OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221673056

WRIGHT TREE SERVICE OF PUERTO RICO LLC

AGUAS BUENAS, PR· 2024-06-05T00:00:00

Event: Break, Contact, Cutting, Electric Shock, Electrical, Electrocuted, Explosion, Groundskeeper, Heat, High Voltage, Landscaping, Overhead Power Line, Power Lines, Shock, Tree, Tree Care, Tree Pruner, Unsafe Position, Vegetation
NAICS: 561730
Inspection type: Federal Agency
Activity number: #347538076
Employer profile: WRIGHT TREE SERVICE OF PUERTO RICO LLC
Summary number: 221673056
Report ID: 0257220

Event description

Employee dies from electrocution when branch contacts power

Investigation abstract

At 2:30 p.m. on June 5, 2024, an employee working as a groundskeeper for a tree service was pruning trees and other vegetation. The employee took a break momentarily due to the heat, stopping in the same area. While the employee was taking a breather, an explosion occurred in the towers where they were working. Coworkers explained that this happened when a tree branch made contact with high-tension power lines. The magnetic wave traveled through the high-tension lines and sought to make "ground" or make contact with the earth in the closest tree next to the employee. The employee was electrocuted and died instantly.

Victim

#1 Fatality Age 34 M

Event type
14

Occupation code
486

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.