A direct lightning strike is unnecessary. A nearby strike can produce a ground current, putting the feet at different electric potentials and driving current through the body by a step voltage. A side flash from a struck object or conduction along a contacted conductor also provides an indirect current path.[ref]
Lightning Science: Five Ways Lightning Strikes People by the National Weather Service. “Ground Current”, “Side Flash” and “Conduction”: indirect electrical exposure
Rapid air heating by a nearby lightning discharge also produces an expanding pressure disturbance. Its blast can impart a mechanical impulse, causing a fall or blunt injury without current passing through the person.[ref]
The absence of a direct strike therefore does not distinguish electrical incapacity from mechanical displacement. Observations would be needed to identify the mechanism in a particular event.
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