Utility Worker Suffers Electrical Injury in Plymouth Fire

According to a recent news feature from The Boston Globe, a worker was just injured when he was badly burned in the Myles Standish State Forest in the Plymouth, Massachusetts area.  The worker, who is 51 years old, was in a bucket truck when the accident occurred.

mmftBzMThe United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting a formal and full investigation into the cause of this accident and to see if it could be prevented in the future.  What they have released so far is that the worker was in the bucket truck around nine in the morning when he came in close proximity to live electrical wires. 

In this case, it is believed he actually touched the live wires, but there have been many workplace accidents where the worker only came close to the wires but did not actually touch them.  In some cases, the current is strong enough to arch from the source to victim through the air even over a distance as much as a few feet.  This is one of the many dangers when working with high voltage lines.

He was seriously injured from being shocked and burned in this Plymouth workplace accident.  The injuries were so severe that when first responders arrived on the scene, they decided to call in a medevac helicopter to take him to a level-one trauma center.  When the helicopter arrived, he was loaded into it and transported to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in downtown Boston for emergency surgery and treatment.

Witnesses say his clothing was charred from being burned by the electricity, but his condition is not known as of this time.  It is not know whether he is expected to survive, as any workplace accident that requires the victim to be airlifted to a major shock trauma center will involve life-threatening injuries.

One of the reasons burn injuries are so dangerous is because, even if the victim survives the initial burn, they often have large areas of skin that have been destroyed, and this leaves the victim very susceptible to developing a deadly infection.  In fact, secondary infections following serious burns often result in more damage than the initial burn injury. Skin is the body’s best defense to getting an infection, and no amount of artificial protection and sterilization is fool proof.

In the Commonwealth, under the Workers’ Compensation Act, if worker is injured as a result of burn injury and scarred on the face, neck, head, or hands, or scarred from another type of injury, he or she is eligible for additional workers’ compensation for that permanent scarring in many cases.  This money is paid in a lump sum and is in addition to any standard monthly workers’ compensation benefits award.

However, it should be noted that the facts of every case are different, and you should speak with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney about the facts of your particular situation to see if you have a claim for additional special damages.

If you or someone you love has been injured a Boston work accident, call for a free and confidential appointment at (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Worker suffers electric injury in Plymouth forest, June 8, 2016, Washington Post, By Mina Corpuz

More Blog Entries:

Scope of Employment in Workers’ Compensation Cases, March 29, 2016, Boston Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog

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