Direct exposure to electricity, unspecified · First degree electrical burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Alabama Power Company , 1905 Old Hwy 411, GADSDEN, ALABAMA 35901
on — First degree electrical burns, affecting the arm(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee finished installing switches. While cleaning up and removing the rubber cover up used to protect from inadvertent contact, he touched the wire with more than 50 volts, resulting in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns to both arms.
Employees were pulling three-phase power lines to a power pole. An employee's hand was caught between a pulley and a rope, resulting in amputation of the employee's index, middle, and ring fingertips.
Three employees were preparing to unload a burnt pole from the back of their work truck. The injured employee was standing on the driver's side step of the truck while another employee in the rear of the truck began deploying the outriggers. The injured employee stepped down from the truck underneath the outriggers, resulting in multiple fractures and a partial amputation to her right big toe.
An employee was performing maintenance on a pump for a sulfuric acid system. Some of the acid sprayed out of a leak and burned the employee's face, neck, and head.
An employee was operating a golf cart to cross an empty parking lot when the vehicle struck a utility pole that was extending from behind a truck. The employee sustained facial fractures.
An employee was descending a wooden power pole. He slipped and fell about 4 feet; his right gaff caught the pole and stopped him suddenly, causing his right knee to be dislocated.
An employee was installing a 15-amp breaker in an electrical panel when a 12-gauge ground wire touched the positive busbar of the panel, resulting in an arc flash. The employee sustained a second-degree burn to their left hand.
An employee was repairing an HVAC system in the drop tile ceiling of a conference room when they were shocked, causing them to fall from the ladder. The employee sustained burns to their right middle and ring fingers.
An employee was replacing a contactor inside an electrical panel attached directly to a press. The press itself was receiving power from another main panel. After replacing the contactor, the employee flipped the switch and an arc flash occurred, burning the employee's elbow, bicep, and neck.
An employee was attempting to switch a medium-voltage primary cable and install a 200-amp fuse barrel. The employee contacted the bottom of the switch gear cradle for the fuse barrel, causing an arc blast. The electricity entered the employee s left hand and exited his big toes, resulting in electric shock and burns to the left hand, arm, shoulder, and both feet. The employee was hospitalized.
On December 6, 2023, an employee of Duke Energy was working on a single-phase 120-/240-volt parallel service re-tap when a secondary flash occurred in an underground service. The employee suffered a second-degree burn to the face and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221122)
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.
An employee (a lineman) was working to restore power by installing a hand line when he contacted a high-voltage device (7,200 volts), resulting in electrical burns to his upper body and hands.
A chain sling failed while a utility pole was being removed. A chain link struck an employee who was operating a front-end loader, puncturing the employee's chest.
An employee was working with an underground crew to troubleshoot a BUD failure. The employee was removing a fuse from the fuse holder when the fuse blew on the riser and an arc flash occurred. The employee was hospitalized with burns to his face, nose, lips, and neck.
An employee was connecting two wires when his rubber insulated gloves failed and he suffered an electric shock to his right hand, resulting in an electrical burn.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.