Direct exposure to electricity greater than 220 volts · Electrical burns and electrocution
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Westlake - Lake Charles South, 1300 PPG Drive, WESTLAKE, LOUISIANA 70669
on — Electrical burns and electrocution, affecting the Body systems and other part(s) of body.
Final narrative
An employee was troubleshooting a breaker box in an electrical switchyard. He came into contact with live components and was shocked, suffering electrical burns to the torso and extremities.
Hospitalized Body systems and other part(s) of body Switchboards, panels, fuses
A crew was changing out a single-phase pole. The injured employee was framing the pole approximately 30 feet from the base. As they were loosening the armor rod clamp, the conductor broke and the wire fell to the ground, landing on the employee's right hand. The employee suffered electrical burns to their right hand and both knees.
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.
An employee was working from a bucket truck to remove a bolt from an attachment on an energized power line pole. The employee came into contact with the energized phase, resulting in an electrical shock of 7,200 volts. The employee was hospitalized. Protective gloves were not worn at the time of the incident.
On September 29, 2025, an employee was installing a fiber optic line at a residential site. His shoulder contacted the 7,600-kilowatt power line, resulting in an electrical shock. The employee was hospitalized.
Two employees exited their vehicle to assess a fully-downed power pole. The injured employee approached the downed pole to examine it more closely when their feet got caught underneath the energized phase and the ground of the pole, resulting in electrical burns to both feet.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325180)
An employee was on a ladder disconnecting a 1-inch hose, known to have last carried acrylic acid that had been drained. When the hose was disconnected, residual acid dripped onto the employee's shoulder/arm area, causing a second-degree chemical burn.
On October 1, 2025, at approximately 9:50 p.m., an employee was removing a sack of debris from a dust collector when four of his right-hand fingers were severed by a rotary valve. The employee was hospitalized and underwent surgery to amputate the four fingers at the knuckle.
An employee was unloading and depressurizing a railcar filled with sulfuric acid. The employee turned the valve to disconnect the hose when sulfuric acid released and sprayed upward via the standpipe. The employee was hospitalized burns.
On May 8, 2025, an employee developed a cough while cleaning up chemical sewage from the floor. He was hospitalized, having suffered an allergic reaction to chemical product vapors.
An employee was loading a magazine of tubes into a machine to fill. As they raised the door into position, the door dropped onto the employee's right hand and amputated their right index fingertip at the nailbed.
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.