Electrical Burns: Mild to Severe

Electrical burns occur when a person is directly exposed to an electrical current. Although some electrical burns look minor on the skin, if a strong electrical current passes through your body, internal damage, such as a heart rhythm disturbance or cardiac arrest, can occur. Sometimes the jolt associated with the electrical burn can cause you to be thrown or to fall, resulting in fractures or other associated injuries. Electric injury accounts for 1000 deaths each year in the United States, with a mortality rate of 3-15%. Effects of electricity on the body are determined by 7 factors: (1) type of current, (2) amount of current, (3) pathway of current, (4) duration of contact, (5) area of contact, (6) resistance of the body, and (7) voltage