Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Electrocutions, electric shocks
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Entergy Louisiana, Riverside Dr. @ Forsythe Ave., MONROE, LOUISIANA 71201
on — Electrocutions, electric shocks, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
Two employees were responding to a single vehicle accident involving Entergy facilities. The vehicle's fender was entangled with a guy wire supporting a primary conductor. The two employees were working to release the tension and temporarily move the guy wire. When the tension was released, the guy wire contacted the primary conductor and an employee sustained electrical injury. The injured employee sustained a mild burn to the palmar aspect of the left hand and the left foot where voltage was discharged. The employee was also noted to be in atrial fibrillation.
An employee was in a bucket truck restoring power to a residence when the employee contacted the electrical powerline and fell approximately 30 feet to the ground below. The employee suffered five broken ribs.
An employee was attempting to disconnect electrical service at a residence when a dog attacked the employee. The employee suffered puncture wounds on the left forearm, a crushed right index fingertip (bone), and tissue and nail bed damage (pulled off bone but not completely torn).
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.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 221121)
An employee was performing troubleshooting and maintenance on one of the generators that feed the RF line for glue-laminated timber (glulam) beam production. He was reattaching the outer panel of the generator. A circuit was completed and the employee was electrocuted by the generator and sustained burns. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was utilizing a utility task vehicle (UTV) to patrol a 138 kV transmission line in a right-of-way. The UTV drove into a washout hole that was approximately 6 feet deep and obstructed by vegetation. The employee sustained a dislocated shoulder, a fractured left humerus, back pain, and a strained ankle. He was hospitalized.
A crew of employees were working to replace a utility pole that was broken by a motor vehicle accident. As the crew was removing equipment from the broken pole, part of the pole broke, fell on the injured employee, and rolled over him. The employee sustained two broken shoulders, multiple broken ribs, and a damaged lung that required hospitalization and surgery.
An Ameren lineman was making secondary voltage connections in a pad-mounted residential feed transformer. The lineman contacted an energized lead bushing, sustained an electrical shock, and was hospitalized.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.