105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14550255

OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,ELECTROCUTED,LOAD SHIFT,SUSPENDED LOAD,METAL POLE,E C,SLING,CRANE

Event
OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,ELECTROCUTED,LOAD SHIFT,SUSPENDED LOAD,METAL POLE,E C,SLING,CRANE
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14550255
Report ID
454732

Event description

ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE THRU LIGHT POLE

Investigation abstract

A CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE CREW FOR A MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC UTILITY WAS INSTALL A 22.9-KILOVOLT OVERHEAD POWER LINE THAT CROSSED THE INTERSECTING STREET AT THA T POINT. IN AN EFFORT TO STOP THE POLE FROM TURNING, THE EMPLOYEE GRABBED THE BO TTOM OF THE POLE IN A BEAR HUG. HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE POLE BEFORE IT CONTACT ED OR CAME TOO CLOSE TO THE POWER LINE, AND HE WAS ELECTROCUTED. ING STREETLIGHTING ALONG BOTH SIDES OF A US HIGHWAY NEAR A MEDIUM-SIZED CITY. TH EY HAD COMPLETED INSTALLATION ALONG THE NORTHBOUND SIDE OF THE BUSY FOUR-LANE HI GHWAY AND WERE INSTALLING THE STREETLIGHTING ON THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE. ONE METAL P OLE, WITH AN ARM FOR THE ATTACHMENT OF A LIGHTING FIXTURE, WAS BEING INSTALLED. IT WAS SUSPENDED IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION IN A SLING PRESUMABLY ATTACHED TO THE LO AD LINE OF A CRANE. THE ARM ON THE POLE WAS EXTENDED OUT OVER AN INTERSECTING RO AD. AN EMPLOYEE WAS ON THE GROUND PREPARING TO SECURE THE BOTTOM OF THE POLE TO ITS METAL AND CONCRETE BASE. THE POLE BEGAN TO TURN, AND THE ARM ROTATED TOWARDS

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 42 M

    Nature of injury
    10
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    13
    Source
    15
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    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.