

Electricity causes burns at contact points, along current paths through the body, and through arc flash. Internal burns may be more severe than external wounds suggest, destroying muscle tissue along current paths.

Falls

Electrical shock causes involuntary muscle contractions that can throw workers from elevated positions. The electrical injury may be survivable, but the resulting fall is often fatal.

Neurological Damage

Electricity damages nerves and brain tissue, causing immediate effects like loss of consciousness and delayed effects including cognitive problems and chronic pain.

Rhabdomyolysis

Electrical damage to muscles releases proteins that overwhelm kidneys, potentially causing kidney failure requiring dialysis.

Electrical Safety Requirements

OSHA regulations establish electrical safety requirements for construction.

Power Line Clearances

Specific minimum distances must be maintained between workers, equipment, and energized power lines. These distances increase with line voltage.

Lockout/Tagout

Procedures requiring de-energizing electrical systems and preventing re-energization during work protect workers from unexpected energization.

Ground Fault Protection

Ground fault circuit interrupters or assured equipment grounding programs must protect workers using electrical equipment on construction sites.

Covers and Guards

Exposed energized components must be covered or guarded to prevent accidental contact.

Qualified Workers

Only qualified workers should perform electrical work or work near energized components.

Causes of Construction Electrocution

Electrocutions result from identifiable safety failures.

Failure to Identify Hazards

Work proceeds near energized lines or systems without recognizing the hazard. Proper job planning should identify all electrical hazards before work begins.

Failure to De-energize

Systems that should be de-energized remain live because proper lockout/tagout procedures aren’t followed.

Inadequate Clearances

Equipment operates within dangerous proximity to power lines without proper precautions like line de-energization, insulation, or spotters.

Defective Equipment

Tools and equipment with electrical faults that proper inspection would identify injure workers when faults cause energization of housings or unexpected current flow.

Inadequate Training

Workers without electrical hazard awareness training fail to recognize dangers that trained workers would avoid.

Liability in Electrocution Cases

Multiple parties may share responsibility for construction electrocutions.

Employers

Employers must train workers, provide protective equipment, and ensure safe procedures around electrical hazards.

General Contractors

General contractors controlling sites bear responsibility for site-wide electrical safety, including power line awareness and temporary electrical systems.

Electrical Contractors

Electrical contractors whose work creates hazards—uncovered panels, improper installations, failure to de-energize—bear liability for resulting injuries.

Property Owners

Property owners who create or fail to warn about electrical hazards may share liability.

Utility Companies

Utilities may be liable when they fail to respond to requests to de-energize or relocate lines, fail to mark underground utilities, or maintain lines improperly.

Equipment Manufacturers

Defective tools and equipment create product liability against manufacturers.

Fighting for Electrocution Victims

Electrocution is preventable. Proper identification of hazards, de-energization procedures, and maintained clearances prevent electrical contact. When these basic protections fail, victims deserve full compensation. Our Austin construction accident lawyers at Shaw Cowart pursue all responsible parties in electrocution cases, fighting for victims and families.

If you or a loved one suffered electrocution on an Austin construction site, contact us immediately. These cases require prompt investigation to preserve evidence of electrical conditions and safety failures.