The National Institute for Safety and Health indicate that 3-4 people are killed each day in electrical related work injury in America. Arc flash injuries kill one person a day, and critically injure other due to serious burns of the skin. Electric arcs produce temperatures as high as 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit. They can produce a shock wave from the sudden expansion of air that results in a blast with strong air pressure. Material caught in the arc such as metals are vaporized and can spray hot onto an unprotected worker causing further burns and injury.
The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Electric Code (NEC), NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces, require proper warnings for qualified workers, to warn of arc flash potential, and provide information for proper personal protective equipment.
NEC 110.16 requires that switchboards, panel boards, industrial control panels, and motor control centers in non dwelling occupancies, that are likely to require examination or service while energized be marked to warn qualified persons of the arc flash hazard.
Without these warnings workers can be seriously injured. The regulations were developed and adopted because trained electricians have been injured and killed at an alarming rate and are at risk when working on an energized system. The standards warning require the owner of the system to conduct an arc flash analysis and properly warn.
If you have been injured in an electrical accident you need to get the help of an experienced attorney. The law firm of Tatlow, Gump, Faiella and Wheelan has successfully handled electrical wrongful death and injury cases.
