May Is National Electrical Safety Month: Do You Know the Facts?
Every May, organizations like the National Safety Council observe National
Electrical Safety Month to help families and workplaces nationwide practice
electrical safety. Electricity makes many of our daily chores, jobs, and
hobbies possible.
When a piece of electrical equipment contains a dangerous defect or does not come with adequate instructions and warnings to help users avoid harm, serious injuries can result. Electrocution and fires cause thousands of injuries and millions of dollars in property damage each year nationwide.
How big is the problem? Consider these statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Safety Council (NSC):
- According to OSHA, electricity causes 4.7 percent of deaths in the workplace.
- About 400 people are electrocuted at home each year, resulting in about 200 deaths. On average, four people die from an at-home electrocution every week.
- About 10 percent of all at-home electrocutions are caused by large appliances - roughly the same number as those caused by power tools.
- About 4,000 people are electrocuted in the workplace each year. Although construction and similar industries account for most of these accidents, anyone who works in a workplace supplied with electricity face some risk of electrocution.
- Faulty electrical equipment causes about 140,000 home and workplace fires each year. These fires claim, on average, an additional 400 lives and cause another 4,000 injuries.
At Cullan & Cullan LLC, our experienced Omaha fire injury lawyers seek to help our community avoid serious harm - and to help our clients secure the compensation they deserve if they are injured by the negligence of others. Contact us today to learn more.