Be Prepared When Lightning Strikes: Broward Personal Injury Lawyer Cautions Against Lightning-Related Injuries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Davie, Florida, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) September 6, 2011 -- AUGUST 2011, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Two local workers were recently struck by lightning only two hours apart, underscoring the need to exercise caution when working outdoors in volatile weather conditions, according to the South Florida injury lawyers at Reifkind & Thompson, P.L.

Thankfully, both workers survived the incidents. The first, a landscape worker in Davie, received treatment at an area hospital after lightning struck a nearby chain-link fence. Two hours later, a crane operator at a Deerfield Beach highway construction site suffered first-degree burns over his abdomen and right arm when lightning struck the crane, causing the electric current to travel down the machine and strike its operator.
Many other lightning victims are not so lucky. In the state of Florida, where an average 10 people die each year from lightning strikes, it is particularly necessary to take extra precautions against the weather. Some experts have even dubbed Florida the “Lightning Capital of the World,” as a lightning storm in Florida can produce over one thousand strikes of lightning per hour. To protect yourself against a potential injury from a lightning strike, your South Florida injury attorney recommends that you take the following steps:

• If outdoors during a storm with lightning, avoid areas containing high ground, open spaces, water and metal objects;
• Try to seek shelter in an enclosed building or a vehicle with a hard top, not under a tree or open-sided shelter;
• If indoors, stay away from doors and windows, refrain from using electronic devices, and avoid water pipes until the storm has passed; and
• Remain in a secure location until at least 30 minutes following the last flash of lightning.

Although lightning strikes cause a person’s death only about 10 percent of the time, it can cause permanent serious injuries to victims, including fatigue, dizziness and memory loss. If you or a loved one has been injured by a lightning strike, contact your South Florida injury attorneys at Reifkind & Thompson at 1-800-329-8701 or at eliot@rntlaw.com. You also can visit our website at www.rntlaw.com for more information about how your South Florida injury lawyer can assist you in the event of injury. We also handle South Florida workers compensation cases if you are injured on the job, as both of the men in the aforementioned lightning strikes were.

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