Media and Downloads
Injury, Death, and Liability [Scroll Down for Copper Theft Articles]
Charlotte, NC: Man Dies after Car hits Lighting Pole on I-77 due to Electrical Sparks
click to read this article
Miami, FL: Man Injured and Horse Killed; while Blame traded on who is at fault.
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Miami, FL: Negligence action against Florida Power and Light and others for the December 10, 2000 death of 15 year old Edgard Inciarte and Miguel Callegas. Edgard and his friend, Miguel Callegas, were electrocuted while standing in an energized pool of water surrounding a streetlight pole in Miami.
A frayed wire inside the pole was the cause, pointing to expert affidavits opining that uninsulated wires inside a pullbox in the ground energized the ground water, resulted in the electrocution deaths of these young boys. Petitioners pointed to evidence that FPL had sufficient knowledge of the danger of using pull boxes in a known swale area to give rise to a duty.
Click here to read appeal that later saw damages awarded to the victims
New York, NY: Woman killed two months prior to dogs be electrocuted from frayed wiring prompting citywide inspections for stray voltage in light poles, manhole covers, construction plates and service box lids. Findings of more than 300 with stray voltage, including 30 with more than 50 volts, enough to kill.
Click to read this article
Las Vegas, NV: Frayed underground wiring, an ill-timed summer thunderstorm and open-toed shoes might have combined to electrocute a Kentucky tourist and mother of four. The box had not been inspected since work on those traffic signals had been completed in late 1995 or early 1996. No one routinely inspects any of the similar electrical boxes throughout the county. click to read this article
Department of Energy - Richland, WA: Downed Perimeter Light Pole Leads to Electrical Near Miss. click to read report
Petition for Injury and Death Victims from Electrical Hazards from a Law Firm. click to read petition
Light Pole: Electrocution: Improper wire inspection, repair: Defective wiring: Wrongful death: Settlements. click Here to open
Copper Theft Articles
OLYMPIA, WA: Thefts of copper wire along state highways are a costly annoyance that increasingly threatens to make travel unsafe on some roads and offramps. "It is a big problem. It's driving us crazy," Washington's Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond said. Click to read this article
New York, NY: Over the past two years, New York city has struggled with a new form of highway robbery: Thieves have ripped out $120,000 worth of underground copper wires from street lights, knocking out the lights and leaving roads dangerously dark. click to read this article
Waikele, HI: Department of Transportation discovered that someone had stolen 1,350 feet of copper wire from the lighting system along the H-1 Freeway in Waikele. ... Losses in copper-theft cases reported to Honolulu police in 2006 surpassed $760,000, police have said. click to read this article
Los Angeles, CA: The California Highway Patrol says copper thieves targeting freeway lighting are plunging Southern California roadways in the dark.
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Charlotte, NC: This older article (1988) shows that Copper Theft has been a key problem for lighting systems for decades. click to read these articles