2 Year Old Shocked from Faulty Lamp Switch

[stealthdrew]

My 2 year old son was accidentally shocked by an exposed wire from a hotel lamp during a family trip in asia. (220V is standard there).

When it happened, my wife had a hunch he got shocked cuz he jerked back after being told not to play with it, but wasn't sure. Later that evening in the middle of the night, he woke up crying for nearly five hours with his right arm and fingers frozen locked in this awkward position, while we tried to comfort him.

When he finally fell asleep and woke up later that morning as we rushed to the hospital, his arm seemed fine, but we saw that there were dime sized blisters on his forearm near the armpit.

At the hospital, the doctor said blood tests confirmed electrocution and the blisters indicated where the current had exited his body. Doctor said that he was somewhat lucky nothing had seemed to damage his brain or heart, although also stating that 220V is not much. The risk of any long term damage is remote, and that he should grow up fine.

However, my wife and i are upset about the short term pain he and we had to go through and the worry about the possible long term effects.

The resort's insurance company has been calling us, asking how much we would settle for. But I have no idea how to go about doing this.

How painful is it for a 2 year old to have his body shocked, then frozen stiff for hours? And then, how do we put a monetary number on the remote chance that this event might hurt him in the future?

-concerned parent (and not looking for ambulance chasers)

 

[army judge]

My 2 year old son was accidentally shocked by an exposed wire from a hotel lamp during a family trip in asia. (220V is standard there).

When it happened, my wife had a hunch he got shocked cuz he jerked back after being told not to play with it, but wasn't sure. Later that evening in the middle of the night, he woke up crying for nearly five hours with his right arm and fingers frozen locked in this awkward position, while we tried to comfort him.

When he finally fell asleep and woke up later that morning as we rushed to the hospital, his arm seemed fine, but we saw that there were dime sized blisters on his forearm near the armpit.

At the hospital, the doctor said blood tests confirmed electrocution and the blisters indicated where the current had exited his body. Doctor said that he was somewhat lucky nothing had seemed to damage his brain or heart, although also stating that 220V is not much. The risk of any long term damage is remote, and that he should grow up fine.

However, my wife and i are upset about the short term pain he and we had to go through and the worry about the possible long term effects.

The resort's insurance company has been calling us, asking how much we would settle for. But I have no idea how to go about doing this.

How painful is it for a 2 year old to have his body shocked, then frozen stiff for hours? And then, how do we put a monetary number on the remote chance that this event might hurt him in the future?

-concerned parent (and not looking for ambulance chasers)

First of all, make sure the child is okay.
You might want to do nothing for the next 90 days.
You don't have to decide today.
You could ask the insurance company to authorize a complete physical for your child.
Or, you could do that through your health insurance.
You want to make sure the child is also tested by a neurologist.
If the kid gets a clean bill of health, speak with a local personal injury attorney, or even a general practitioner.
Ask your friends, relatives, co-workers for recommendations.

If the child is okay, I suppose a case like this is worth between $25,000 to $50,000.
If you agree and have had your child medically cleared, you could relate a figure to the insurance carrier.
You might want to ask for annual vacation time at the resort (plane and hotel fees paid).
Some people ask only for a guaranteed college education (or annuity) for the child.

Good luck, and I hope your child is okay!

 

[tpajet]

Some of this is news to me (electronics background).... I've never heard of blood tests for electric shock. Sounds like a cooky doctor. Also 220V is quite a bit, but it's not the voltage that does the damage, it's the current. The current will be different from person to person depending on their own body.

On the bright side though, if the electricity only traveled along his arm he will be fine. Electricity will only travel through the body from the point of entry to the point of exit, so as long as it did not travel from one arm to the other (across the heart) or his head then there is no danger to his heart or brain. The only issue would be the nerves in his arms. But that should heal as well, no different than a major cut.

There's one other point though that doesn't add up. Maybe there's some details missing, but if your child got that serious of a shock to leave a blister, he would not have just pulled back form the lamp and woke up in the night screaming. He would have been screaming and having problems right from the second he got zapped.

I'm not trying to doubt your story, but from what you have described, 2+2 ain't equaling 4 here.