Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Electrocutions, electric shocks
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Namaste Solar Electric, 34339 State Hwy 17, ANTONITO, COLORADO 81120
on — Electrocutions, electric shocks, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was installing a solar electric system. A metal brace held by the employee touched a power line. The employee suffered a shock and a burn to the hand.
HospitalizedBODY SYSTEMSParts and materials, unspecified
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 221114)
An employee was standing on a step stool, removing the nuts and bolts from the frame of a solar panel that was being replaced. The employee's cheek made contact with a connector with damaged insulation. The employee was shocked, briefly lost consciousness, and fell to the ground, suffering an injury to the left shoulder.
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.
An employee was walking in the warehouse when their foot was struck by the forks of an unloaded forklift that was passing by. The employee's foot was fractured.
An employee was climbing down an extension ladder from a residential roof. The ladder collapsed under his foot, and he fell backward onto the grass. He suffered a sprained neck, a fractured scapula, and fractures to his T7 and T12 vertebrae.
An employee was working to straighten a solar panel by reaching into the unguarded rotating section of the conveyor when their right thumb got caught in the conveyor, resulting in amputation of their right thumb.
An employee was delivering materials. He was doing his pre-delivery inspection on the roof of the jobsite (a warehouse) when he fell through a plexiglass skylight. He landed on his feet on the concrete floor 14 feet below. The employee sustained fractures to his spine, left ulnar/radius, and right heel. The employee required surgery.
An employee was removing packaging from a roll of printing substrate. The blade of their utility knife got stuck. The employee used both hands to free the knife and the blade partially amputated their left little fingertip.
A concrete batch plant operator was assisting with clearing spoil piles using a skid steer. The skid steer backed into a stationary screen plant. The employee's left little finger was crushed between the controls of the skid steer and the screen plant, resulting in a fracture and laceration. The employee's finger was surgically amputated.
An employee was standing on an extension ladder, using a torquing tool to remove bolts that secured blades to a rotor. When the torquing tool activated, its reaction arm came around and pinched the employee's right middle finger against a lifting eye. His fingertip was amputated.