Electrical injury and death

This Briefing provides an overview of hospitalisations and deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or exposure to lightning. Serious electrical injuries are relatively infrequent and injuries occurring as a result of lightning are extremely rare events. Over the two year period 2002-03 to 2003-04 only 1,493 people were hospitalised as a result of an electrical injury at an age-adjusted rate of 3.78 cases per 100,000 population. Deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or lightning are even rarer with 162 cases in the four years examined (2001-04).