Indirect exposure to electricity, greater than 220 volts · Electrocutions, electric shocks
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Simplot Land & Livestock, 17202 - L SIMPLOT BLVD, CALDWELL, IDAHO 83605
on — Electrocutions, electric shocks, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was moving irrigation pipe from a field when electricity discharged from power lines. The employee was shocked.
An employee was warming up a horse in a meadow/pasture before moving cattle. He was bucked off the horse and struck the ground, suffering fractured left-side ribs and a punctured left lung.
An employee was trying to unplug an elevator leg. As the employee tried to lift the motor and drive belts to free the augers, the stored energy in an auger pulled the employee's fingers into a pulley and belt. The employee suffered an amputation to a right-hand fingertip.
An employee was on horseback trying to catch a younger horse. His horse bucked him off and he fell to the ground, landing on his head. He suffered a neck fracture between two vertebrae.
An employee had exited a vehicle when it began to roll. The employee was attempting to shut it off when another vehicle clipped the employee. The employee suffered a broken femur and injured calf, as well as a possible amputation.
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 112112)
An employee was on horseback in a pasture checking on the health of calves. The employee roped a calf when their right-hand fingers got caught in the rope, resulting in amputations of three fingers at the top knuckles that required hospitalization.
An employee was riding a four-wheeler while moving cattle into another pen when they were thrown off the vehicle and landed on the ground. The employee sustained fractures to their upper arm, pelvis, and right leg.
An employee was making rounds to the barns to take care of cattle. The employee was stepping out of a van and the sliding door closed on their little finger. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
A pen rider was moving cattle and they were after an animal. When the animal changed direction, the horse also turned and then tripped and fell. The employee fell with the horse and sustained a dislocated left shoulder, a fractured right thumb, and a fracture above the eye.
An employee transferred a supplement from one tank to another and then took a step backward to begin cleaning the receiving auger. His right foot broke through the grate above the auger and slipped between the slats and into the auger. The employee was hospitalized with a compound fracture to his lower right leg and required surgery.
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.