Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Electrocutions, electric shocks
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Jan-Care Ambulance Service, Inc., Mill Creek Road, BIRCH RIVER, WEST VIRGINIA 26610
on — Electrocutions, electric shocks, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
On May 12, 2018, at approximately 9:30 a.m., an employee and a coworker were responding to a motor vehicle accident that had caused a down power line. He ducked below the downed powerline to provide assistance to the injured victims. His forehead then made contact with the energized power line, and an electric current entered his forehead and existed his foot. He was hospitalized.
An employee was installing a ground wire to a power transmission pole. The ground wire contacted an energized portion of a cut-out, causing an arc-flash. The employee was hospitalized with second degree burns to their chest and arms.
An employee was connecting a utility transformer for underground service to a home. The employee's impact drill went across two connection bars with 240 volts of potential, creating an arc flash. The employee sustained burns to the face and eyes due to the arc flash and molten aluminum.
On December 15, 2023, at 9:15 AM, an employee was changing 60-amp fuses in a 480-volt panel when an arc flash occurred. The employee was hospitalized with burns to both hands.
An employee exited the ambulance van she had been driving and went to lower the hydraulic wheelchair ramp/lift on the side of the vehicle. The lift would not lower into position. She went around to enter the van to continue troubleshooting the lift when the van began to roll backward as the employee was partially out of the driver s side door. She reached in to stop the vehicle but the transmission shifted into reverse. The van turned and backed across a residential street, dragging the employee approximately 15 feet until it went up on a curb and the employee s left leg was pulled under the left front tire. She was hospitalized with fractures to her right wrist, right hand, and left fibula.
An employee was responding to an emergency call at the end of a pier when they stepped into a gap in the pier boards, resulting in a broken tibia, fibula, and ankle.
On February 19, 2025, an employee was stepping off a 4-foot metal table when he lost footing and fell to the concrete shop floor, resulting in a hip injury.
An employee was getting into the ambulance after responding to a call, slipped on the wet running board and fell to the ground. The employee struck their head and sustained a concussion.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.