Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas
Electrical Line Injury
Suppose and individual is injured by an electrical line while on the roof of a building. Does the individual have any legal recourse against the electric line owner?
4 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Electrical Line Injury
probably, give us a call
Re: Electrical Line Injury
To make an accurate and intelligent determination of liability, more information would be needed.
Re: Electrical Line Injury
Quite possibly !!!
The initial question that must be answered is "Did the electric line belong to the injured workers' employer or a co-worker ofthe injured worker." If so, the Workers' Comp. shield against an additional liability claims will likely apply and thus no seperate legal action will be available to you.
The second group of question questions involves th liability of the owner\controller of the electric line. Was the electric line owned\controlled by a customer of the injured workers' employer; a third party vendor\subcontractor working with the injured worker; a contractor\sub-contractor on a job site where they all were working; or a governmental entity. Depending on those answers, the appropriate legal standard and\or the amount of a possible seperate recovery will vary.
Bear in mind that in most any scenario, the WC Insurance Carrier must still provide coverage for the medical bills and the income replacement(subject to applicable WC statutoy TIBs maximums). That being so the statutorily prescribed "subrogation right" of the WC Inurance Compnay will require you to reimburse the WC Carrier in fiull for their costs. The only exception to that is a 1\3 mandatory reduction in that lien for your attorney's fees.
Because this is not a pure WC problem, you will be needing a Lawyer with both extensive WC experience and Common Law Negligence litigation experience.
Bear in mind that prompt investigation and documnetation of the scene is a MUST for success with the additional negligence claim. Our firms has both and would be happy to consult with you on this important matter.
Re: Electrical Line Injury
All personal injury and wrongful death cases are based upon your ability to show negligence (with the exception of a few "strict liability" cases, which it is possible the one you described is), which means the injured victim must show that someone else (here, whoever owns, installed, or maintains the electrical line) was negligent in causing their injuries. There is also the issue of "comparative negligence" on the part of the injured victim which can serve to diminish or even prevent recovery of damages completely. These are complex issues which cannot be answered accurately with this little information. You really need to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney to find out for sure. Call me.