Finding Justice After an Electrical Injury: How a Lawyer Can Help

Electrical injuries are more common – and more devastating – than many people realize. Across the United States, around 1,000 people lose their lives to electrical injuries each year, and at least 30,000 suffer non-fatal shocks or burns​. Here in Colorado, residents face electrical hazards from defective appliances to aging home wiring.

Recent incidents underscore the danger. In July 2024, an 18-year-old from Steamboat Springs died in a tragic electrocution accident while swimming at a lake – his family and friends felt a shock in the water when they tried to save him​. Closer to home on the Western Slope, communities have seen injuries from downed power lines and faulty wiring in older buildings. 

These sobering facts highlight why electrical injury victims in Colorado need to understand their rights. This guide explains common causes of electrocution injuries, how liability is determined, what challenges you might face with insurance, and the types of compensation (damages) you could recover.

Common Reasons for an Electrocution Injury Case

Electrical accidents can happen almost anywhere electricity is present. However, certain scenarios frequently lead to serious injuries and personal injury claims in Colorado.

Defective Home Appliances or Wiring

Household electrical failures are a major hazard. Everything from a faulty kitchen appliance to frayed wiring in the walls can cause a severe shock or fire. In fact, about 10% of all at-home electrocutions are caused by large appliances​. For example, a defective toaster, space heater, or power tool could have an internal wiring flaw that energizes its metal exterior, shocking the user.

Old or improper home wiring can also lead to electrocution – if insulation is worn or wires are improperly connected, just touching an outlet or flipping a switch could deliver a deadly jolt. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, electrical problems spark an estimated 53,600 home fires annually, causing over 500 deaths and 1,400 injuries. These stats show how often negligence in product design or home maintenance turns into tragedy.

Faulty Installations by Electricians or Contractors

Even licensed professionals can make dangerous mistakes. If an electrician or contractor fails to ground an appliance, uses the wrong gauge of wire, or doesn’t follow the electrical code it can create a hidden hazard. A single wiring error might leave a metal surface electrified or a circuit unprotected.

Improper electrical work on pools, hot tubs, or bathroom wiring is especially perilous, since water amplifies electrocution risk. Victims in Colorado have been shocked by things like improperly wired hot tub pumps or renovation work that left live wires exposed. When a contractor’s poor workmanship causes injury, that contractor (or their company) can be held liable for the resulting harm. Many electrical accidents are entirely preventable. 

Utility Company Negligence

Electric utilities and power companies have a duty to maintain their equipment and keep the public safe. If they fail to do so, innocent people can be hurt. Downed power lines that fall into yards or streets, malfunctioning transformers that explode or energize the ground, or stray voltage leaking from underground cables can pose a serious threat to the public.

A utility’s negligence can turn everyday environments deadly. Always remember that a fallen power line, even if it looks inert, can carry a live current strong enough to cause serious injury or death. There have been cases of Colorado residents suffering shocks from touching metal fences or cars that unknowingly had contact with a live wire. Utility companies may be liable if they knew of a problem and didn’t fix it in time. For instance, Colorado’s largest utility faced lawsuits after its equipment was blamed for devastating fires when high winds knocked down power lines​.

Premises Liability (Landlords and Businesses)

Property owners in Colorado are legally required to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors and tenants. Electrical hazards on a property can lead to premises liability claims if someone is hurt. For example, a landlord who ignores faulty hallway lighting wiring or fails to repair an exposed electrical panel in an apartment could be responsible if a tenant or guest gets electrocuted. Businesses open to the public must also address electrical dangers – imagine a restaurant with a poorly wired neon sign that shocks anyone who touches its metal frame, or a hotel with a defective bedside lamp that electrocutes a guest.

If the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and did not repair it or warn people in time, they can be held liable for resulting injuries. Colorado law enforces this duty; in general, property owners can be considered negligent if they ignore known electrical problems and someone gets hurt as a result.

Liability and Fault in an Electrical Injury

In Colorado, personal injury law requires proving that a party’s negligence caused an injury. Unlike a simple car accident, an electrocution case might involve multiple potentially responsible parties from property owners and electricians to product manufacturers and utility companies. A thorough investigation is often required to pinpoint the cause of the accident and establish liability.

When Is a Property Owner Responsible?

