Deaths Due to Contact with Power Lines

Scaffold Too Close To Power Line:

Seven employees of a masonry company were erecting a brick wall from a tubular, welded-frame scaffold approximately 24 feet high. The scaffold had been constructed only 21 horizontal inches across from a 7,620-volt power line. A laborer carried a piece of wire reinforcement (10 feet long by 8 inches wide) along the top section of the scaffold and contacted the power line with it. The laborer, who was wearing leather gloves, received an electric shock and dropped the wire reinforcement, which fell across the power line and simultaneously contacted the metal rail of the scaffold, energizing the entire scaffold. A 20-year-old bricklayer standing on the work platform in contact with the main scaffold was electrocuted.

Crane Boom Too Close To Power Line:

A 56-year-old construction laborer was removing forms from a concrete wall poured several days earlier. As he removed the forms, he wrapped them with a length of cable called a choker, which was to be attached to a crane. The victim signaled the operator of the crane to extend the boom and lower the hoist cable. Both the operator and the victim failed to notice that the boom had contacted a 2,400-volt overhead power line. When the victim reached down to connect the choker to the hoist cable, he suddenly collapsed. Co-workers provided CPR, but were unable to revive the victim. Only after a rescue squad arrived about 4 minutes later did anyone realize that the crane was in contact with a power line -- all those present had assumed that the victim had suffered a heart attack.

Crane Boom Swung Into Power Line:

A 29-year-old worker was electrocuted when he pushed a crane cable into a 7,200-volt power line. The victim was part of a crew that was constructing a concrete wall. Before work began, the company safety director made sure that insulated line hoses were placed over sections of the the power line near the jobsite and that a safety clearance zone was marked off for arriving cement trucks. After the wall was poured, one driver cleaned the loading chute of his cement truck with a water hose mounted on the truck. As he began to pull away, the crew supervisor yelled to him, asking if the crew could use his water hose to wash out their cement bucket suspended from the crane. The driver stopped the truck under the power line, and the victim, not realizing that the truck had moved, swung the boom to position the bucket behind the truck. When he grasped the handle of the bucket to pull it down, the crane cable came into contact with the overhead line. The victim provided a path to ground and was electrocuted.

Death Due to Lack of Ground-Fault Protection

No Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs):

A journeyman HVAC worker was installing metal duct work using a double-insulated drill connected to a drop light cord. Power was supplied through two extension cords from a nearby residence. The individual's perspiration-soaked clothing/body contacted bare exposed conductors on one of the cords, causing an electrocution. No GFCI's were used. Additionally, the ground prongs were missing from the two cords.

Deaths Due to Missing or Discontinuous Path to Ground

Ground Wire Not Attached:

A fan connected to a 120-volt electrical system via an extension cord provided ventilation for a worker performing a chipping operation from an aluminum stepladder. The insulation on the extension cord was cut through and exposed bare, energized conductors which made contact with the ladder. The ground wire was not attached on the male end of the cord's plug. When the energized conductor made contact with the ladder, the path to ground included the worker's body, resulting in death.

Adapter For 3-Prong Cord Not Grounded To Outlet:

On May 27, 1986, two workers were using a 110-volt auger to install tie-down rods for a manufactured home. The auger has a one-quarter horsepower motor encased in a metal housing with two handles. One handle has a deadman's switch. Electricity to the auger was supplied by a series of 50-foot extension cords running to an adjacent property. Since the outlet at the adjacent property had no socket for a ground prong, the extension cords were plugged into the outlet using an adapter, but the ground wire of the adapter was not grounded. Two of the extension cords had no ground prongs, and some of them were repaired with electrical tape. The workers had removed their shirts and were sweating. One worker, holding the deadman's switch, received a shock from a ground fault in the auger and was knocked back from the machine. The auger then fell across the other worker, the 24-year-old victim. The first worker knocked the auger off the victim, but saw that the electric cord was wrapped around the victim's thigh. He yelled for his co-workers to disconnect the power, which they did. The workers administered CPR to the victim, but to no avail.

