Electrocution & Electric Shock Injury Lawyer
Electricity doesn't give second chances — and when a shock happens, it's almost always because someone left something energized, exposed, or defective that should have been safe. Our offices are in New Jersey and New York, and we review electrocution cases from anywhere in the United States. No fee unless we win.
Electrical injuries are rarely "freak accidents" — they usually trace to a safety violation, a code violation, a defective product, or ignored hazards. If you were hurt at work, workers' comp is not the whole story: a separate lawsuit against third parties may also be possible. Get medically checked even if you feel fine — electrical injuries can surface days later — and keep any device involved. Free case review: (201) 335-6788.
Electricity was the cause.
Negligence was the reason.
Behind almost every serious electrical injury is a decision somebody made: to skip a lockout, to leave wiring exposed, to work a site too close to power lines, to ship a product that arcs, to ignore a tenant's complaints about a sparking outlet. So our job is simple to state: find that decision — and the party who made it.
First, we investigate the site, the equipment, the safety procedures, and the code compliance; then we preserve the device or wiring involved before it disappears; and we identify every responsible party and every insurance policy that applies — because electrocution cases often involve more than one. For injured workers, that includes the third-party claims that workers' comp alone never touches.
Throughout it all, you will work directly with John Onal from the first conversation to the last. There is never a fee unless we recover for you.
Where electrical injuries
actually happen.
Construction Sites
One of OSHA's "Fatal Four." Contact with live wires and equipment, missing lockout/tagout, ungrounded tools, and trades working over each other on energized sites.
Power Line Contact
Overhead and downed lines, equipment and ladders that got too close, and utility companies' duties for placement, insulation, maintenance, and response.
Defective Products
Tools, appliances, chargers, and equipment that shock, arc, or catch fire — product-liability claims against the companies that designed and built them.
Workplace Electrical Accidents
Shocks and arc injuries on the job beyond construction — warehouses, kitchens, factories, maintenance work — where comp plus third-party claims both matter.
Faulty Wiring & Unsafe Property
Apartments, rentals, hotels, and businesses with code violations, amateur repairs, and ignored complaints — premises-liability claims against the owners responsible.
Pool & Marina Shock
Stray voltage in pools, hot tubs, and marinas from faulty lighting, pumps, and dock wiring — hazards that can injure or drown swimmers who never see them coming.
Who can be held
responsible.
Electrical injuries usually have layers of responsibility — the party that created the hazard, the party that should have caught it, and the party that profited from the shortcut. And we pursue all of them.
The parties who control a job site are responsible for keeping it safe — de-energizing circuits, enforcing lockout/tagout, and coordinating trades so nobody works blind on live systems.
Owners of apartments, hotels, and businesses answer for dangerous wiring, code violations, and complaints they ignored.
They answer for line placement, insulation, maintenance, marking, and response — and where the claim involves a public authority, short notice deadlines can apply.
Makers of tools, appliances, chargers, and components that were defectively designed or built — keep the product, because it's the case's key evidence.
The professionals whose improper installations, skipped inspections, and shortcut repairs left something energized that should never have been.
Workers' comp usually bars suing your own employer — but not the other companies on the site or behind the equipment. Those third-party claims are often where an injured worker's real recovery is.
The rules that decide
electrocution cases.
OSHA & The Fatal Four
Electrocution is one of OSHA's "Fatal Four" — the leading causes of construction deaths — and federal safety standards spell out how electrical hazards must be controlled: de-energizing, lockout/tagout, grounding, clearance from power lines. Violations of those standards can be powerful evidence of negligence.
Hurt at Work: Comp Is Not the Whole Story
Workers' compensation pays benefits regardless of fault — but it's limited, and it usually bars suing your own employer. A separate third-party lawsuit against a contractor, property owner, utility, or manufacturer can pursue the full damages comp never covers. Our workplace accidents practice handles both together.
Unsafe Premises & Code Violations
Landlords, hotels, and business owners have a duty to keep their electrical systems reasonably safe. Building-code violations, amateur repairs, missing ground-fault protection, and ignored complaints can all support a premises-liability claim when someone is shocked.
Defective Products
When a tool, appliance, or charger shocks, arcs, or burns because of a design or manufacturing defect, product-liability law reaches the manufacturer and sellers. The single most important thing an injured person can do: keep the product. Don't return it, repair it, or throw it away.
Power Lines & Utilities
Utilities answer for how they place, insulate, mark, and maintain their lines — and for how quickly they address hazards. Where a public utility authority or government entity is involved, tort-claim rules can require formal notice on a short deadline — in some states within months or even 90 days.
Deadlines & Delayed Injuries
Deadlines vary by state — often two or three years, shorter for public-entity claims, with special rules for workplace cases and children. And because electrical injuries can surface days or weeks later, early medical evaluation protects both your health and your claim.
What electricity does
that X-rays don't show.
Electrical current injures from the inside out — the burn you can see at the entry point is often the smallest part of the damage.
