Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

A 16-year-old boy was electrocuted to death as he was holding an aluminum extension ladder for his father. The father and son were about to trim a residential tree as a favor for their local pastor. As the ladder became extended, it came into contact with a tree branch. That branch then made contact with a 7200-volt primary electric line which was approximately 10 feet away. An electrical circuit formed and it sent the voltage through the son’s body. His father later testified that immediately after the shock, his son fell to the ground, got back up and then fell to the ground again, eventually dying in his arms. Learn more about the confidential settlement in electrocution wrongful death case.

Rossetti & DeVoto on the Electrocution Wrongful Death Case

Andy Rossetti handled the case for Rossetti & DeVoto. Andy hired many experts for the case, including an electrical engineer and a master arborist. Rossetti used the experts to show that the path of electricity started at a small melted indentation found on the power line. Then, it traveled through the top of the contacting branch, into the melted aluminum divots in the ladder, down the burn marks on the branch and unfortunately to the burn wounds on the son’s hands and feet. This evidence completely destroyed all of the defendants’ contentions that it was the ladder itself that made direct contact with the power line. The electrocution wrongful death case took a turn.

The master arborist determined that the subject branch was approximately 11 years old. And, was actually a sapling from a branch that the defendants previously negligently pruned. The defendants should have pruned back the branch to the trunk. But, instead, the defendants pruned it approximately 4 feet from the trunk. This permitted the fast-growing saplings to sprout and come in close proximity to the power line. In addition, Andy proved through extensive discovery, that not only should the subject area have been pruned every four years, but that the defendants last pruning of the area occurred over 10 years before the incident. This violated New Jersey and National Codes on vegetation management in the area of power lines. It also violated the internal policies of the defendants themselves. This concluded the electrocution wrongful death case.

Resolution

Although it was absolutely gut wrenching for this father to relive this incident during the litigation and lengthy mediation, Andy and his client firmly believe that holding them responsible will force them to make sure this never happens again.

While the settlement figure is confidential, it was a very significant settlement and certainly commensurate with the tragedy that occurred. This electrocution wrongful death case was a shocker for everyone.