OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #570671
ELEC PROTECT EQUIP,OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,TREE LIMB,ELECTROCUTED,SAW,E GI IC,TREE TRIMMING
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE THRU TREE LIMB
Investigation abstract
A TRAINED EMPLOYEE WAS TRIMMING TREES ADJACENT TO OVERHEAD ELECTRIC POWER LINES. ACTED LIKE A HINGE, ALLOWING THE LIMB TOP TO CONTACT THE POWER LINES. ALTHOUGH THE EMPLOYEE WAS ALIVE WHEN HE WAS LOWERED FROM THE TREE, HE DIED AT THE HOSPITA L. (THIS WORKER HAD RECEIVED FORMAL AND ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.) HE HAD MADE AN UNDER CUT IN A LIMB AND STARTED TO MAKE THE TOP CUT 5 INCHES BEYOND THE LOWER CUT. HIS FOREMAN, WHO WAS STANDING ON THE GROUND BENEATH THE EMPLOYEE, SHOUTED TO LET GO OF THE SAW SINCE THE TREE LIMB WAS FALLING THE WRONG WAY. IT IS ASSUMED THAT TH E EMPLOYEE DID NOT HEAR HIS FOREMAN'S WARNING. THE LIMB CONTACTED THE LINE, AND CURRENT FLOWED THROUGH THE LIMB AND SAW TO THE EMPLOYEE, WHO WAS GROUNDED THROUG H THE TREE. THE TWO CUTS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MADE SO THAT THE BUTT END OF THE LI MB WOULD FALL AWAY FROM THE TRUNK AND STRIKE THE GROUND FIRST. INSTEAD, THE CUTS
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 19 M
- Nature of injury
- 10
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 13
- Source
- 15
- Occupation code
- 495
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Hazardous substance
- 8870
- 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.