Short In Power Saw/Ungrounded Temporary Power Supply:

On July 10, 1986, a 22-year-old carpenter was working at the construction site of large apartment complex, using a portable electric saw to construct the wooden framework of a laundry building. Electricity to operate portable power tools was supplied by a temporary service pole 50 feet away. The pole had not been inspected by the city and was not in compliance with code requirements (it was not grounded). The victim used two extension cords to supply power: a home-made cord plugged into an ungrounded receptacle on the pole, and a UL-approved cord extending from the homemade cord to the saw. The accident site was wet; also, humidity was high and the victim was sweating. Reportedly, he was shocked throughout the morning, and he had replaced one of the extension cords in an effort to eliminate the shocks. The source of the shocks -- the saw -- was not replaced. As the victim climbed down a makeshift ladder, he shifted the saw from his right hand to his left, and was shocked. This caused him to fall from the ladder and land in a puddle of water, still holding the saw. Apparently, his hand contracted and he was "locked" to the saw. A co-worker disconnected the power cord to the saw, too late to save the victim.

Deaths Due to Equipment Not Used in Manner Prescribed

Damaged Extension Cord Leaves Arc Welder Ungrounded:

A 29-year-old welder attempted to connect a portable arc welder to an electrical outlet using an extension cord. The power switch on the welder was already in the "on" position, and the female end of the extension cord, which was spring loaded, had apparently been dropped and broken. As a result, the ground prong of the welder plug did not insert into the ground terminal of the cord, so that as soon as a connection was made, the outside metal case of the welder became energized, electrocuting the victim. An examination revealed that the spring, cover plate, and part of the melamine casing were missing from the face of the female connector (the spring and some melamine fragments were found at the accident site). The victim was totally deaf in one ear and suffered diminished hearing in the other. He may have dropped the extension cord at the site and not heard the connector break.

Handling Damaged Extension Cord When Energized:

A 19-year-old construction laborer was working with his foreman and another laborer to construct a waterfront bulkhead for a lakeside residence. Electricity for power tools was supplied from an exterior 120-volt, grounded AC receptacle located at the back of the residence. On the day of the incident, the victim plugged in a damaged extension cord and laid it out towards the bulkhead. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident, but evidence suggests that while the victim was handling the damaged and energized extension cord, he provided a "path to ground" and was electrocuted. The victim collapsed into the lake and sank 4-1/2 feet to the bottom.

Electrical Equipment In Poor Condition:

An 18-year-old worker at a construction site was electrocuted when he touched a light fixture while descending from a scaffold for his afternoon break. The source of the electricity was apparently a short in a receptacle, but examination revealed that the electrical equipment used by the contractor was in such poor condition that it was impossible to make a certain determination of the source of the short. Extension cords had poor splices, no grounds, and reversed polarity. One hand drill was not grounded, and the other had no safety plate. Out of several possible scenarios, the most likely was contact between the exposed wires of an extension cord and a screw that protruded from the receptacle, which had its face plate removed. The light fixture, which served as a ground, was known to be faulty for at least 5 months before the incident.

Improper Modification of Plugs:

An employee was texturing a wall using an air compressor. The plug of the compressor and an extension cord had been modified to fit a wall outlet for a common household clothes dryer (220 V). While attempting to unplug the compressor from the extension cord, the employee was fatally shocked. The modification of the plug was not an intended use or prescribed by the manufacturer.

Deaths Due to Improper Use of Extension and Flexible Cords

Flexible Cord Not 3-Wire, Hard Service Variety:

A worker received a fatal shock when he was cutting drywall with a metal casing router. The router's 3-wire power cord was spliced to a 2-wire cord and plug set which was not rated for hard service. A fault occurred, and with no grounding and no GFCI protection, the worker was electrocuted.

No Strain Relief:

A worker was operating a ¾" electric chisel when an electrical fault occurred in the casing of the tool, causing him to be fatally electrocuted. An OSHA inspection revealed that the tool's original power cord had been replaced with a flat cord, which was not designated for hard service, and that strain relief was not provided at the point where the cord entered the tool. Additionally, the ground prong was missing and there was no GFCI protection.