No word on how this happened.  Usually someone THINKS the line is de-energized and it is not.  Simple work practices make electrical safety as much a habit as other types of safety.
Click here to read about the electrocution in Moorehead, KY

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A Disney vetran, age 50, was electrocuted on a job he had been shocked on before according to the news report.  He had been shocked because of inexperienced workers in the past according to his wife’s news report.
Most of these fatalities are preventable.  Doesn’t look like any equipment failure.  Looked like “deenergized work” that became [...]

“Officials probe accident where worker was burned
By JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent
Saturday, Jul. 3, 2010

CHESTER – Federal safety inspectors have begun investigating the circumstances surrounding Thursday’s accident that severely burned a man while he was working at a utility substation.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to spend the next several weeks reviewing the accident at a New Hampshire Electric Co-op substation on Old Sandown Road.

Authorities said the victim, an employee of I.C. Reed and Sons Inc. of Raymond, was working from a bucket truck when he received a jolt of 7,200 volts of electricity to his shoulder. Fire Chief Richard Antoine said the worker’s shoulder “touched something that obviously it shouldn’t have” while he was working in the bucket and that the electricity entered through his shoulder and exited through his arm.

The shock left the victim with third-degree burns to his upper body, officials said. He was flown to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

While the victim’s condition wasn’t known yesterday, Antoine said he was told that he’s “doing very well.” Authorities have not identified the worker, citing privacy laws.

I.C. Reed and Sons, which has not returned calls, was subcontracted by New Hampshire Electric Co-op to perform work at the substation.

OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said the federal agency was immediately notified about the accident on Thursday and inspectors quickly arrived to begin their review.

“We need to determine which safety standards would apply and whether or not they were complied with,” Fitzgerald said.

OSHA inspectors have up to six months to complete their review, but Fitzgerald said they should done before then, adding that the investigation will likely take several weeks.

Seth Wheeler, spokesman for New Hampshire Electric Co-op, said he didn’t know the status of the work that was being done and whether it had been completed. He said the accident didn’t cause any prolonged outages for electric customers.”

The story says this worker was alive, burned but incoherent.  This is possibly a sign of an arc flash rather than a contact with a powerline.  Many companies and workers don’t really understand the hazards of working near electrical parts or powerlines.
The article calls this an electrocution (which is most commonly defined as fatal electrical contact).  [...]

These types of incidents are covered by CALOSHA and NESC. PG&E has a great safety and training program. The investigation will be swift.
Read the article in the SF Chronicle online.
Another article on same fatality.
Another article, same fatality.
Another article, same story.
CalOSHA Confirms PG&E Death.

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Operator’s are often the victims of electrocution. Actually in some studies more likely. They need to know the hazards too. NFPA 70E committee considering adding Operators to the list of covered in the 2012 standard. It is clear in the standard they are doing “electrical tasks” when operating disconnects etc. [...]

We reported this, another sad fatality of a seaman in the line of duty. This one is another one which was completely avoidable. Electrocution shipboard. Ships are specifically excluded from many of the standards BUT the Navy is one of the MOST electrically safe organizations. Give me a nuclear navy trained [...]

“SAN DIEGO—The Navy says a 36-year-old sailor from San Diego was killed in an electrical accident aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

In a statement released Saturday, the Navy says Electrician’s Mate Chief John G. Conyers suffered severe electrical shock while conducting routine work as the ship underwent repairs at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego Bay.

Conyers was taken by ambulance to Sharp Coronado Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Friday afternoon.

The statement says Conyers was an 11-year Navy veteran and is survived by a wife and daughter.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. “

This 2003 article is free with registration to the British Medical Journal. Thought the Brits don’t recognize NFPA 70E they have pretty impeccable results with their methods for electrical safety including “safety by design”. They have required “touch safe” designs installed since 1991 for many applications which makes the average worker much safer [...]

Good to see studies in Bulgaria of electrical fatalities.
Not just of workers but most were workers and male.
Click to see the study in an Internet Journal of Forensic urnal

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