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ELECTRICAL INJURIES ARE OFTEN WORSE THAN THEY LOOK

A small mark on the skin can hide serious damage inside. The Merck Manual, a standard medical reference, puts it plainly: “The absence or severity of external burns does not predict the presence or severity of internal electrical injury.” Skin can mislead.

Voltage matters. High-voltage current (over 500 volts) tends to cause deep burns, according to Merck. Merck also lists compartment syndrome (dangerous swelling inside a muscle) and rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown) among the complications.

Some effects show up much later. Merck notes that subtle neurologic, psychological and physical problems “can develop 1 to 5 years after the injury.” That’s one reason not to settle a claim early.

An arc flash is a different injury. OSHA says an electric arc produces a flash of hot gas where temperatures “can exceed 35,000 °F.” Most arc flash burns, OSHA adds, come from the arc setting clothing on fire.

Get checked even if you feel fine. Tell the doctor the voltage if you know it, and where the current entered and left your body.

HOW ELECTRICAL INJURIES HAPPEN IN NORTH COUNTY

• Contact with overhead lines. Ladders, pool skimmer poles, tree trimming, roofing and boom equipment that touch or come near a line. Cal/OSHA’s rule is that any overhead line is treated as energized until whoever owns or operates the line confirms it is not energized and it is visibly grounded at the work site.
• Construction and contractor work. Cal/OSHA’s clearance table requires 6 feet from lines of 600 to 50,000 volts, rising to 20 feet at the highest voltages. Cranes and stored materials need 10 feet or more.
• Digging into buried lines. Contractors and landscapers who excavate generally must notify the regional call center (811) at least two working days before they dig (Government Code section 4216.2).
• Defective products and appliances. CPSC staff reviewed 410 electrocution deaths linked to consumer products from 2011 through 2020. Sixty-six involved an appliance, 22 a ladder, and 19 a pool, whirlpool or hot tub. CPSC notes the product was not necessarily the cause.
• Downed lines and damaged equipment. Storms, car crashes into poles and worn equipment can leave energized wires within reach.
• Faulty wiring in buildings. Exposed wiring, missing covers and bad repairs at a rental, store or job site.

See also our Solana Beach burn injury page.

TWO NORTH COUNTY PLACES, TWO SETS OF RULES

Solana Beach’s undergrounding districts. Overhead lines still run through parts of Solana Beach because undergrounding here goes neighborhood by neighborhood. The City describes it as “a homeowner driven process rather than a City-wide directive,” and a petition needs signatures from at least 70% of homeowners in the area. The City’s fact booklet, last revised in 2017, lists three completed districts. They are Barbara/Granados (122 homes), Pacific/Circle (52 homes) and Marsolan Avenue (39 homes). In July 2026 the City said the Pacific Avenue Phase II and Glenmont/Mar Vista/Marview districts were “moving toward construction.” The City’s booklet warns that streets in a district “will be dug up” during construction, so this work falls under both the overhead-line rules above and the 811 digging rules. Once lines are buried, the booklet says, the risk of wires contacting water “is also eliminated.”

The Del Mar Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds in Del Mar is run by the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which “owns and operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds on behalf of the state.” California law calls each fair association “a state institution” (Food and Agricultural Code section 3953). The 2025 San Diego County Fair drew 874,263 people over 20 days. Rides have their own Cal/OSHA rule. Amusement rides “shall not be located under or within 15 ft.” (measured horizontally) of lines over 600 volts. We name the fairgrounds only as an example of a state-run venue, not to suggest any problem there. The point is the deadline. A claim against a state agency usually has to be presented in writing within six months.

WHO CAN BE RESPONSIBLE

The utility. SDG&E is a private company. Its annual report describes it as “a regulated public utility” whose stock is owned through Sempra. A utility that runs power lines must use care “commensurate with and proportionate to” the danger of electricity, the California Supreme Court held in Polk v. City of Los Angeles (1945). The CPUC sets construction rules for overhead lines (General Order 95) and underground lines (General Order 128). Meeting those rules does not end the case. In Nevis v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1954), a derrick boom loading hay touched a PG&E line, and the Court said compliance with CPUC orders “does not establish as a matter of law due care.”

Inspection records often decide these cases. Under CPUC General Order 165, utilities in urban areas must patrol overhead distribution equipment at least once a year and give it a detailed inspection at least every five years. Underground transformers and switches get a detailed inspection at least every three years. The utility must keep patrol and detailed inspection records for at least ten years, including the inspector, the date and “any problems” found. We ask for those records early.

