Direct exposure to electricity, unspecified · Electrocutions, electric shocks
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Gudenkauf Corporation, South of, HARRISVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA 26362
on — Electrocutions, electric shocks, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was pulling a line with a take-up reel leaning against mule tape. The mule tape had a small tracer wire in it. The employee came in close proximity to the electrical line and an arc occurred, shocking the employee's left hand.
An employee was working in bucket truck performing telecommunication maintenance. While the employee was tightening a lashing wire span, the strand slipped from the support clamp. The falling strand caused the lashing wire to sever the end of employee's left index fingertip, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was cutting a tree off of a communication line when the tree snapped and the tension on the line flipped the tree/limb back onto the employee, striking his forearm and fracturing a bone.
An employee was using a rodder to clear underground communication lines and was placing it into a cradle when it slipped, striking the employee in the face. The employee was hospitalized with facial fractures.
On June 25, 2016, at approximately 12:10 p.m., two employees were digging with hand tools around a main telephone pole when the push pole fell and struck one of the employees. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis that required 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 237130)
An employee was terminating cables in a junction box. A loose ground wire came into contact with the bushing, causing a flash that burned the right side of the employee's face and his right hand.
An employee was using a bucket truck hoist to raise secondary aerial wiring. The wire made contact with the primary wire, causing an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to both hands and was hospitalized.
An employee was terminating conductors to buss bars inside the secondary compartment of a single-phase transformer. An arc flash occurred, causing burns to the soft tissue of the employee's face.
An employee was securing the claw of a grapple truck to the truck bed. His left little finger was caught between the tie down strap and the rub rail of the truck, resulting in partial amputation of the finger.
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.