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Rick Shapiro
by Rick Shapiro
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Rick is a Carolina injury attorney who handles car accidents, medical malpractice, FELA, wrongful death, etc.

Blog Category:
1/18/2011
Rick Shapiro
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Electric Shock Drowning: A Hidden Danger In Fresh Water

In a few months the weather will turn warm again and North Carolina (NC) residents and tourists will flock to the rivers and lakes such as the Blackwater and Lake Gaston to swim and boat. While I know they will enjoy themselves, I just recently learned that people having fun on fresh water face risks from an invisible killer, especially near boat marinas.

Boat and deck equipment and appliances can leak voltage into the water and cause shock injuries and electrocutions.  I, for one, plan on checking to make sure the marinas at Lake Gaston have the proper safety equipment installed before I let my children swim in a marina area.

To learn more about serious personal injury cases, check out these other articles:

Electric shock drowning is a danger that many parents don't even know exists. Sadly, I found out about this dangerous electrocution and electric shock hazard by reading an article about a family who lost their son to ESD on August 1, 1999, when  the boy was electrocuted while swimming at a fresh water marina on a tributary of the Willamette River near Portland, Oregon (OR).

As noted in a Huffington Post article, this tragedy would not have occurred if

  • If an equipment leakage circuit interrupter (ELCI) had been installed on the power boat that leaked voltage into the water where Lucas was swimming. It would have interrupted the circuit  and kept any electricity from leaking into the water; or
  • If the marina ahead of the boat's shore power had been equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) breaker. Even 10 mA [milliamperes] of current would have tripped the GFCI and stopped any electricity from entering the water.

Electric shock drowning does not occur in salt water because salt water is a better conductor of electricity than the human body. Fresh water, however, doesn't conduct electricity, but people do.

The boy's untimely, tragic death led his father into a new career direction. He now lobbies Congress and/or other authorities seeking to require that all power boats have an ELCI installed to prevent electrical shorts, and wants every boat marina to have GFCIs at all electrical hookups so fresh water around marinas is safe for swimming and does not pose an electrocution risk.  I hope Congress seriously considers implementing these safety standards.

CA

 



Category: All Serious Injuries

Labels: attorney boat breaker Circuit Circuit Interrupter death drowning electric Electrical electrician Electrocution Equipment Leak Esd Fresh Water Ground Fault Interrupter Marinas NC lawyer North Carolina Powerboats Shapiro shock Unnecessary Virginia


About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law. We maintain office in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC), on East Elizabeth Street, and we have handled thousands of cases in which victims got hurt or killed in car, truck, train and motorcycle crashes caused by others' negligence or carelessness.

We serve every area of North Carolina, including Elizabeth City, Edenton, Raleigh, Durham, Rocky Mount, Roanoke Rapids, Greensboro, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Halifax, Northampton,  Greenville, Goldsboro, Havelock, Kinston, New Bern, Tarboro, Wilson, Ahoskie, Currituck, Camden and the Outer Banks towns of Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Manteo, Corolla, Currituck and Dare. In South Carolina, we cover the state from Myrtle Beach and Charleston to Orangeburg, Columbia, Florence, Rock Hill, Darlington, Aiken, Anderson, Greenville and Spartanburg.

Firm attorneys Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008 and the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, our firm has been named a North Carolina "Best Law Firm" for personal injury law since 2010 by U.S. News & World Report.

We also offer free special reports on distracted driving and the Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina. 

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.



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