Virtalink Com LLC

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.

An employee had just finished pumping water from a manhole on one side of a two-lane street to the ditch on the other side of the street. While the employee was picking up the hose, a passing vehicle contacted the hose, which either pulled the employee to the ground or pulled the pump into the employee's leg. The employee suffered a broken left femur and was hospitalized.

An employee was closing a hand hole lid when the lid fell on the employee's fingers. The employee's left middle fingertip was partially amputated.

An employee was doing work in the field during a hot day, which included moving and setting up a 28-foot extension ladder and climbing the ladder to remove and attach cable lines. The employee became ill and was hospitalized with severe dehydration and heat-related illness.

An employee was working on a telecommunications strand and fell from a ladder. The employee was hospitalized for a spinal fracture and head trauma.

Employees were working to secure a low-hanging feeder. An employee was elevated in a bucket at a height of approximately 12 feet and was pulling the lashing wire. The lashing wire flipped up and struck the lower phase (120 volts) of power that was 2.4 feet above the feeder and strand. The employee sustained electrical burns to their chest, both hands, and the right forearm.

An employee was cleaning leaves with a backpack blower when he fell from a ladder, resulting in injuries to his head, neck, and back.

An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.

An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.

An employee's right middle finger was caught in a nip point. The employee suffered an amputation to the middle finger at the first knuckle.

An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.