Power Line Injury Lawuits

Pennsylvania - New Jersey - New York - Nationwide

Overhead electric power lines are such a commonplace sight in the United States that few people are aware of their inherent danger -- and some pay a terrible price as a result.

Each year in this country, there are an average of about 125 work-related electrocution fatalities. Other tragedies occur around residential properties and can be caused by inadequate inspections, installation or maintenance by energy companies.
If you or a loved one were severely or fatally injured by a downed utility power line, you may have grounds for a lawsuit and should contact a power line injury attorney.

Kline & Specter, P.C., currently represents the family of a Pittsburgh-area woman who was killed in one such case in which it is alleged that Allegheny Energy violated its own safety procedures for employee training and power line installations.

Specifically, the litigation claims, utility linemen failed to properly clean lines before placing them into splices, often using knives to clean lines or doing nothing at all, instead of using wire brushes in accordance with the manufacturer's and the power company's written instructions. In June 2009, such a poorly maintained power line fell on Carrie Goretzka, 39, of Irwin, repeatedly shocking and burning her as her two young children watched.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there are about 125 deaths on the job each year in the United States and roughly 400 overall as a result of electrocutions. Some power line deaths are caused by severe weather felling lines, but some may drop because they are insufficiently maintained.

Kline & Specter, with some 30 skilled attorneys, several of whom are also doctors, has the experience and expertise to investigate complex injury cases and in litigate cases against major utilities and corporations.

In 2004, the Philadelphia-based law firm won a $40.5 million settlement -- $11 million from Peco Energy Co. – on behalf of six people who died and six who were injured in an explosion and fire at an apartment complex. (See The Village Green Case) The explosion occurred after heavy rains flooded a basement and dislodged a gas dryer. The lawsuit claimed that Peco had failed to provide an adequate shutoff or regulatory device to prevent an "overpressurization of gas" in the ruptured line.

Contact a power line lawyer today.