OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14240790
BURN,CLOTHING,ELEC PROTECT EQUIP,AMPUTATED,ELECTRICAL,THIGH,E PTD,ELEC UTILITY WORK,ELECTRIC SHOCK,UTILITY POLE
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - DIRECT CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE
Investigation abstract
A JOURNEYMAN POWER LINE WORKER OF ABOUT 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE WAS ASSIGNED THE TAS GERS ON HIS LEFT HAND. HE ALSO RECEIVED BURNS ON HIS LEFT THIGH. WHEN INTERVIEWE D AT THE HOSPITAL, THE INJURED EMPLOYEE WAS UNABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY HE CLIMBED BEY OND THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS AWARE OF HIS COMPANY'S POLICY REQU IRING THE USE OF RUBBER INSULATING GLOVES UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. THE EMPLOYEE WAS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL AT THE TIME. K OF LOOSENING AND RESECURING THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR TIE WIRE ON A CORNER UTILITY POLE (A "RUNNING CORNER"). THIS WORK WAS BEING PERFORMED TO ENABLE THE POLE TO BE STRAIGHTENED. THE LINE WORKER COMPLETED THE TASK, UNBUCKLED HIS POLE STRAP AN D WAS ASSUMED BY HIS COWORKERS TO HAVE BEGUN DESCENDING THE POLE AS INSTRUCTED. THE COWORKERS BEGAN TO PERFORM OTHER TASKS AND STOPPED OBSERVING THE LINE WORKER . HOWEVER, THE LINE WORKER ASCENDED THE POLE BEYOND THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR AND CO NTACTED A 7200-VOLT OVERHEAD POWER LINE. THE LINE WORKER RECEIVED AN ELECTRIC SH OCK AND EXTENSIVE BURNS, NECESSITATING THE AMPUTATION OF THE RING AND LITTLE FIN
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 34 M
- Nature of injury
- 10
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 15
- Occupation code
- 577
- Human factor
- 8
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.