Lightning | Personal Injury AttorneysThe ratio of getting struck by lightning and killed is 280,000:1.  This means you have a much better chance of winning the lottery and surviving through another series of the Bachelor, than being struck by lightning.  This also means more people die from being struck by lightning than from tornadoes or hurricanes.  Most lightning fatalities take place outside, at recreational events like baseball games or on the golf course.  So just stay in buildings your entire life and you will probably be okay!

There are two ways that electrocution can occur.  The first way is by being hit directly which is more deadly, than the second kind which is electrocution through nearby strikes.  People that are hit by lightning suffer from both extreme heat and electricity. Most likely depending on the severity of the electrocution, a long recovery process will be required. 

So in order to prevent yourself from becoming one of the average 67 fatalities or 1,000 injuries by lightning strikes in the U.S., find shelter because no place outdoors is safe during a thunderstorm. Knowing some basic rules and following them can significantly reduce your risk even further.   First, you should plan ahead and know what the forecast has in store.  Second, watch the sky so you will be aware of approaching thunderstorms.  Next, when you see lightning use the 30/30 rule, this means that after you see lightning start counting to thirty, and if you hear the thunder before the time is up, get indoors immediately and stay there until 30 minutes after the last rumble of thunder. Another extremely important tip is to immediately get away from the water and trees.  Seek refuge in either a building, hard topped vehicle, or if no shelter is near, crouch on the balls of your feet as low to the ground as possible in order to create the lowest profile, but don’t lay flat on the ground.

Since lightning strikes everywhere, the risk affects everyone.  However, your chance of lightning injuries and fatalities drastically increase in the states of Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Colorado.  These states have gradual increases in injuries from bottom to top, except when it comes to the injuries between the top two, Michigan and Florida, then they double.  So when you are in these states, you can either follow these simple rules, or ask someone what the safety protocol for their state’s lightning storm entails.   However, I don’t have much hope that the people in these states will have any idea what their state’s lightning protocol is, when many, according to "Jaywalking" don’t even know how many stars are on the flag.  So just get indoors and stay there.