Homeowners, landlords, and businesses are responsible when their negligence leads to an injury. This usually means the owner knew, or should have known, about a dangerous electrical condition and failed to fix it or warn others. For instance, if a homeowner was aware that the wiring to their backyard fountain was damaged and left it live, they would likely be liable if a guest got shocked.

Similarly, a store that doesn’t repair a sparking light fixture could be on the hook for injuries. In Colorado premises liability cases, evidence that the owner had notice of the hazard is crucial. If an injury happened the very first time an issue arose, the owner might claim they had no way to know. But if that hazard had been reported, or was obvious (say, burn marks around an outlet for weeks), or if the owner should have known about the risk through the use of reasonable efforts, the owner’s responsibility is much clearer.

Can Third-Party Contractors or Manufacturers Be Liable?

Yes – often someone other than the property owner is fully or partly at fault. If an electrical contractor’s poor work caused the accident, they and their company may bear liability. For example, if an electrician wired an appliance incorrectly or didn’t secure a live wire, causing you harm, that professional can be sued for negligence. Likewise, manufacturers of electrical products can be liable under product liability law if a design or manufacturing defect led to the electrocution.

If a product malfunction is to blame, a claim against the manufacturer or distributor is possible. In practice, your attorney might pursue multiple parties. Imagine a scenario where a landlord installed a new kitchen range that turned out to have a wiring defect: the landlord and the stove manufacturer could both be liable.

Evidence That Helps Establish Fault

Electrical injury cases often require expert analysis and detailed evidence, since the cause of an accident isn’t always obvious to a layperson. Key evidence can include fire department or electrical inspector reports. Photographs of the accident scene are extremely valuable: pictures of a charred outlet, a fallen power line, or a tool with obvious damage can paint a clear picture of what went wrong.

It’s wise to save any physical evidence as well: the appliance or device that caused the shock, the extension cord that was involved, etc. In some cases, an electrical engineer or safety expert may be hired to inspect the wiring and pinpoint the failure or code violation that led to the injury. 

Maintenance records and emails or texts complaining about an electrical issue before the accident can prove negligence too. Essentially, the more documentation, the better. As a victim, you should try to document everything – take notes of what happened immediately, get contact information for any eyewitnesses, and obtain copies of any official incident reports.

Insurance Complications

Dealing with insurance companies after an electrical injury can be challenging. Whether you’re filing a claim with a homeowner’s insurance company, a renter’s insurance company, or a utility company’s insurer, remember that insurance adjusters are not on your side. Their goal is often to minimize payouts, and electrical injury cases can be expensive for them.

Why Insurers Deny Electrical Injury Claims

Insurers may deny a claim outright if they believe they have a legal excuse or exclusion. One common argument is to insist that the incident was not due to negligence but an “unpreventable accident” or even an Act of God. For example, if a power surge or lightning strike was involved, an insurer might try to blame only that natural event and claim no one is liable. They may also argue comparative fault – suggesting the victim is partly to blame. 

It’s important to remember that a denial isn’t the end of the road. With strong evidence and legal advocacy, many denied claims can be appealed or litigated successfully. Often, insurers change their tune once a lawsuit is filed and the facts are brought to light.

Common Tactics Used to Reduce Payouts

Even when liability is clear, insurance adjusters use various strategies to minimize how much money they must pay an electrical injury victim. One tactic is to offer a quick, low settlement before you fully understand the extent of your injuries. Serious electrical injuries can have complications that develop over time, but an early lowball offer seeks to resolve the claim before those costs are known.

Another tactic is to dispute the severity of your injuries – for instance, questioning whether all your medical treatments are truly necessary or attributing symptoms to prior conditions. Insurers also often request recorded statements and will attempt to get you to say things that hurt your case. Remember, you are not obligated to give a recorded statement to the other party’s insurer without consulting your lawyer.

Additionally, insurance companies might delay the claims process, hoping that mounting medical bills and time will pressure you into accepting less. All of these tactics are aimed at saving the company money. Having a lawyer deal with the adjuster can prevent you from falling into these traps. Experienced attorneys in Colorado have “seen every trick in the book” that insurers use​ and can counter them with facts and advocacy.

What Can Your Electrical Injury Case Be Worth?

An electrical injury can impose a heavy financial and personal burden on victims. In a legal claim, the compensation you pursue is meant to make up for these losses and hardships – what lawyers call “damages.” The value of any given case in Colorado will depend on the specifics, like the severity of injuries and the degree of negligence. However, there are several broad categories of damages commonly available in electrocution injury cases.

