California woman awarded $4 million for shower head shocking

March 20, 2013

A Los Angeles jury awarded a California woman $4 million for getting shocked by stray electricity that pulsed through her bathroom shower head. [Mercury News]

Simona Wilson, the mother of three young children, sued Southern California Edison in 2011 around the time an inspector told her to get out of her Redondo Beach house immediately. In addition to losing nerve function in her hands and feet, Wilson lost the house, which Southern California Edison originally constructed and owned, to foreclosure several months later.

The house is located next to an Edison facility called the Topaz Substation, and residents in the area have long complained about the substation and overhead power lines emitting electricity.

After sitting through the civil trial in downtown Los Angeles, the jury determined that Edison had caused a nuisance and had acted negligently and with “reckless disregard.” The $4 million award included $3 million in damages against Edison.

A Southern California Edison spokesman says the utility it is considering filing an appeal. During the trial, an expert witness for Edison testified that the electrical current residents felt was within acceptable levels.

“Edison still denies that there is anything dangerous in the area and denies that they did anything wrong,” Wilson’s attorney Lars Johnson said.