# Sounds like somebody's on the hook for this one



## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

> By Melissa Howell
> September 26, 2018 7:54 am
> WASHINGTON — A device intended to control the flow of electricity to lights on a handrail at MGM National Harbor was not properly installed, leading to the June 26 incident in which a 6-year-old girl suffered critical injuries from an electrical shock, a preliminary assessment into the investigation shows.
> 
> ...


https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2018/09/report-faulty-wiring-installation-caused-girls-electric-shock-at-mgm-national-harbor/


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I keep telling you guys to connect to the big wires, and hook the lights up to the little wires that are on the other side of the driver.........


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

I have to chuckle at the ridiculous idea that it is the inspection departments fault for not catching it, rather than the person that installed it incorrectly.


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## daveEM (Nov 18, 2012)

It's time to sue. 

So... who has money? The inspection department has lots.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

The way the system works in the US, the lawyers will search high and low to involve as many parties as possible. Anyone in sight will be sued. The contractor, the subcontractor, the manufacturer, the retailer, the wholesaler, the tenant, the landlord, the inspector, the city, they state, the nation, the Almighty - anyone that has money and / or insurance gets sued. Some will bear fruit, in fact probably most, but every tree gets shaken.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

splatz said:


> The way the system works in the US, the lawyers will search high and low to involve as many parties as possible. Anyone in sight will be sued. The contractor, the subcontractor, the manufacturer, the retailer, the wholesaler, the tenant, the landlord, the inspector, the city, they state, the nation, the Almighty - anyone that has money and / or insurance gets sued. Some will bear fruit, in fact probably most, but every tree gets shaken.


Some lawyers will just sue the property owner and let their insurance company bring in the other parties as evidence indicates who did wrong. It's a strategy that works well in front of a jury as the victim is suffering and everyone's pointing fingers at everyone else except the victim. 

All we know is that a kid got shocked. Not sure why they're mentioning embedment of the posts holding the rail. Maybe the rail failed and caused wires to be exposed... That will all come out in due time.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

I was at that casino prior to the accident (I was there at xmas, accident was in july).


fortunately, the poker room has no railings . . .:biggrin:
(and a nice poker room it is)

sounds from the original story like the railing was just plain energized, and nobody caught it. not sure why this 6 yr old kid was there at midnight, but she was just the unlucky victim in an accident waiting to happen. 



> POSTED: JUL 01 2018 08:10PM EDT
> 
> VIDEO POSTED: JUL 02 2018 12:15PM EDT
> 
> ...


http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/maryland-girl-remains-in-critical-condition-shocked-at-mgm-national-harbor-fountain


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

Wonder if the installer was a licensed electrician.........


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

There is nothing on the license test to test skills, only memorizing Codes.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Was this an "improper installation", a defective LED driver, a negligent inspector, the lack of GFI protection for fountain lighting, an improperly grounded handrail, or the "wrong" type of wire the issue? AND......if the driver was outputting 120vac., why didn't the LED's smoke? Sounds to me like the problem was ahead of the driver.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Cow said:


> I have to chuckle at the ridiculous idea that it is the inspection departments fault for not catching it, rather than the person that installed it incorrectly.


Isn't that the whole purpose of an inspection, to ensure it's a safe installation? How could a competent inspector overlook no GFI, and the "wrong type" of wire? I'm picturing bell wire, or Cat3. There's no excuse for that.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

You don't want to put too much into the couple sentences reported, reporters are not real careful with this kind of detail especially on technical subjects they don't understand. 

It's very possible the driver was defective and the inspection they are referring to was the manufacturer's quality control test. 

We all know that with many of the bid-winning low price Chinese manufactured junk, there is no QC test at the plant. They decided it's cheaper to let the consumer discover defects and see if they come back for a refund.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

joebanana said:


> Isn't that the whole purpose of an inspection, to ensure it's a safe installation? How could a competent inspector overlook no GFI, and the "wrong type" of wire? I'm picturing bell wire, or Cat3. There's no excuse for that.


No, inspections are not to ensure, insure, or certify anything. They are to mitigate risk and keep the installers on their toes. 

An inspector can't check everything, nor should they be expected to.


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## Cow (Jan 16, 2008)

joebanana said:


> Was this an "improper installation", a defective LED driver, a negligent inspector, the lack of GFI protection for fountain lighting, an improperly grounded handrail, or the "wrong" type of wire the issue? AND......if the driver was outputting 120vac., why didn't the LED's smoke? Sounds to me like the problem was ahead of the driver.



Are you aware this a casino/resort?


How many electrical connections and devices do you think are in this casino/resort?


Do you honestly think any inspector has the time to check ALL the work that probably 50-100+ electricians installed over several months/years?


Let's come back to reality here....


Can you imagine what permit costs would be if inspectors did have to check every connection and device?????


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Cow said:


> Are you aware this a casino/resort?
> 
> 
> How many electrical connections and devices do you think are in this casino/resort?
> ...



Who said anything about connections? If that's too much to ask of a guy who gets paid to do it, then, why bother? Where was the on-site inspector? The article stated the "wrong wire" was used, and, obviously there wasn't a GFI on the circuit. How hard is that to spot? I'll bet he never even looked at the print.
I guess that's what liability insurance is for.
I can't believe I've been lied to all these years about inspectors, and what inspection fee's are for.




Yeah, you can keep your "reality", I like it just fine where I am. :biggrin:


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