The National Weather Service averages that about 54 people die from a lightning strike every year in the United States. Only about 10 percent of the people who are hit by lightning are killed, and the other 90 percent suffer various degrees of disability. In 2010-2011, 39 deaths by lightning were reported, and 241 lightning related injuries, meaning that 280 people were hit by lightning. In an average year, about 400 people are hit. About 25 million bolts of lightning strike some sort of surface in the United States every year, but they most often hit lightning rods or metal objects- not people. Right now, the odds of being hit by a bolt of lightning are 1/1,000,000. The odds that you will be struck in your lifetime are 1/10,000, and the odds of being affected by someone else being struck are 1/1,000.
Lightning storms normally accompany thunder and happen in the late afternoon. The peak season for lightning strikes is in the summer. The bolts can strike five to ten miles from where the thunder is rumbling. So far in 2012, three people have perished after being struck by lightning. Currently, one widow is suing the owners of the construction company working on the Atlantic City Revel Casino for the death of her husband, a man with the initials B.B. B.B's wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Tishman Construction and Network Construction Company of Pleasantville, New Jersey, claiming that the company should have stopped construction projects during the lightning storms. Because the company kept their employees working, B.B. was out pouring concrete from a bucket in the electrical storm. A bolt of lightning hit an 800 foot tower crane near him, killing him on the spot.
B.B.'s wife, C.B., is convinced that her husband's tragic death would have been prevented if the company had let him off of work in the dangerous conditions. She said in an interview to NBC that the devastating death was 100 percent preventable, robbed her of her closest friend, and denied her children of a father who loved them passionately. Two other construction workers were injured in the electrical storm when the bolt hit the crane tower and both have filed their own individual lawsuits. They say that the company did not make an effort to get the workers to safety, but instead offered them rain jackets and told them to keep working.
The construction company says that they were not found to be at fault for the lightning strike. They call the lightning strike an act of nature, and believe that the storm came out of nowhere. One of the injured victims countered this argument by saying that the informed their supervisor of the forecast for the day, but his boss was apathetic. C.B.'s lawyer says that there have been more than 1,000 documented lightning in the area where the men were working. When it comes to lightning, the safest thing to do is to head indoors. Never stand near metal, or carry an umbrella. Lightning is prone to hit anything metallic, and the surge could injure you, even if the lightning does not hit you directly.
A lightning safe building is one that is roofed and has plumbing and wiring. Car ports, open garages, covered patios, picnic shelters, golf shelters, greenhouses, and sheds are not safe from lightning. If you are out driving in a lightning storm, try your best to get home fast. Never drive in a convertible, golf cart, or motorcycle during an electrical storm. If you or someone that you know has been hit by lightning in a situation that could have been prevented by another party, then contact a personal injury lawyer to talk about your case.