A Tecvac machine operator in Cambridge was seriously injured last July while checking new cables on a hardening machine.  He was shocked, leaving open wounds to his forearm and left palm, and burns on left arm and knee.  The company was fined for not having prevented access to the live parts of the cables, not [...]

SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) is not a heart attack (lack of blood), but rather involves the heart’s electrical impulses. CPR and AED (automated external defib) are needed when employees experience SCA in the workplace.  13% of workplace fatalities are due to SCA, with survival rates of only 1-5% if occuring outside of a hospital.     If trained [...]

A sign installation employee in Preston, Victoria, was shocked and seriously burned when the metal rod he was taking off the top of a sign touched an overhead power line, sending 22,000v through his body.  A Worksafe investigation found the company failed to ensure employees had sufficient training when working near powerlines at that particular site.  The investigation also found [...]

According to statistics from the Division of Worker’s Compensation of the State Department of Labor and Training,  Rhode Island electricians suffered 3 deaths and 2207 injuries during the 10 year period of 2001-2010.   Rhode Island’s Committee on Occupational Safety and Health indicates that the most common cause of workplace injuries and fatalities is failure to recognize hazards involved;  [...]

An employee from the South Jakarta Sanitation Agency was electrocuted when he touched the railing of a  pedestrian bridge.  He had been taking a break from cleaning ditches and was lying on his back on the bridge;  a frayed power cable from a nearby utilty pole adhered to the bridge, transmitting the current to the man’s hand [...]

Three contract employees of Ottawa Hydo suffered electrical shock when the boom on a machine used to install utility poles came into contact with overhead lines.  One man was seriously injured & required CPR, while the other two received electrical shock in attempting to rescue their co-worker. Click here to read the article dated 3/22/12.

Employees of Highlines, Inc.,  a private contractor from LA, were replacing utility poles for an electric company in Jefferson County, AR.  One of the workers on the ground guided a pole which touched an overhead power line,  fatally shocking him.  The other worker was treated and released. Click here to read the article dated 3/29/12.

A worker from Comal County Jail of New Braunfels, TX, apparently dropped a wrench on an electric bus bar, causing an electrical arc that shocked (?) and burned him. Click here to read the article dated 3/28/12.

Included in the weekly fatality report is mention of a construction worker being electrocuted when replacing lightning arresters on electrical lines. Click here to read the OSHA report.

The first fatality of 2012 in the coal mining industry occurred at Shoal Creek Mine in Jefferson, AL.  An electrician was performing electrical work  on the cable reel of a shuttle car when he received a fatal electrical shock. The electrician came in contact with the exposed 995 volt energized cable leads in the cable [...]