What are the types of electrical shock injuries?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are four main types of injuries that can occur as a result of exposure to electricity: fatal electrocution, electric shock, burns, and falls caused by contact with electrical energy.

Some key factors in the severity of any electrocution injury are the voltage of the current, the path the current took through the body, and the length of time the body was in contact with the current.

At the moment of an electricity exposure injury, the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are at the greatest risk for damage. Electric shocks can disrupt heart action or completely paralyze the respiratory system, resulting in the cessation of breathing, and death. And in addition to burns (which can run the gamut in terms of severity) electricity exposure injuries can cause much more harm to the body that may not be as visible, including damage to internal organs, muscles, and tissue.

Exposure to electricity is most common in certain types of employment fields, including construction and any work that takes place near power lines and sources of electricity.

Some of the most common safety hazards that lead to electricity exposure injuries are improper wiring, exposed electrical components and power lines, inadequate insulation, improper electrical grounding, overloaded circuits, and wet conditions in and around sources of electricity.

For most on-the-job electrical shock injuries, an injured worker's sole remedy will be a workers' compensation claim that can result in the payment of benefits like compensation for medical bills and partial or total disability.