Medical Bills and Long-Term Care

The immediate medical bills after an electric shock can be staggering. Emergency treatment for electrocution often involves ambulance transport, ER trauma care, burn treatments or surgery, and possibly intensive care if organs were affected. These costs add up fast. Beyond the initial crisis, many victims require ongoing care – multiple surgeries (such as skin grafts for electrical burns), months of physical therapy, rehabilitation for nerve damage, and specialist visits (neurologists, cardiologists, etc.).

All these medical expenses are compensable in a lawsuit. In very severe cases, an electrical injury might cause permanent disability requiring long-term nursing care or assistance with daily living. The future costs of treatment and care should be included in your claim as well. It’s not uncommon for the lifetime treatment of a serious electrical burn or brain injury from electrocution to run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. One study estimated treating a single severe non-fatal electrical injury can cost $1 to $4 million over time.  At Western Slope Law, we’ve handled electrical injury cases with more than $10 million in damages.

Pain and Suffering

Not all consequences of an electrical injury come with receipts. Pain and suffering damages are meant to compensate you for the physical pain and the emotional distress caused by the incident and its aftermath. Electrocution can be an extraordinarily painful experience – victims often sustain deep tissue burns, nerve pain, muscle damage from the electrical current, and even fractures from intense muscle contractions.

The recovery process can be excruciating and long. Beyond the physical pain, there is mental suffering: the trauma of nearly losing one’s life, nightmares or flashbacks, anxiety around any electrical objects, and the general loss of enjoyment of life during recovery. Courts in Colorado recognize that these human losses are real and significant. While there’s no simple formula for pain and suffering, factors include the severity of injury, how long you endured pain, and any long-term consequences. 

Permanent Disfigurement or Disability

Electrical injuries can leave lifelong marks. High-voltage shocks, in particular, often cause permanent disfigurement such as scars from serious burns or surgical amputations of limbs that were irreparably damaged. Even lower voltage incidents can result in lasting nerve damage, causing areas of the body to lose sensation or function. For example, a shock might damage muscles in a hand, leaving a victim with a clawed hand or inability to grasp – effectively a permanent disability.  A particularly painful result of electrical injuries can be a condition called Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome - or CRPS - where the affected part of the body constantly feels pain even after it is healed as a result of nerve damage.

Under Colorado law, you are entitled to compensation for any permanent impairment or disfigurement because it impacts your quality of life in the long run. These damages often consider how the disability affects your ability to work and enjoy life. Visible scars or loss of limb can also carry a psychological toll – affecting one’s self-image and mental health.

As an illustration, a utility lineman in Colorado was hit with a 14,400-volt shock and survived, but he lost both of his hands due to the extensive damage​. In a case like that, the compensation would account for the profound life change of becoming a double amputee, covering prosthetics, vocational retraining, and the emotional suffering from such a disfigurement. While most cases aren’t that extreme, any lasting injury – even something like a scarred arm or persistent weakness – should be factored into your claim’s value.

Lost Income and Quality of Life

Many electrical injury victims find that their ability to work is compromised, either temporarily or permanently. Time missed from work while recuperating can lead to significant lost wages. These lost income damages are usually straightforward to calculate from your pay stubs or salary. If the injury has impacted your long-term earning capacity – for instance, if you cannot return to your previous occupation or have to reduce hours – you may claim loss of future earnings as well.

Beyond dollars and cents, there’s also a broader impact on your quality of life. Serious injuries can force you to give up hobbies, sports, or activities you once loved. You might no longer be able to hike Colorado’s trails, play with your children the same way, or even do basic household tasks without assistance. This loss of enjoyment of life is a compensable harm.

Contact an Electrical Injury Lawyer

Recovering from an electrical injury is a difficult journey – physically, emotionally, and financially. On top of healing, victims must navigate complex legal and insurance issues. This is where hiring a personal injury lawyer like Western Slope Law becomes so critical. A qualified attorney serves as your advocate and guide, handling the heavy legal lifting so you can focus on your recovery. Electrical injury cases can be technically complex, often requiring expert testimony and aggressive negotiation with insurance companies.

A lawyer who understands Colorado law and has dealt with electrocution cases will know how to build a compelling case that proves negligence and maximizes your settlement, whether your case is against a landlord, a contractor, a utility company, or a product manufacturer.