Electricity may affect and damage the human body by triggering excitation processes (muscle contraction and ventricular fibrillation) or by electrothermal effects (burns). In low-voltage electrocution, the electrothermal effects are located at the contact sites (live conductor and earth, respectively). In fatal electrocution, ventricular fibrillation is the most likely cause of death, whereas electric marks only indicate that an electropathology has occurred. In high-voltage fatalities, arcing may be followed by extensive burns as the current predominantly passes over the surface of the body. Although most electric fatalities are accidents, suicide or even homicide should be considered. Lightning strikes, are a type of electropathology that are due to a sudden environmental discharge between a cloud and the ground resulting in a high-voltage direct current of extremely short duration. Victims struck by lightning may show a great variety of external signs, for example, burns, Lichtenberg figures and – in survived cases – neurological sequelae and other symptoms. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.