Indirect exposure to electricity, unspecified · Electrical burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Alabama Power Company , 3825 Lorna Road, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA 35244
on — Electrical burns, unspecified, affecting the upper and lower limb(s).
Final narrative
Two employees were checking secondary voltage in a pad-mounted transformer. One of the employees was holding a voltmeter while the other held its test probes. A test probe was pulled out of the second employee's hand and made contact with an energized device. This energized the voltmeter the first employee was holding, burning his left hand, left shoulder, and both feet.
HospitalizedUpper and lower limb(s)Power lines, transformers, convertors
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.
Three employees were preparing to unload a burnt pole from the back of their work truck. The injured employee was standing on the driver's side step of the truck while another employee in the rear of the truck began deploying the outriggers. The injured employee stepped down from the truck underneath the outriggers, resulting in multiple fractures and a partial amputation to her right big toe.
An employee was performing maintenance on a pump for a sulfuric acid system. Some of the acid sprayed out of a leak and burned the employee's face, neck, and head.
An employee was operating a golf cart to cross an empty parking lot when the vehicle struck a utility pole that was extending from behind a truck. The employee sustained facial fractures.
An employee was descending a wooden power pole. He slipped and fell about 4 feet; his right gaff caught the pole and stopped him suddenly, causing his right knee to be dislocated.
An employee was welding clips onto the end of the bridging of a wall, then installing bolts through the clips to the wall. As the employee lowered his rod holder down into the lift basket, the rod contacted the basket and energized it. As the employee leaned forward, they contacted the basket and grounded joist, resulting in first- and second-degree electrical burns to the stomach, back, and arms.
An employee was on the ground preparing to receive a wire stringing steel rope being flown by a helicopter. The employee grabbed the steel line and was shocked by electricity from the line on his right hand. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery for nerve damage to his hand.
An employee was pulling a line through a light pole when it contacted an uninsulated line. The employee was shocked and sustained burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was in a bucket truck drilling a hole into a utility pole when a conductor located above the employee broke free from the pole and fell onto the equipment. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the right side of their face.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221122)
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.
An employee (a lineman) was working to restore power by installing a hand line when he contacted a high-voltage device (7,200 volts), resulting in electrical burns to his upper body and hands.
A chain sling failed while a utility pole was being removed. A chain link struck an employee who was operating a front-end loader, puncturing the employee's chest.
An employee was working with an underground crew to troubleshoot a BUD failure. The employee was removing a fuse from the fuse holder when the fuse blew on the riser and an arc flash occurred. The employee was hospitalized with burns to his face, nose, lips, and neck.
An employee was connecting two wires when his rubber insulated gloves failed and he suffered an electric shock to his right hand, resulting in an electrical burn.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
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