Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Electrical burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at ALTITUDE ENERGY LLC, County Road 73, 1 mile south of Roggen, ROGGEN, COLORADO 80652
on — Electrical burns, unspecified, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee suffered contact burns to the left and right hands after booming down on a power line.
HospitalizedHand(s), unspecifiedBoom truck, bucket or basket hoist truck
The injured employee was retrieving materials from a work truck. A semi-truck with a tarp covering a load of corn passed by and the tarp on the truck came loose. As the employee was climbing into the work truck, the loose tarp caught the employee and threw him approximately 30 to 40 feet, resulting in broken bones and a punctured lung.
An employee was stringing a new conductor with an existing conductor when their right elbow contacted an energized phase (7,200 volts) and their left elbow contacted the bottom of the arrestor. The employee suffered electrical burns.
An electrical powerline crew was pulling in a neutral wire when it became bound up on a pole, causing the pole to pull over slightly before the pull was stopped. One of the employees went up in a bucket to try to free the neutral wire. While he was holding the wire with one hand, his shoulder contacted the bottom of an energized cutout directly above where he was working. He suffered a 7,400-volt shock that caused third-degree burns to the fingers on his left hand and his shoulder and was hospitalized.
A crew was working near an electrical pole. A co-worker was using a front-loader to grade a slope when the loader slid into a guy-wire and became tangled and stuck. The injured employee used a handheld grinder to cut the wire a few feet from the ground. The lower part of the wire fell to the ground, but the upper part of the wire fell toward the pole and contacted an energized part before the end landed in nearby bushes. The employee attempted to shake the bush to free the wire so it could fall back toward the pole. The wire popped up and contacted his hands, resulting in electrical entry burns to both hands and exit burns on both feet.
On November 18, 2023, two employees were using a 2x4 to lift a power line. The boom lift they were operating made contact with power lines and both employees sustained electrical shock injuries.
An employee was part of a crew that was servicing a power line. The employee was in a bucket truck when he contacted the 7,200-volt power line. The electricity entered through one hand and exited the other, causing several electrical burns. The employee was not wearing proper personal protective equipment at the time.
An employee was helping a crew set up a 45-foot pole between two other poles. It was being set up between two energized lines and the pole made contact with the A-phase. The employee was electrocuted and lost consciousness. The electricity also caused an entry wound in their left forearm and an exit wound in their left foot.
An employee was handling a 45-foot long rebar for installation on the third floor of a building at a 30-foot elevation. The rebar came into close proximity of a powerline situated 13 feet off the building. The employee sustained electrical burns to his hands from electric discharge, requiring hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221118)
An employee was operating a dump truck when the trailer door swung and pinched the employee's right middle fingertip underneath the nailbed, resulting in an amputation.
An employee was attaching a turnbuckle to an auger. The turnbuckle slipped and the employee's left thumb was pinched between the turnbuckle and the auger resulting in a partial amputation of left thumb.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.