OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221685233

VERIZON MARYLAND LLC

ASHTON, MD— 2024-07-09T00:00:00

Event: Clearance, Contact, Electric Shock, Electrical Wire, Electrocuted, High Voltage, Installing, Line Clearance, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Optical Fiber Cable, PPE, Power Lines, Protective Clothing, Shock, Shoulder, Telecom Work
NAICS: 517311
Inspection type: Federal Agency
Activity number: #347605701
Employer profile: VERIZON MARYLAND LLC
Summary number: 221685233
Report ID: 0352460

Event description

Employee is electrocuted due to contact with power lines

Investigation abstract

At 1:00 p.m. on July 9, 2024, an employee and a coworker working as repair technicians for a telecommunication company were installing fiber optic cables from a power pole to a residence. While attempting to get the fiber optic cable across a small patch of woods, the cable crossed over a 7,620-Volt powerline. The employee was operating a bucket truck next to the powerline to retrieve the fiber optic cable. While attempting to remove the cable from the powerline, the employee contacted the high voltage line with his right shoulder. The employee was shocked and died due to electrocution.

Victim

#1 Fatality Age 39 M

Event type
13

Occupation code
7055

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.