While you are correct that 48V is definitely sufficient to cause injury/death in certain circumstances, it's not the current that matters here (e.g. a 1V/5000A

While you are correct that 48V is definitely sufficient to cause injury/death in certain circumstances, it's not the current that matters here (e.g. a 1V/5000A supply would have a lower risk of shock). What will hurt/kill you is the amount of current passing through your body (in particular your heart) and that is determined by the resistance of your body and the potential difference of where it's flowing from/to (I = V/R). Interestingly, the current required for ill effects is significantly higher for DC vs AC (at lowish frequency) [1]: BODILY EFFECT DIRECT CURRENT (DC) 60 Hz AC 10 kHz AC --------------------------------------------------------------- Slight sensation Men = 1.0 mA 0.4 mA 7 mA felt at hand(s) Women = 0.6 mA 0.3 mA 5 mA --------------------------------------------------------------- Threshold of Men = 5.2 mA 1.1 mA 12 mA perception Women = 3.5 mA 0.7 mA 8 mA --------------------------------------------------------------- Painful, but Men = 62 mA 9 mA 55 mA voluntary muscle Women = 41 mA 6 mA 37 mA control maintained --------------------------------------------------------------- Painful, unable Men = 76 mA 16 mA 75 mA to let go of wires Women = 51 mA 10.5 mA 50 mA --------------------------------------------------------------- Severe pain, Men = 90 mA 23 mA 94 mA difficulty Women = 60 mA 15 mA 63 mA breathing --------------------------------------------------------------- Possible heart Men = 500 mA 100 mA fibrillation Women = 500 mA 100 mA after 3 seconds --------------------------------------------------------------- The linked article suggests an across the chest current of at little as 17 mA could potentially induce fibrillation. At 48V, this is equivalent to a hand to hand (assuming the second hand is the exit point) resistance of ~2,823 Ohms. While is this a very low resistance for the body, it's possible with wet hands and a large surface area in contact with the voltage source. [1] http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html