Direct exposure to electricity, unspecified · Electrical burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Tampa Electric Company, 5432 Bells Shoals Road, VALRICO, FLORIDA 33596
on — Electrical burns, unspecified, affecting the face, unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was testing the low side of a transformer. The test equipment exploded and the employee sustained arc flash burns to the face.
An employee was changing fuel filters on a front-end loader. When he descended the access steps of the engine bay, he misstepped and fell approximately 3 feet to the concrete surface below. The employee sustained a fractured left hip.
Employees were preparing to replace a primary electrical cable. While two of the employees were working to remove the cable on one side of a switchgear, they came into contact with a wrench and the outside part of the switchgear. One employee suffered an electrical shock.
An employee was assisting in the movement of a reel of steel wire onto a truck using a forklift and a sling. The load became stuck on a stanchion and the employee pulled up on the load, causing the employee's hand to become caught/crushed between the reel and the boom of the forklift. The employee sustained two hand fractures.
An employee was helping to offload a 267-pound cement load-bearing handhold from the flatbed of a truck when his left hand was caught under the handhold, injuring two fingers. He was hospitalized and had surgery.
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 221112)
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.
An employee was cutting through two secondary wires with a battery-powered cutting tool. The wires were energized at 120/240 volts; when the employee cut through the insulation around a wire, an arc flash burned the employee's left thumb.
An employee had been preparing material for a lineman at a jobsite and was pulling up wire on a hand line. The employee began to feel ill, suffering from heat illness.
An employee was tamping at the base of a power pole when they were struck by an extendable hot arm that was dropped from an aerial bucket. The employee sustained two broken ribs on the right side, and a pneumothorax on the right side.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.