Electrocution Injuries in Fontainebleau: What to Do Next

Electrocution Injuries Fontainebleau: What to Do Next

When Electricity Hurts Someone in Fontainebleau

An electric shock can injure a person in seconds. Electrocution injuries in Fontainebleau can start with one shock. The damage is not always easy to see.

A condo resident touches a metal fixture during a storm. A tenant plugs a space heater into a cracked outlet. In an instant, the current can hold a person in place or throw them back.

Many people feel fine right after a shock. They may have a headache, a tingling hand, or a small burn. Then they go back to their day.

Electrical injuries can run deeper than they look. Symptoms can appear hours or days later.

Fontainebleau is an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County. After a shock here, the questions often involve a property owner, a landlord, a contractor, or the electric utility that serves the area.

If you are not sure who is responsible, you are not alone. Sorting that out is one of the first things a review addresses.

This page covers:

• What electrocution injuries can involve
• The first steps that protect your health and evidence
• Who may be responsible
• Florida’s deadline and fault rules
• How a free review works

Common Ways Electric Shock Happens in Fontainebleau

Electrocution injuries often come from three sources. These are power lines, damaged cords and wiring, and unsafe work near energized equipment (equipment connected to live electricity).

Power lines. Overhead and underground lines pose risks around pools, screen enclosures, roofs, trees, and ladders. A ladder, a pole, or a screen frame can touch a line before anyone sees it.

Cords and outlets. Damaged extension cords, outdoor outlets, pool pumps, and yard tools cause many shocks. Water and wet hands make the danger worse.

Older wiring. Older homes and rental units may have faulty wiring, unrepaired fixtures, or outlets without the protection they need. These problems often stay hidden inside walls until someone gets hurt.

Construction sites. Construction and renovation sites bring their own risks. Work near live lines, exposed wiring, or temporary power can all lead to a shock.

Readers in nearby Kendall can also read our Kendall electrocution guide. Our Florida electrocution injury guide covers the wider picture.

What Electrocution Injuries Can Involve

Electrical injuries are a distinct kind of trauma. They can reach well below the skin.

StatPearls on electrical injuries explains that they differ from blunt or penetrating injuries.

The Merck Manual on electrical injuries describes electrical injury as damage from current passing through the body. Symptoms can range from skin burns to damage to internal organs.

• Burns
• Muscle or nerve damage
• In some cases, long-term changes in memory, mood, or movement

Outcomes depend on three things. These are the amount of current, the path it takes, and how quickly emergency care arrives.

Severe electrical injuries can involve amputation, long-term disability, and in some cases death.

Follow your doctors’ care plan. Ask them about any symptom that concerns you.

The First Steps That Protect Your Health and Evidence

Get emergency help first. Then get a medical check. Then protect the scene and your records.

Call 911 if someone was shocked and is confused, has trouble breathing, has chest pain, or is not responding. Do not touch a person who is still in contact with a live source. Turn off the power only if you can do so safely.

Get a medical evaluation, even if the injury looks minor. Heart rhythm changes and internal damage may not show right away. Follow your doctors’ treatment plan. Keep every bill, prescription receipt, and discharge paper.

Protect the evidence. Photograph the scene and the damaged cord, outlet, appliance, fixture, or work area. Do this before anyone repairs or removes it. Keep the damaged item. Do not throw it away.

Write things down. Record the date, time, and location. List any witnesses by name. Note what the property manager, landlord, or employer said, and when they said it.

Report in writing. Report the incident in writing to the property owner, landlord, or employer. Before you give a recorded statement to an insurance company, talk with a lawyer first.

Who May Be Responsible After an Electrical Injury

More than one party can share responsibility after an electrical injury. Who is responsible depends on the facts of your case.

Investigators often look at who controlled the wiring, outlets, pool equipment, fixtures, or shared areas. This applies to a condo, an apartment, or a rental home.

Contractors, electricians, and construction companies may be responsible when their work creates a hazard. They may also be responsible when crews work carelessly near energized equipment.

