Sumter Utilities Inc.

A crew was performing a pole change-out when the injured employee contacted a live underground cable. The employee sustained an electrical shock and was hospitalized.

On January 9, 2024, an employee performing powerline restoration was climbing onto a truck when he fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with a fractured right leg.

Two employees were working together to remove a de-energized jumper when they suffered an electrical shock. The employees were 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.

An employee was troubleshooting the control setup for a variable air volume box above a ceiling. The employee's hand came into contact with an exposed, energized 277-volt wire that had loosened from its terminal on the box's assembly. He was shocked and fell off a ladder. His left hand passed across the ceiling grid and was lacerated. He also suffered an electrical burn to the right hand and was hospitalized.

An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.

An employee was standing on an A-frame ladder approximately 6 feet above the floor while he attached a suspended light fixture to the ceiling. The employee lost balance, and fell to the tiled floor below, sustaining blunt force trauma to his head.

An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.

The injured employee was performing routine maintenance on a fan belt/pulley. The injured employee and another person were moving the pulley back and forth manually to find a bearing issue. The injured employee's left ring finger got caught between the belt and the pulley wheel, resulting in a soft tissue amputation.

An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.

A casting machine jammed. An employee's hand was caught in the machine, where a belt line caught and amputated the tip of his finger.

During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.

An employee slipped on condensation on a walkway in a parking garage. She fell and suffered a closed fracture to the neck of the left femur.

An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.