Electrical Injuries Part Four

I’m David Holub, an attorney focusing on personal injury law in northwest Indiana.

Welcome to Personal Injury Primer, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss personal injury law topics.

In our last three episodes, we discussed a caller concerned about an injury he suffered while using an EV charging station when the charging cable shorted out and he received an electric shock and suffered second-degree burns on his hands.

In the first episode, we discussed the possibility of suing the electric utility company and discussed the utility company’s duty concerning members of the public coming into contact with uninsulated wires.

In the second episode, we discussed that the utility company likely would raise a defense called incurred risk.

Please recall that the caller made a point of saying that the charging cable looked like it may have been damaged by a prior user, but he decided to use it anyway.

In this episode, we discuss issues involving weather, such as ice and snow, and the enhanced electrocution dangers that inclement weather may pose.

How might liability issues be impacted if you are shocked at a charging station while attempting to charge an EV during inclement weather?

Bad weather is a very real possibility. Chicago electric vehicle owners got the shock of their lives (pun intended) when frigid temperatures caused their cars to go dead in the winter of 2023-2024.

The bitterly cold weather made charging EVs impossible with temperatures as low as -5 °F with drivers trying and failing to get power into their batteries for hours. The problem developed at Tesla supercharging stations forcing many drivers to abandon their vehicles to seek shelter. The charging issue was attributed to batteries being difficult to charge at low temperatures.

But, unlike most petrol fueling stations, which protect people fueling up their vehicles with overhead covering, most EV charging stations have no overhead coverings, which leaves people plugged into chargers exposed to rain and snow.

Is it dangerous to plug wet rain-soaked or snow-covered charging cables into an EV?

In most situations, it may be safe to charge an electric car in the rain. The charging process has been designed to protect drivers and EV users and cables and charging points are waterproofed, and there usually are extra layers of safety measures in place to direct any electrical current away from the user and down through the EV to the ground.

But, what if a cable is damaged? Who would be liable?

As we discussed, the caller thought the cable looked stretched and damaged. This would implicate the liability and defense issues discussed in the early podcasts.

The lack of weather protection could well be a factor that would enhance the liability of the supplier of the electricity through the charging station. Protection from rain and snow might well have been anticipated given that cables can be damaged, and failure to protect the charging stations from rain and snow, could well have enhanced the danger.

Many years ago gasoline pumps did not have breakaway fill handles. But now they are required to have such handles because it is known that periodically drivers pull away forgetting to remove the fill hose. The breakaway handles prevent fuel spills and prevent ignition of the fuel source.

Over time, hopefully, electrical charging stations will be made safer and safer as dangers are anticipated and mitigated.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you are a victim of someone’s carelessness, substandard medical care, product defect, work injury, or another personal injury, please call (219) 736-9700 with your questions. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at DavidHolubLaw.com – while there, make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth.”