An electrical accident in New York City’s riverfront could have been much worse than it was. Two employees were sent to the hospital and another was placed under medical observation for injuries sustained while trying to repair the power supply at a well-known New York City pier, home of the Intrepid Air, Sea & Space Museum. The three individuals were attempting to solve the power outage that had caused the museum to delay opening on July 8th. Something happened and all three ended up with electrical burns. None of the injuries were life-threatening but two of the individuals could have extended medical difficulties and life-long scarring from electrical burns.
The accident occurred at the Hudson River pier which houses the retired aircraft carrier Intrepid and NASA’s retired Enterprise space shuttle. The attraction draws nearly 1 million visitors a year. The facility is owned and operated by a non-profit educational institution founded in 1982.
Fire officials say that it appears a transformer malfunctioned causing the power outage. When the injured individuals were sent out to investigate the failure, safety measures failed resulting in a powerful electrical surge that injured all three-even though the third individual was several feet away from the other two.
Electrical accidents in New York City are common-especially at construction sites-because people often underestimate the damage that a little electricity can cause. Something as simple as frayed insulation on appliance wiring can cause fatal electrical shock, burns, or even ignite structure fires that can take lives and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair. When you up the amperage to that which pours from a high-voltage transformer, the result can be disastrous. Cardiac arrest, third degree burns, amputation can all kill victims instantly or leave them with life-long trauma.
If your or a loved one has been involved in an electrical accident in New York, contact a New York City burn injury attorney immediately to discuss legal options available to you. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel for a free consultation at or 212-385-1122 to learn your rights.