Electricians are professionals who know all too well the risks they face each day on the job, where working with electricity can mean death in an instant. Serious, sudden, and life-altering injuries are possible, too.
Electricians may survive the accident and still suffer catastrophic bodily injuries such as electric shock nerve injuries or electrical burns, as well as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord injuries, and internal bodily harm suffered in a fall on the job site.
What Does an Electrician Do?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”), the job of an “electrician” involves the installation, maintenance, or repair of electrical power, communications, lighting, and control systems. Most electricians work full-time, most work alone, and many are required to work long hours (evenings and weekends).
Who hires them? The BLS reports that a great majority of electricians in this country (66%) are employed by electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors. Some are self-employed. Others work for companies in the manufacturing, employment services, or government sectors.
Here in Illinois and Indiana, electricians are often seen at work on our commercial or industrial construction sites as well as in extraction or demolition work. Electricians are also routinely needed in our local factories, mines, and manufacturing facilities.
In short, wherever the industrial needs involve an electrical power source, then electricians will be needed on that industrial worksite. Their duties will be varied. As an example, electricians on an excavation site or at a commercial construction project in Illinois or Indiana may be asked to do any number of the following tasks:
- Install, repair, or maintain various systems (wiring, control, and lighting);
- Inspect the electrical components (e.g., transformers, circuit breakers);
- Test and identify electrical problems;
- Use power tools or hand tools to repair or replace things like wiring, equipment, or fixtures (e.g., conduit benders, screwdrivers, wire strippers, drills, saws, ammeters, voltmeters, thermal scanners, and cable testers); and
- Cap live wires before other tasks are performed.
Electrician: Variety of Dangers on the Job
Working with electricity is dangerous. However, the electrician’s day-to-day hazards are compounded by how often the job requires things like:
- Long commutes to and from the job site (increasing the likelihood of worker fatigue);
- Working alone;
- Working in a confined space;
- Exposure to toxic fumes or hazardous chemicals;
- Exposure to clouds of dust or dirt;
- Exposure to debris that may fall from a height;
- Exposure to excessive noise (machinery or equipment);
- Working in extreme temperatures (very hot or very cold); and
- Working in bad weather (winter storms, heat waves).
Keeping Electricians Safe: Personal Protective Equipment and Safety Protocols
Keeping these professionals safe on the job is paramount. Of course, electricians know the importance of wearing Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) on the job. Things like safety glasses are a must. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), the following are among the PPE that any electrician in Indiana or Illinois should have:
- rubber insulating blankets
- rubber insulating matting
- rubber insulating covers
- rubber insulating line hose
- rubber insulating gloves
- rubber insulating sleeves.
For more, read Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents and The PPE Problem: Study Blames Workers for Failing to Use Personal Protective Equipment on the Job.
Other Safety Measures for Electricians on the Job
Aside from wearing PPE, electricians should work with the appropriate tools, machinery, and equipment that is designed to be used with electrical work. Insulated screwdrivers are a must.
Additionally, electricians should be monitored on the premises of any work site, especially if they are tasked with working alone or in a confined space. Electricians should never be asked to work outdoors when weather forecasts warn against it, for instance. Electricians should never be required to work at a height where there has not been a workplace inspection to make sure things are safe; this includes making sure floors are clean and dry, as well as railings on any stairs and scaffolds are secure.
Finally, there should be safety procedures in place at the worksite in the event of a work accident emergency. These safety plans should include how to turn off the electrical power and how to protect and assist the accident victim in the event of an electrician being hurt on the job site.
How Electricians Get Hurt or Killed At Work
Sadly, experts confirm that “almost all electrical injuries are accidental, and often, preventable. If not instantly fatal, the damage associated with electrical injuries can result in the dysfunction of multiple tissues or organs.” Read, Zemaitis MR, Foris LA, Lopez RA, et al. Electrical Injuries. [Updated 2022 Sep 9]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; January 2022.
Electricians face the daily on-the-job risk of being hurt or killed in any one of the four (4) main types of electrical injuries:
- Flash: an arc flash results in superficial burns because no electrical current enters the body past the skin;
- Flame: an arc flash ignites the electrician’s clothing and an electrical current can enter the body;
- Lighting: short, high-voltage electrical energy allows an electrical current to pass through the electrician’s entire body; or
- True: the electrician’s body becomes part of an electrical circuit, with an entrance and exit site.
Duty of Safety and Care Owned to Electricians and Electrical Workers
OSHA regulations are in place to protect electricians on the job from being injured or killed from bodily injuries suffered in electrical accidents. A specific set of regulations exists for electricians working in the construction industry. While Indiana and Illinois have their own OSHA-approved state safety plans, these OSHA-approved State Plans must meet or exceed the federal safety standards. For more, read Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois and OSHA and Work-Related Accident Claims in Indiana and Illinois.
From OSHA: Electricity has long been recognized as a serious workplace hazard. OSHA’s electrical standards are designed to protect employees exposed to dangers such as electric shock, electrocution, fires, and explosions.
These federal regulations place a legal duty of care and safety for employers and others with possession, custody, or control of aspects of the electrician’s worksite. See, 29 C.F.R. §1926, Subpart K and Subpart V.
Safety laws include requiring the employer to make sure the electrician understands the specific hazards presented for the particular tasks being performed. As explained by 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2), “[t]he employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury.”
Justice for Electricians Hurt or Killed on the Job in an Indiana or Illinois Work Accident
For electricians and their loved ones, the risk of a serious or deadly injury on the job is a reality that must be faced each day they go to work. Death is something an electrician must deal with in ways that an office worker does not.
Sadly, electricians can suffer permanent harm even when the incident seems minor on the worksite. Internal damage can happen that is not immediately obvious, and these can eventually be fatal or permanently debilitating.
Both Indiana and Illinois provide avenues for justice to these worker victims and their families. There may be federal laws that apply to the accident. Things like medical expenses, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, and therapy may be covered by workers’ compensation.
In some cases, the electrician may have a personal injury claim outside of workers’ compensation against premises owners, manufacturers of defective products, and other third parties who have a legal liability for what has resulted from their breach of a legal duty of safety and care.
For more, read:
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Employer’s Duty to Protect Against Worker Confined Space Accidents in 2022
- Electric Power Lines and Live Wires on the Worksite: Serious or Fatal Electricity Accidents
- Electricity Injuries: Fatal Electrocution Accidents
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents.
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
Electricians are courageous professionals who perform vital tasks at an incredible risk of harm. They deserve to have all proper protections in place against electrical injuries on the job. Tragically, all too often neglect or the decision to put profits over people results in tragedy. Please be careful out there!
