Direct exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at B-Comm, LLC, 111 Rock Creed Loop, LANSING, KANSAS 66043
on — Amputations, affecting the forearm(s).
Final narrative
An employee was working from an aerial lift to replace telecommunication lines. He lifted the telecommunication line onto his shoulder to get a lashing machine out of a tree. An employee on the ground pulled the lashing line and caused it to come into contact with an overhead power line. The employee in the lift was shocked, resulting in an amputation of his left arm from the elbow down.
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 was adjusting a cable reel that was loaded onto the forks of a forklift. The reel shifted and caught the employee's left index fingertip against the backrest, amputating it.
An employee was on an extension ladder, about 15-18 feet high, while spraying a wasp nest on a telecommunications pole. He fell to the ground and sustained fractures to his hip, requiring hospitalization.
An employee was working from a ladder, pulling a cable line through a wall at a customer's house. He lost his balance and jumped off the ladder, landed on the ground about 7 feet below, and suffered injuries to both ankles including a fracture to at least one. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was pulling inner duct from one handhole to another. The shackle on a winch cable contacted the cable sheave's roller block. The employee released tension on the winch cable and lifted the cable to guide the shackle over the lip of the handhole. As he re-engaged the winch, his left index fingertip became caught between components in the winch's retrieval wheel. The fingertip was amputated between the last knuckle and the nail.
An employee was working to remove a product blockage from a piece of equipment. The employee was struck by a metal bar near the deck of the pin mixer equipment and sustained blunt force trauma to the torso.
An employee was moving a rack onto a lower conveyor in the south heat treat area when their finger got caught between the part tray and the rollers, resulting in a fingertip fracture and amputation.
An employee was climbing a ladder to get on top of the breakroom. The ladder slipped, causing him to fall to the ground. The employee sustained fractures to his upper back, left foot, and ankle.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.