In some cases a utility can also be strictly liable, like a product maker. In Pierce v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1985), a used transformer sent about 7,000 volts into a home, and the court held the utility could face strict liability. Both Pierce and a later case, Fong v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1988), tie strict liability to electricity that has passed through the customer’s meter. In Fong, the fire started before the meter, so strict liability did not apply.

Contractors and property owners. Penal Code section 385 bars moving equipment within six feet of a high-voltage line. A violation helps your case. When someone breaks a safety law, and that causes the kind of harm the law was written to prevent to the kind of person it was meant to protect, California presumes they were careless. They can try to rebut it (Evidence Code section 669).

Product makers. A defective appliance, pool light, extension cord, tool or charger can support a product liability claim against the maker and seller. Keep the product. See our San Diego product liability page.

Cities and public agencies. A city-owned streetlight, park, pool or building can be a “dangerous condition” of public property (Government Code section 835). These claims follow the six-month rule. More on our government liability page.

HURT ON THE JOB

Workers’ compensation is usually your only claim against your own employer (Labor Code section 3602). It pays medical care and part of your lost wages.

You can still sue others. Labor Code section 3852 keeps your right to bring a claim against “any person other than the employer.” For an electrician, lineworker, roofer or landscaper, that can be the utility, another contractor on the site, an equipment maker or the property owner, depending on the facts. More on our Solana Beach construction accident page and Solana Beach workers’ compensation page.

DEADLINES

The general deadline for an injury lawsuit in California is two years (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). SDG&E is a private company. Claims against it generally follow that two-year rule. Claims against a city, county, school district or state agency, including a state fair association, usually need a written claim within six months (Government Code section 911.2).

WHAT TO DO AFTER AN ELECTRICAL INJURY

1. Stay away from any downed or damaged line and call 911. Treat every line as live.
2. Get medical care, even for a shock that seemed minor.
3. Keep the appliance, tool, cord or charger. Don’t return it, repair it or throw it away.
4. Photograph the scene, the line or outlet, and any equipment involved.
5. Write down who was there, including the contractor or crew.
6. Report a job injury to your employer in writing.
7. Talk to a lawyer before giving a recorded statement to a utility or insurer.

If an electrical injury took a family member’s life, see our Solana Beach wrongful death page.

SELECTED CASE RESULTS

Gomez Trial Attorneys has recovered more than $1 billion for clients over 20 years. That includes $1,400,000 for a construction worker injured on a construction site through the negligence of a vendor delivering materials to the site. He needed multiple surgeries.

Results depend on the facts of each case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

See more on our case results page.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I SUE SDG&E FOR AN ELECTRICAL INJURY?

Yes, if SDG&E’s negligence caused it. SDG&E is a private, regulated utility, so the normal two-year deadline generally applies. Utilities must use care in proportion to the danger of electricity, and meeting CPUC rules does not automatically clear them. Inspection and maintenance records for the line or equipment are often the key evidence.

I FELT FINE AFTER THE SHOCK. DO I STILL NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR?

Yes. External burns do not show how much damage happened inside, and some nerve and psychological effects can appear one to five years later, according to the Merck Manual. A same-day medical record also connects the injury to the shock.

I WAS SHOCKED AT WORK. IS WORKERS’ COMP MY ONLY OPTION?

Not always. Workers’ comp is usually your only claim against your employer. You may also have a claim against someone else, such as the utility, another contractor or the maker of the equipment (Labor Code section 3852).

MY CHILD WAS SHOCKED BY A POOL LIGHT OR APPLIANCE. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

It depends on the cause. A defective product points to the maker and seller. Bad wiring or maintenance points to the property owner or the contractor who did the work. At a public pool, a claim against the city may be involved, with a six-month deadline. Keep the product and photograph the area.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO HIRE GOMEZ TRIAL ATTORNEYS?

Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so our fee comes from what we recover, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we win.

TALK TO A SOLANA BEACH ELECTRICAL INJURY LAWYER

Call 833-GET-GOMEZ or contact us online for a free case review. Our Solana Beach office is at 603 S. Coast Highway 101, Suite G, Solana Beach, CA 92075. We handle cases across North County, including Cardiff, Encinitas, Del Mar and Carlsbad. Hablamos español.