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[Bowdon]

I was reading a story here today;

Mum electrocuted while trying to charge laptop has arm amputated in bid to save her life
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mum-electrocuted-trying-charge-laptop-17456275

I've never heard of something like that happening before. As anyone else ever experienced, or heard of this kinda thing?

And, is there anything we can do to protect against it?

I wonder if she can sue someone about it.

[broadstairs]

Without knowing the full story my suspicions would be that there was probably some damage to either plug, cable or socket. To be as safe as possible never use any electrical device with any visible damage on it anywhere, likewise with a socket. Also switch off any socket when not in use and always plug anything in with the socket switched off. To my mind all un-switched sockets should be banned. If that advice is followed, and it's common sense really, then people should be safe, and if you have sockets which do not have a switch get an electrician to replace them.

Stuart

[Ronski]

I agree with Stuart on this. What caused her to have her arm amputated would not normally happen when one is electrocuted, it seems a very rare set of circumstances for this to happen.

It could have been a metal socket that was faulty, a badly damaged plug or damaged cable from the plug, the latter two should be checked prior to plugging.

Best you can do is check cables and plugs, and turn off the socket before plugging it, if it has a metal face plate then neither would help, but you could get you're sockets checked.

[sevenlayermuddle]

RCDs are fitted in the consumer units (fuse boxes) of most UK homes these days.   If a fault develops, such as an exposed conductor being touched, a working RCD will greatly reduce the chances of fatal shocks by immediately cutting the supply.

RCDs have a ‘test’ button you can press to make sure it’s working.  You press the button, it should trip, then you switch it back on again.  It’s worth doing so once every few months or so, but hardly anybody ever does.

I tested my own main RCD on one occasion a couple of years ago and... not working, RCD failed to trip.  I got it replaced by a local electrician, didn’t cost much.

[Alex Atkin UK]

There is nowhere near enough information but as pointed out, there is no way this should be possible in a house up to code.

Even if it was a metal socket, was live and the RCD didn't work, it would take an extremely unlucky set of circumstances to not just get away with a nasty jolt.

From the article it sounds like it triggered an atypical chain reaction in her arm, very unlucky.

[Black Sheep]

I also find myself agreeing with the majority here .... a 240v shock leading to amputation seems incredibly unusual ??.

When I was sparking, I witnessed the aftermath of a 415 electrocution. There were three 2-man gangs working in an Exchange and 'back-feeding' of DB's were required to keep functionality, whilst carrying out the upgrade work.

One chap (for whatever reason) had his arms through a splitter-box (removing something or other) when he went across both phases. If it wasn't for the quick-thinking of his buddy who pushed him off using a broom, he would have died there and then.

However, for a few years after, he was quite badly from the energy burns ... even though it was his arms/hands that touched the phases it was his back that opened up and looked awful for a long time, but thankfully healed eventually. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

Well that's an image I won't forget quickly.

I know I was very lucky when I picked up an old AT PSU, not realising it didn't have the protected plastic under the PCB and it had locking holes to slot it into the case.  Got a nasty jolt as my finger touched the PCB and my arm felt odd for hours, but it obviously had only gone from my finger to the rest of my hand holding the grounded PSU case.  I can only imagine how bad it would have been if it had been my other arm grounded or even I hadn't immediately let go.

[sevenlayermuddle]

My very limited understanding is that when current flows through muscles the muscles involuntarily contract, which might be why the lady described her hand ‘being stuck to the plug’.   I think it’s quite common when getting a major shock, for such muscle contraction to cause the victim to be unable to let go of an object.

With an RCD, the current will trip the circuit at about 30mA, well within the range of currents that will pass through flesh at 230V.  The RCD also trips pretty well immediately, a few tens of mS at most, hopefully before serious damage occurs.

Without an RCD, or if the RCD is defective, the circuit is still protected by various fuses, but rated at 100-1000 to times the current that trips an RCD.  It is pretty much inconceivable that 230V  applied to human flesh would ever generate enough current to blow such a fuse so the victim remains connected, possibly unable to let go, until serious injury or death results.

As to the amputation in this case, the local rag article seems to suggest that was actually a result of the wound becoming infected, rather than a direct result of the electric shock.

[sevenlayermuddle]

Incidentally, by harping on about RCDs, I’m not passing judgement on the lady or her house electrics.   I’m responding to the OP’s question...

And, is there anything we can do to protect against it?

... answer  ‘yes’,  one thing you can do is to occasionally test your RCDs or arrange for an electrician to do so.  *Potentially  saved my bacon a couple of years ago, when the test button failed.

* no pun intended.

[Black Sheep]

Well that's an image I won't forget quickly.

Nor should one ..... a very dangerous medium and should always be respected.

[tiffy]

After having my consumer units replaced a few years ago, 37 years old property which had old "wired fuse" protection only, invested in one of these units:

Kewtech Loopcheck 107

Cheaper alternatives are available but this unit has very comprehensive testing capabilities and is very easy to use, should certainly highlight any circuit anomalies and flag up any requirements for further investigation by a competent electrician.

I also opted for RCBO's fitted in my replacement consumer unit, more expensive than the normal split RCB configuration but has the advantage that every circuit is individually protected and can be individually tested by either the in-built test button or an external loop tester such as the Kewtech unit specified.

Unfortunately, RCD periodic testing is inclined to be ignored by most a factor being the inconvenience of loosing a full bank of circuits and possibly having to reset digital clocks, VCR's, dropping modem/router synch. etc., this is much easier controlled with RCBO protected circuits.
I'am certainly more inclined to periodically test my circuits without the disruption of multiple circuit losses and believe that the extra cost of fitting RCBO's was well worth the money.


Fully agree with all previous posts, a potentially very dangerous medium which we all take for granted but should be treated with respect and caution at all times.