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 #521096

OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,STEPLADDER,ELECTROCUTED,LADDER,METAL LADDER,E GI IB

Event
OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,STEPLADDER,ELECTROCUTED,LADDER,METAL LADDER,E GI IB
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
521096
Report ID
830500

Event description

ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE THRU LADDER

Investigation abstract

TWO EMPLOYEES WERE PAINTING A BUILDING ON A MILITARY BASE. ONE OF THEM CLIMBED A LADDER CONTACTED THE DOWN LINK ON THE SURGE PROTECTOR FOR THE TRANSFORMER WHERE THE OVERHEAD POWER LINE ENTERED THE SUBSTATION. THE EMPLOYEE WAS ELECTROCUTED. H E HAD CURRENT ENTRY AND EXIT MARKS ON THE PALM OF HIS RIGHT HAND, HIS GENITAL AR EA, AND THE LARGE TOE OF HIS RIGHT FOOT. HIS RIGHT FOOT HAD BEEN RESTING ON THE BARBED WIRE ATOP THE FENCE ENCLOSING THE SUBSTATION. (ALTHOUGH THE SECOND EMPLOY EE WAS LISTED AS BEING INJURED, THE REPORT DID NOT STATE WHAT THAT INJURY WAS.) 5-FOOT ALUMINUM STEPLADDER ONTO A LOW ROOF OF THE BUILDING, WHERE HE SAT DOWN. THE OTHER EMPLOYEE PASSED THE STEPLADDER UP TO THE FIRST EMPLOYEE, WHO PLACED TH E LADDER INSIDE A FENCED-IN SUBSTATION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING. HE THE N CLIMBED DOWN THE STEPLADDER INTO THE SUBSTATION. THE SECOND EMPLOYEE PASSED AN AIRLESS SPRAYER THROUGH AN OPENING IN THE FENCE NEAR THE GATE, AND THE FIRST EM PLOYEE PAINTED THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING INSIDE THE FENCE. HE THEN PASSED THE SPR AYER BACK OUTSIDE. THE FIRST EMPLOYEE CLIMBED BACK UP THE LADDER ONTO THE ROOF A ND SAT DOWN. HE PULLED THE LADDER UP TO BRING IT OUT OF THE SUBSTATION, AND THE

Victim

  1. #1 Fatality Age 36 M

    Nature of injury
    10
    Part of body
    11
    Event type
    6
    Source
    15
    Occupation code
    579
    Human factor
    18
    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.