Manufacturers and sellers may be named when a lawsuit alleges that an appliance, cord, or tool was defective or poorly labeled. These are allegations. A court would weigh them. They are not findings.

How Florida divides fault

Florida divides responsibility by fault. This is called comparative fault, meaning each person’s share of blame (Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6)).

Florida’s comparative fault statute says that in a negligence action, contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded for an injury attributable to that fault, but does not bar recovery. Under the same statute, any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages.

In plain terms, the percentage of fault assigned to each person can change how much recovery is possible.

A defendant may try to shift part of the blame to someone who is not in the lawsuit, but must affirmatively plead that person’s fault and, absent good cause, identify the nonparty if known, or describe them as specifically as practicable, by motion or in its first responsive pleading, though this may be amended any time before trial under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. For that reason, records showing who owned or controlled the wiring or equipment matter early.

Florida Deadlines and Comparative Fault

Florida sets time limits for filing lawsuits. Fla. Stat. § 95.11 lists the limits for different kinds of actions.

Different claims can have different deadlines. The clock does not always start on the day of the shock.

Fault also matters. Florida’s comparative fault law, Fla. Stat. § 768.81, divides responsibility by percentage. In a negligence action to which that section applies, any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages. Fla. Stat. § 768.81 reads: “This subsection does not apply to an action for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence pursuant to chapter 766.”

This rule does not apply to an action for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence under chapter 766.

Ask early who owned or controlled the wiring or equipment. The answer often shapes which parties and deadlines matter.

Waiting can cost you time. You may need that time to gather records, photos, and witness names.

If you are unsure which deadline applies, contact a lawyer promptly. The dates can be checked against your facts.

Shocked at Work? How Workers’ Compensation Fits In

Most Florida workers hurt on the job start with workers’ compensation. This is the system built for on-the-job injuries.

A worker may also have a claim against someone who was not the employer. That could be a contractor, an equipment maker, or a property owner.

A separate claim against a non-employer has its own facts and its own deadlines. Whether it applies to you depends on who was involved.

These include:

• Training workers

If you were shocked at work, report it to your employer promptly and in writing. Keep copies of every form, letter, and medical bill. Tell us about any non-employer who may have contributed to the shock.

Supporting Families After a Fatal Electrical Accident

When an electrical accident causes a death, Florida law allows the family to pursue a wrongful death claim. A wrongful death claim is a case the family brings after a loved one dies.

Fla. Stat. § 768.19 says that when a death is caused by the wrongful act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of any person, that person is liable for damages. This applies if the injured person could have sued and recovered damages had death not occurred. The injured person’s death does not end that right. These claims fall under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.

Fla. Stat. § 768.21 lets a surviving spouse recover for loss of the decedent’s companionship and protection. It also covers mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. Each parent of a deceased minor child can recover for mental pain and suffering from the date of injury. The same section allows a survivor who paid medical or funeral expenses to recover them.

Families often face funeral costs and money questions at the same time. That can be a lot to carry.

If it is safe to do so, keep the scene details and any damaged item. Gather the medical examiner and police report numbers. Write down what you saw and what you were told while the memory is fresh.

Deadlines still apply to wrongful death claims. It helps to start sooner rather than later.

Electrocution Injuries Fontainebleau: Get a Free Review

CHG Personal Injury Lawyers is a Florida-based firm. We represent people throughout Florida, including Fontainebleau and Miami-Dade County.

Igor Hernandez, one of the firm’s lawyers, is the responsible lawyer for this page.

Our free first consultation is confidential. It comes with no obligation to continue.

The firm charges no attorney’s fees and no case costs unless there is a recovery.

During a review, we look at:

• The cause of the shock
• The property or job site
• The medical records you have
• The parties who may be responsible

Electrocution injuries in Fontainebleau often involve several of these questions at once.

Taking on an insurance company alone can feel a bit like playing a Miami Heat road game without your full roster. This is especially true while you are recovering or grieving. You do not have to sort out the facts by yourself.

If a shock left you hurt, or you lost someone you love in an electrical accident, contact CHG Personal Injury Lawyers. Let’s talk through your options.