Above all, serious shocks can cause internal and external electrical burns, cardiac arrest and heart-rhythm problems, nerve damage with lasting pain and numbness, muscle damage, and brain injury when the heart or breathing stops. The shock itself also throws people — from ladders, scaffolds, and equipment — adding fractures, spinal injuries, and head trauma to the electrical damage. And some effects are delayed: heart, nerve, memory, and concentration problems can appear days or weeks after an incident that seemed survivable.
That's why the two rules after any serious shock are simple: get evaluated even if you feel fine, and document everything. Catastrophic cases proceed through our brain & spinal injury and wrongful death practices with the same trial-ready standard.
What a claim
can pursue.
For Injured Survivors
- Current & future medical and burn care
- Lost wages & lost earning capacity
- Pain, suffering & loss of enjoyment of life
- Scarring, disfigurement & permanent injury
- Rehabilitation & long-term care
After a Fatal Electrocution
- Wrongful-death damages for the family's loss
- A survival action for what your loved one endured
- Loss of financial support and services
- Funeral and related expenses
Free & confidential consultation · No fee unless we win · Available 24/7
Call (201) 335-6788Steps that protect
your case.
Get medically evaluated — even if you feel fine
Electrical injuries hide. Heart, nerve, and cognitive effects can surface days later, and the medical record ties them to the shock.
Report it
Just as important, create an official record of when, where, and how it happened: a workplace incident report, a written complaint to the landlord, or a 911 call.
Keep the evidence
Next, hold on to the device, tool, or appliance involved; photos of the outlet, wiring, panel, or scene; and the clothing you wore. Don't return, repair, or discard anything — and don't let anyone else "fix" the hazard before it's documented.
Be careful with insurers and employers' carriers
Meanwhile, don't give recorded statements or sign anything before an attorney reads it — including workers' comp paperwork that may affect your third-party claim.
Talk to us
Finally, the consultation is free, confidential, and without obligation. We'll tell you honestly what claims you have — comp, third-party, premises, product, or several at once — and what the path forward looks like.
Serving Clients
Nationwide.
Our offices are in Elmwood Park, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York — but you can call us from anywhere in the United States. We review electrocution cases from every state and, when it's required, work alongside counsel admitted in that state so your case is handled properly from start to finish.
No Case Too Small.
No Case Too Big.
Whatever you're facing, you get the same thing from us: direct attention from John Onal, a full investigation, and a file prepared as if it's going to trial — because that's what makes an insurance company take a claim seriously in the first place.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Available 24/7.
Electrocution case questions,
answered straight.
Who can be held responsible for an electric shock injury?
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Depending on where and how it happened: general contractors and subcontractors on a job site, property owners and landlords, utility companies, manufacturers of defective tools and appliances, electrical and maintenance contractors, and other third parties whose negligence energized something that should have been safe. Many electrocution cases involve more than one responsible party — and more than one insurance policy.
I was shocked at work. Can I sue my employer?
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Workers' compensation generally covers workplace electrical injuries and pays benefits regardless of fault — but it usually prevents a lawsuit against your own employer. What many injured workers don't realize: a separate third-party lawsuit may still be possible against others responsible — a general contractor, another subcontractor, a property owner, a utility, or an equipment manufacturer. Pursuing both is often what makes an injured worker whole.
A defective appliance, tool, or charger shocked me. Is that a case?
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It can be. In fact, manufacturers answer for products with design and manufacturing defects, and electrical products that shock, arc, or catch fire can support product-liability claims. Keep the product — don't throw it away, repair it, or return it. It's the key piece of evidence.
I was shocked by faulty wiring in my apartment or a hotel. Do I have a claim?
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Possibly — because landlords, hotels, and property owners have a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe — including the electrical systems. Known hazards, code violations, amateur repairs, and ignored complaints can all support a premises-liability claim.
What about contact with a power line?
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Power-line cases can involve how the utility placed, insulated, and maintained its lines, along with contractors and equipment operators who worked near them. Where a public entity or utility authority is involved, strict notice deadlines can apply — in some states within months or even 90 days — so speak with an attorney quickly.
My symptoms showed up days after the shock. Do I still have a claim?
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Delayed symptoms are common with electrical injuries — nerve pain, numbness, heart-rhythm problems, memory and concentration issues can surface days or weeks later. That's why you should get evaluated after any significant shock even if you feel fine, and document everything as you go. Delayed onset doesn't erase a claim, but treatment gaps make it harder to prove.
A family member was killed by electrocution. What are our options?
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A wrongful-death claim can pursue accountability from every party whose negligence contributed, compensation for the family's loss, and a survival action for what your loved one endured — prepared with the same trial-ready standard as every case we handle.
How long do we have to file?
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Deadlines vary by state — often two or three years for injury and wrongful-death claims, with shorter notice deadlines when a public entity or utility authority is involved, and special rules for workplace claims and children. Some deadlines are unforgiving — confirm yours with an attorney promptly.
Can you review a case outside New Jersey or New York?
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Yes. Our offices are in New Jersey and New York, but you can call us from anywhere in the United States. We review electrocution cases from every state and, when it's required, work alongside counsel admitted in that state so your case is handled properly from start to finish.
What does an electrocution lawyer cost?
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Nothing up front. We work on contingency: no fee unless we recover compensation for you, and the consultation is always free and confidential.