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Electric Shock Injury Compensation Claims

By Ian Morris | Updated June 12th, 2024

22 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Injuries caused by electrocution or electric shocks can cause both minor and extremely serious injuries. Any person who suffers such an injury has the right to make a claim for electric shock compensation – if the accident can be attributed to the negligence of a third party. That could be an employer, a contractor or anyone else who has failed to ensure that electrical work has been done to the required safety standards.

Electric shock injuries and symptoms

Serious electric shock injuries can require detailed medical treatment and have a big impact on day-to-day lifestyle and living standards.

Whilst most people will associate electric shocks with exposure to high voltage electrical current, they can also be caused by low electrical voltages. Even 50 volts has been known to cause injuries, including damage to the way electrical signals are sent between the brain and muscles.

Common electric shock injuries and symptoms may include:

Burn injuries
Muscle spasms and nerve pain with ongoing pins and needles and loss of sensation
Fractures and soft tissue injuries from being violently thrown by the force of the shock
Irregular heart beats and damage to cardiac tissues, heart health and even cardiac arrest
Death

The severity of symptoms and extent of damage will differ depending on the length of time the injured person was exposed to the electric current, the strength of the voltage and which body part was affected.

Can I claim electric shock compensation?

If you suffered injuries because of an electric shock, and believe that the blame rests with the negligence of an employer or third party organisation, you can seek to make a claim for compensation.

To be able to make a claim the accident must have happened within the last 3 years. Except in cases of children under the age of 18 years at the time, who can pursue a claim up and until their 21st birthday.

How do I know if my employer is liable?

If you were injured because of an electric shock at work, there is a high likelihood that you will be able to pursue a claim against your employer for accident at work compensation.

Employers are obliged by The Health and Safety Act 1974 to fulfil a duty of care to provide a safe working environment for their employees. There are many regulations with which employers must comply to ensure that the risks to employee safety are minimised so far as possible.

One such requirement is that employers must carry out regular health and safety risk assessments of workplace equipment, machinery and environments. It is in this area that we often see PAT (portable appliance testing) being conducted on all electrical equipment found in the workplace.

Employers must also ensure that all staff working in assessed risk environments are provided with or required to wear relevant Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Regulations also require that employees receive relevant training and guidance as to how to work safely, use the correct PPE and be aware of the risks they face.

Any worker wishing to make a claim for electric shock injury compensation must demonstrate that their injury was caused by employer negligence, and that the employer failed to uphold their duty of care to employees. When an employer is proven to have been negligent, the compensation claim will be successful.

Injuries caused at home or in a public place

A person injured by an electric shock at home or out in public can make a claim for compensation if their injury was caused by a faulty appliance, or because of below standard electrical contractor or building work.

It is important that the details of the injury are reported to the appliance manufacturer or electrical contractor who carried out the work, as well as the owner of the premises in which it occurred.

How do I start my claim?

Direct2Compensation are experts in personal injury compensation and our staff can assist you in quickly identifying whether the cause of your electric shock is something that you can make a compensation claim for.

Our easy to understand No Win No Fee claims process is simple and hassle free, and we work with solicitors who will give you the very best prospect of succeeding with your claim.

You can call our friendly and helpful staff on 01225 430285 or get your claim started online today. We take pride in making sure that you feel understood and look forward to helping you make your claim.

22 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming, plus electric shock claim examples...

Hi
I received a shock from a faulty microwave at my workplace. I had numbness in the mouth dizziness and have since been suffering from headaches. I had to go to a and e which came back clear. Do I have grounds ?

Employers have a duty of care to ensure that electrical items within the workplace are safe and should take appropriate action to do their best in this regard with actions like having all items PAT tested regularly.

In your case, it is very likely that you can pursue a claim against the employers mandatory insurance cover for the pain, distress and upset caused to you by the electric shock injury. We would certainly be very happy to assist you on a No Win No Fee basis with this.

The best course of action is to have a brief no obligation telephone conversation with you so that we can find out a little more and answer any questions you may have so that you can make an informed decision as to whether you would like to pursue this matter further. You can request a call from us by using our website or you can call us on 01225430285 for further help and advice.

I was electrocuted while at work and my employer didn’t take me to the hospital since then i have been experiencing headaches and dizziness I visited a doctor but it feels as if the headaches are increasing what should I do?

Make sure that the details of the electric shock injury you sustained at work have been properly reported and recorded with your employer – ideally in the employers accident book. If your symptoms persist, return to see your Doctor and then contact us to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation.

Am I entitled to compensation for an accident I had as a result of interfering in an electric installation?

Please call us on 01225430285. We need to discuss your injury and the cause in order to ascertain whether or not you can make a claim for personal injury compensation.

I received a serious electric shock which damaged my heart. I was thrown 6 feet in the air resulting in head and spine injury. This was caused by criminal negligence by rogue trader who left roof exposed, water found its way into distrubution board and I received the shock. The trader was operating under false name, but Trading standards know who they are but refuse to let me have the name and address of the trader. I need a no win no fee lawyer to deal with my claim, but how do we get Trading standards to release the identitiy of the trader.

