The Invisible Current: Diagnosing a Fatal Near-Contact Electrocution by High-Voltage Electrical Arc.
Daniel Ferreira Diniz Cançado, Marcel Cristofoletti
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A 51-year-old painter was found in cardiorespiratory arrest while using an aluminum pole to paint a commercial facade. Forensic engineering measurements placed the pole within 170 cm of a high-voltage power line. Autopsy showed electrical entry and exit wounds, as well as a thermal burn on the right flank. Taken together, the scene measurements and autopsy findings supported fatal electrocution through a near-contact electrical arc, with the flank burn attributed to a secondary arc-flash injury.
What made this case unusual
The fatal electrocution occurred without documented direct contact: the pole was within 170 cm of the power line, and the autopsy also showed a distinct thermal burn consistent with a secondary arc-flash injury.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
When direct contact is not evident, combine scene measurements with autopsy findings; associated thermal burns may reflect a secondary arc-flash mechanism rather than exclude electrocution.