Preventing NC Lake Electrocutions

Electrocutions by drowning in a lake or pool are considered by some to be “freak accidents.” The reality is that they happen a lot more often than you might think, and are often the result of someone’s negligence.

Potential for Electrocution in NC Lakes, Rivers, Pools

Being electrocuted while swimming in a lake, river, or pool is not something you might consider when taking a refreshing dip. But it happens. A 17-year-old Raleigh lifeguard was electrocuted and drowned in 2017 when she tested the water at a public pool where she worked. Negligence and “shoddy workmanship” was alleged to be the reason the water became charged, and the parents have filed a lawsuit.

How Does Drowning by Electrocution Occur?

When you are swimming in water that becomes charged, your body seizes up and you are unable to move or swim away. One of the reasons you see “No Swimming” signs at public docks and marinas is to prevent electrocution by keeping swimmers at least 150 feet away from the dock, which authorities claim is usually a safe distance.

If you own a dock on Lake Norman, Lake Gaston, Kerr Lake, or on any NC waterway, or if you run electricity to any body of water, make sure a licensed electrician checks the wiring at least every two years. Incidentally electric shock can occur in any body of water, however, experts say fresh is more of a conductor than salt water.

Safety Tips to Help Deter Electrocutions in NC Lakes

  • Use a plastic ladder, rather than a metal one, so it won’t help to facilitate transfer electricity into the water
  • If you start to feel a tingle in the water, swim away from the dock, which is where most electrical issues occur
  • Check all of the wiring around your dock, including your ground fault circuit breaker.
  • Purchase a Dock Lifeguard, a device that detects electricity on your dock and in the water around your dock.

Electrocutions Can Happen Near Boats

Boats can have faulty wiring too, which can charge the water around it.  Two boys were electrocuted in a large lake while swimming between houseboats. It was determined that the wiring was faulty on one of the houseboats and it charged the water, killing one boy and severely injuring the other.

If you are a boat owner, you should have a marine electrician periodically check your boat’s wiring and fix any problems.

If you or a loved one have been hurt by electrocution in a North Carolina lake, river, or pool,
call us today at 1-866-900-7078 for a free case evaluation.

Electrocution Accidents, Injuries, Deaths

Electrocution is generally classified as death by electric shock. Yet, it also encompasses a wide range of injuries from contact with electricity. Here are the four primary types of electrocution injuries, as defined by the U.S. National Library of Medicine:

  • Cardiac arrest
  • Muscle, nerve, and tissue destruction
  • Thermal burns from contact with an electrical source
  • Falling or other similar injuries associated from an electrical shock

If a person is electrocuted in the water and survives, they could potentially suffer long-term effects, including:

  • Headaches
  • Amnesia or short-term memory loss
  • Mood swings
  • Mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, aggression, and schizophrenia

Drowning by Electrocution Liability

Drownings by electrocution are almost always a result of negligence, including faulty equipment and poor maintenance, human error, poor workmanship. Potentially liable parties may include:

  • Property owners
  • Power companies
  • Equipment and boat operators
  • Contractors or operators responsible for repairs and past maintenance

North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyers Offer Free Case Evaluation

If your loved one drowned by electrocution or was injured by an electrical shock of any kind, contact us or call 1-866-900-7078 for a free case evaluation. You could be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, or wrongful death.

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Potential Lawsuits Grow as GenX Concerns Escalate

If the increasing number of inquiries we have been getting from NC property owners are an indication of what’s to come, there’s a potentially massive property value issue in the southeastern portion of our state. And a potentially massive health crisis.

Property owners have been contacting us over fears of water contamination from GenX.

GenX is in the molecularly close-knit family of super toxins known as perfluoroalkyls and polyfluoroalkyls (PFAS), which are used to make Teflon-type products. The toxin has seeped from the DuPont Chemours Fayetteville plant into the Cape Fear River and has infiltrated wells and municipal water supplies in at least three counties. No one knows how to filter it out.

GenX is said to be so toxic that even one drop dissolved into 20 Olympic sized pools may pose health risks.

Contamination by the same family of chemicals may date back as far as 1980, according to a DuPont spokesperson. Experts are only scraping the surface of the potential for widespread harms after decades of contamination.

Just recently, additional testing by the state and Chemours has expanded contamination concerns to include air, rainwater, honey, wild game, and fruits and vegetables grown in the area.

Property owners have been contacting us over fears of water contamination from GenX. If you or a loved one have suffered from GenX river contamination, call us today at 1-866-900-7078 for a free case evaluation.

Diminished Property Values in Wilmington, Pender, Brunswick, New Hanover

If you own property in the Wilmington area, or Pender, Brunswick, or New Hanover counties, your property values may be diminished 10% to 30% due to contaminated drinking water discovered in wells and municipal water treatment plants. You may not even be able to sell your property at all.

GenX. Same Toxic Chemical. Benign New Name.

GenX is the chemical cousin to DuPont’s C8, which poisoned tens of thousands of residents and livestock along the Ohio River Valley. DuPont recently settled lawsuits for over $670 million for knowingly releasing C8 into mid-Ohio Valley streams and tributaries that flowed into the Ohio River.

The U.S. government has since banned C8 from being produced in the U.S. because of its extreme toxicity and its ability to exist indefinitely in the environment. DuPont complied by discontinuing production of C8. Instead, they tinkered with its molecular structure to create a similar chemical, and gave it a new benign-sounding name – GenX.

You say potato, I say potaahto. No matter what you call it, this chemical is in the same toxic family of perfluoroalkyls and polyfluoroalkyls.

Is History Repeating Itself?

Is GenX to the Cape Fear River what C8 was to the Ohio River?

This is a thought-provoking question and no one knows the answer at this point. Studies are proliferating on the potential harms GenX may have already posed or could potentially pose to humans, animals, and the environment.

Here is what we do know. Many North Carolina residents may have been drinking and bathing in extremely contaminated water, potentially since 1980. Not only has this created a potential health issue, but property values may potentially be affected.

As a result, many North Carolina residents are suing the Chemours Company and DuPont.

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