Have you tried using a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to obtain this information?

Hi what sort of compensation do you think i could be awarded for suffering an electric shock on my right hand which caused constant pain for 5 weeks which required me to get a cortisone injection, the injection worked for a couple of months but now the pain is back? there was no fall just inflammation caused by the shock…

Whether or not you can obtain compensation for the damage caused by the electric shock will depend on how the shock happened and whether or not we can demonstrate negligence as the cause.

In terms of a value for the claim, it is not possible to assign a definitive value range at this stage and that can only truly be done once a full recovery is made – or if a medical expert has provided a detailed report with prognosis about the injury. However, as a minimum (if you were to fully recover later today), we would anticipate the claim would fall in to the value range of £1500-£2500. This value could raise or lower depending on both your recovery and any other issues noted in your medical records. When a specialist Solicitor evaluates the final compensation value, they will take in to account medical records, recovery or lack of, medical experts report and loss of income/associated incurred costs.

I had an electric shock whilst working on a till. I had no medical attention or support from my customer team leader. I also asked if I could go in the back and sit down, but he said that the delivery was in and it was too busy. I felt palpitations and said to my team leader that I felt that I needed to sit down. I had no support.

You can claim compensation against an employer if you are injured because of a faulty machine and suffer an electric shock. However, as with any No Win No Fee claim for personal injury compensation, the severity of the injury needs to reach a certain level before a claim can proceed. In the case of the electric shock injury you sustained, if it left suffering from symptoms including pins and needles, loss of sensation or muscle spasms as a result of the electric shock, you could see to make a claim.

You should make sure that an accident report was filled in – if not, request that an accident book entry be made noting the details of your electric shock injury and the faulty till that caused it.

How long would such symptoms need to persist please and can they be proven medically?

It is for medical experts (Doctors and Nurses) to assess the severity of an injury and the validity of any suggesting of ongoing symptoms. In terms of making a claim for personal injury compensation arising from an electric shock, the severity of symptoms may vary greatly. In the most severe of cases, damage can be caused to the heart, with further problems caused by muscle and nerve damage. Such a severe electric shock would certainly enable a claim to proceed.

In the less severe cases where someone suffers muscular pain, with some nerve issues (tingling, loss of sensation for a while or pins and needles), symptoms should last for 21 days or more – in general.

We strongly recommend that you get in contact with us to discuss the specifics of your injury symptoms so that we can assess whether or not you can claim compensation for an electric shock injury.

hi, about a week ago at work i received an electric shock from a microwave mains cable that had been eaten through by rats exposing live cables. A few days latter i collapsed whilst at work with breathing problems, shakes and dizziness and as a result had to go to hospital, took some photos of the microwave and mains cable, do i have grounds for a claim?

Yes, you could pursue a claim here. Why not call us on 01225430285 so that we can help you start your claim for compensation?

I received an electric shock at work earlier this year. I had to take myself to hospital as no one knew what to do and I am one of the first aiders. I was checked over by the hospital ECG etc. I had a large blister on my finger where the electricity had conducted when I switched the socket on. For approx 4 days after I suffered severe headaches. My employer did not have cover available so I had to work part shifts from home. In house HSE visited 3wks after and in this meeting I was mocked by one of the managers. At the time of the meeting we were having PAT testing carried out. I asked the PAT tester could this be caused by static electricity and I was advised no and this had been reported since 2014. HSE took a picture of my finger and never produced a report from the faulty socket after two email requests. However I raised a grievance with my employer and was provided a copy of an invoice which states cause as static electricity. The socket was faulty and had been reported by 3 separate staff members along with the PAT tester. Unfortunately due to the office environment there is limited electricity sockets available. I have now been left with a disfigured finger and have nerve damage. I have been referred to a specialist by my GP who has confirmed from the visible nerve damage this has been caused by the shock. Would I be entitled to a claim?

On the basis of your description, my initial view is that you have a claim that should be pursued. In this case, there is a clear argument to be made in your favour in the claim on the basis of employer negligence. Your employer had been put on notice of a fault with a socket by no less than 3 separate people. Therefore, failure to take immediate action to either isolate the socket and remove it from use or place a warning sign on the socket is likely to render them liable for the damage to your finger and health by this electrocution injury.

I am contacting you on behalf of a colleague who sustained an electric shock at work in May 2016, which knocked him over; he was medically checked and then sent home. The incident involved my colleague sustaining an electric shock from a water heater. The water heater was checked in 2013 by an independent electrical service company who identified an action coded as C2 ‘potentially dangerous, urgent remedial action required’. There is no clear record of this action being completed. The water heater should have been securely isolated, once a problem had been identified and a caution notice should be attached at the point of isolation.

Firstly, I would say that he does have a very strong claim for compensation.

Using a specialist solicitor ensures that the claimant receives the maximum value of settlement to which they are entitled and protects the claimant from dealing directly with an insurer who will be looking to settle the claim at the lowest possible tariff. Therefore, I would suggest that your colleague make an enquiry to us so that we can discuss this in detail and offer advice on the basis of knowing the full facts of the matter.