Electrocution Injury Lawyer Los Angeles: Who Is Liable

A 12,000-volt distribution line will kill a roofer who lifts a length of gutter into it. The line looks the same energized or dead, which is why California law presumes it is live until someone proves otherwise. If you or a family member was hurt by electrical contact, an electrocution injury lawyer in Los Angeles has to answer one question before anything else: who besides your employer can be sued. Borna Houman Law builds those claims across Los Angeles County.

Key Takeaway: California requires at least 6 feet of clearance from energized overhead lines carrying 600 to 50,000 volts, and 10 feet for boom-type equipment, under title 8, section 2946 of the California Code of Regulations. Section 2946(d) treats every overhead conductor as energized unless the line owner confirms otherwise and the line is visibly grounded at the worksite. That regulation can support negligence per se against every defendant except your own employer.

Who is liable for an electrocution injury in Los Angeles?

Rarely the property owner alone, and often not the property owner at all. The defendants who actually pay in these cases are the general contractor, the equipment lessor, the utility that owns the line, and sometimes the manufacturer of a defective tool or component.

Electrical injuries split into a few recurring patterns in Los Angeles: overhead line contact by ladders, scaffolding, boom lifts, and long metal materials; arc flash during panel or switchgear work; contact with downed conductors after wind events; and defective wiring in residential and commercial buildings. Each pattern points at a different defendant.

How far must you stay from a power line in California?

Penal Code section 385 makes it a misdemeanor to move or operate tools, machinery, equipment, or materials within 6 feet of a high voltage overhead conductor. The statute defines high voltage as anything over 750 volts.

The civil standard comes from the High-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders at title 8, section 2946. Those tables are what an expert will testify from.

Section 2946 also requires a spotter where the equipment operator cannot maintain clearance visually, and section 2948 requires notice to the line owner before work begins near the conductor. That notification record, or its absence, is usually the first document we request.

Does an overhead line count as energized if nobody said otherwise?

Yes. Section 2946(d) deems every overhead conductor energized unless two things happen: the owner of the line verifies that it is not, and the line is visibly grounded at the work site. Verification alone does not satisfy the regulation.

That subsection undercuts the standard defense argument. Insurers open by saying the worker should have seen the line and kept away from it. Section 2946(d) reframes the same facts as a compliance failure by the contractor and the line owner, because nobody performed the verification and grounding the regulation requires. In our experience, that subsection changes settlement posture more than any other single authority in a power line case.

Can a Cal/OSHA safety order be used against a defendant in a civil case?

Against everyone except your employer, yes. Labor Code section 6304.5, as amended in 1999, provides that Evidence Code sections 452 and 669 apply to Cal/OSHA standards the same way they apply to any other statute or regulation. The California Supreme Court confirmed this in Elsner v. Uveges (2004) 34 Cal.4th 915.

The practical effect is that a violation of section 2946 supports a negligence per se instruction against the general contractor, the equipment lessor, and the utility. Employers keep workers’ compensation exclusivity, but they are usually not the deep pocket anyway.

What standard of care applies to a utility company?

A heightened one. CACI 416 tells the jury that people and companies “must be very careful” in constructing, insulating, inspecting, maintaining, and repairing power lines wherever it is reasonably probable they will cause harm. The instruction draws on Scally v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1972) 23 Cal.App.3d 806, 815 and Polk v. City of Los Angeles (1945) 26 Cal.2d 519, 525, which describes power lines as dangerous instrumentalities.

The duty is alternative rather than absolute. Under Scally, a utility can insulate the wire or locate it so that it is comparatively harmless. It does not have to do both, which is why the placement and clearance evidence matters so much.

Separately, the California Public Utilities Commission sets construction and inspection rules through General Order 95 for overhead lines, General Order 128 for underground systems, and General Order 165 for inspection cycles. A utility that missed its own inspection interval under General Order 165 has a documented problem.

Can you sue Southern California Edison or LADWP?

Both, but on different timelines and different theories.

Southern California Edison is an investor-owned utility. Barham v. Southern California Edison Co. (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 744 held that an investor-owned utility can be liable in inverse condemnation the same way a public entity can, finding no rational basis to distinguish publicly and privately owned utilities. Inverse condemnation requires no proof of negligence at all. Most personal injury firms associate the theory only with wildfire litigation and never plead it in a contact case.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is a municipal utility, so the Government Claims Act applies. You must present a written claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2 before you can sue. Miss that and the claim is over regardless of how clear the liability is.

What if you were working for a contractor when it happened?

Then the threshold issue is the Privette doctrine, and it has to be addressed at intake rather than after filing. Under Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689 and its successors, a party that hires an independent contractor generally is not liable to the contractor’s employees.

Sandoval v. Qualcomm Inc. (2021) 12 Cal.5th 256 was itself an arc flash case, and Qualcomm won. The court held that a plaintiff must show the hirer both retained control over the work and actually exercised that control in a way that affirmatively contributed to the injury. Retained control on paper is not enough.

What that means in practice: if you were a contractor’s employee, the landowner is often the wrong defendant, and the real recovery comes from the general contractor, the equipment lessor, or the utility. Our guide to third-party work injury claims in Los Angeles walks through how those claims run alongside a comp file.

Can you recover outside workers’ compensation?

Yes, and the difference is large. Workers’ compensation pays medical treatment and a fraction of wages. It pays nothing for pain and suffering, nothing for loss of consortium, and nothing for the full value of a shortened career.

A third-party tort claim covers all of it. Electrical injuries frequently produce deep tissue burns requiring grafts, cardiac damage, and neurological deficits that appear months later. Those overlap with our burn injury practice in Los Angeles and, in construction settings, with our guide to Los Angeles construction accident claims.

How common are electrical injuries at work?

The Electrical Safety Foundation International, compiling Bureau of Labor Statistics and OSHA data, counted 2,070 workplace fatalities from contact with electricity in the United States between 2011 and 2024.

Contact with overhead power lines caused 809 of those deaths, roughly 49 percent of all workplace electrical fatalities, and ESFI notes the line was frequently in plain view. Construction accounted for 907 fatalities, the most of any sector, and five trades (electricians, laborers, roofers, painters, and carpenters) made up about 30 percent of the total.

Non-fatal injuries are rising. ESFI reported 5,180 electrical injuries involving days away from work across 2023 and 2024 combined, a 59 percent increase over the prior two-year period. About 70 percent of workplace electrical fatalities happen to people in non-electrical occupations, which is the population least trained to recognize the hazard.

How long do you have to file an electrocution claim in California?

Two years from the date of injury for personal injury or wrongful death, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1.

If a public entity is a defendant, including LADWP, a city, a county, or a school district, you must first present a written government claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2. If the entity rejects the claim in writing, Government Code section 945.6 gives you six months from that rejection to file suit.

What is an electrocution injury case worth in Los Angeles?

It depends on the injury, the number of solvent defendants, and comparative fault. California follows pure comparative fault under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804, so a worker found 40 percent responsible still recovers 60 percent of the verdict.

Serious electrical cases carry lifetime components: burn revision surgeries, prosthetics after amputation, cardiac monitoring, and neuropsychological treatment. Those are proven through a life care plan and a vocational economist, not a multiplier. Fatal cases proceed under the wrongful death statute, and our Los Angeles wrongful death guide covers who has standing to bring one.

Frequently asked questions about electrocution injuries in Los Angeles

Can I sue the power company if I was hurt by a downed line?

Often yes. Utilities owe a heightened duty under CACI 416 to inspect and maintain lines. Against an investor-owned utility like Southern California Edison, you may also plead inverse condemnation under Barham, which does not require proving negligence.

How far do I legally have to stay from a power line in California?

At least 6 feet from lines carrying 600 to 50,000 volts, and 10 feet if you are operating boom-type lifting equipment, under title 8, section 2946. Penal Code section 385 makes violating the 6-foot rule a misdemeanor for conductors over 750 volts.

Can I sue if I was electrocuted at work?

You cannot sue your employer outside workers’ compensation in most cases, but you can sue any other negligent party. The general contractor, equipment lessor, utility, and product manufacturer are all separate defendants with separate insurance.

What if the line was supposed to be de-energized?

Section 2946(d) requires both verification by the line owner and visible grounding at the work site before a conductor is treated as safe. If either step was skipped, that is a documented regulatory violation and usually the strongest fact in the case.

What are the long-term effects of a serious electric shock?

Beyond burns at the entry and exit points, survivors report cardiac arrhythmia, chronic neuropathic pain, memory and concentration problems, and post-traumatic stress. Some deficits do not appear for months, which is why settling early is usually a mistake.

Is my landlord responsible if faulty wiring shocked me?

Possibly. A residential landlord owes a duty of ordinary care under Civil Code section 1714 and Rowland v. Christian. Prior complaints about the wiring, permit history, and any unpermitted electrical work are the evidence that matters.

How long do I have to sue for an electrocution injury?

Two years under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Six months to present a claim under Government Code section 911.2 if a public entity such as LADWP is involved.

Talk to a Los Angeles electrocution injury lawyer

Evidence in these cases moves fast. Utilities repair or replace the conductor, contractors revise their job hazard analysis, and the boom lift goes back to the rental yard and out on the next job. Clearance measurements and the section 2948 notification record need to be captured before any of that happens.

Borna Houman Law handles electrical injury and wrongful death claims throughout Los Angeles County on a contingency fee, so there is no fee unless we win. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation.

The text of Penal Code section 385 is available through California Legislative Information, and the clearance tables in section 2946 are published by the California Department of Industrial Relations.

This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Consult an attorney about your specific situation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.