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  1. Default Fallen/Injured Brothers

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    All per OSHA's website for sic 4911:

    01/21/2000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District-Union
    A power line worker was working on an electrical system at an Air Force base. He had been dispatched to repair an electrical system supplying parking lot lights. A day earlier, another employee did a makeshift repair and got the lighting circuit working. The power line worker assigned to make the permanent repair was unfamiliar with the electrical cabinet supplying the lighting, so an Air Force base electrical employee accompanied him to help explain. The power line worker determined what repairs were necessary and planned to return with the parts. However, before leaving, he decided to check the tension of the handle on a fused circuit breaker. The screwdriver he used to perform this check slipped as he was prying on the handle, and the tool contacted an energized part, causing an electrical fault. The ensuing electric arc burned the employee. He received first aid treatment at the scene before being hospitalized for his injuries. ONE FINE OF $350.

    ---One Injured (1)---

    02/02/2000 Tuscon Electric Power Company-Union
    A power line worker was in a vault, cutting into an energized 14-kilovolt line. He had not checked the line to verify that it was deenergized. An electrical fault occurred, and the ensuing electric arc burned the employee. NO FINE

    ---One injured (2)---

    03/22/2000 Red Simpson Inc.-Non Union
    Three employees were installing seven utility poles for an overhead power line. The employees had installed two poles and were moving their vehicles down the line to drop the third pole at the next location. Each crewmember drove a vehicle. The foreman drove a pickup. Another crewmember drove a digger-derrick with a trailer transporting the 13.7-meter-long poles, which weighed about 725 kilograms apiece. The third crewmember drove an aerial lift truck. The foreman and the digger-derrick driver parked their trucks and began to unload the pole. Each of the two employees pulled a 610-millimeter-long stake pin holding the poles onto the trailer. The foreman used a cant hook to dislodge the pole from the trailer. As the pole was rolling off the trailer, the third employee walked around the corner of the load. The pole struck him across the chest, knocked him to the ground, and rolled across his head, killing him. NO FINE

    ---One Death (2/1)---

    04/07/2000 Southern California Edison-Union
    A four-employee electric utility crew was restoring power for a large residential area. The employees were working on a bank of 16.3-kilovolt transformers, replacing a bad cable. Two of the employees (Employees #1 and #2) were working on one of the transformers, which had its energized primary terminals exposed. While they were tightening some bolts on the transformer, an electrical fault occurred. The ensuing electric arc burned the employees and ignited their clothing. Another crewmember (Employee #3), who was working on another transformer, heard the arcing and ran to the injured employees. When he found their clothing burning, he began to put out the fire with his bare hands. An emergency medical services team transported the injured employees to a hospital, where they were treated for extensive second- and third-degree burns. Employee #1 was burned over more than 50 percent of his body. Employee #2 was burned over 35 percent of his body. Employee #3, who had also been burned, was treated and released. Employee #1 died in the hospital burn unit 15 days after the accident. A visual inspection of the transformer after the accident indicated that a phase-to-phase fault had occurred at the transformer's primary-side terminals. FINED 4 SERIOUS FINES FOR $29,800

    ---Two Injuries, One Death (4/2)---

    05/08/2000 Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation-Union
    A power line worker was working from an elevated aerial lift. He was bringing a conductor from the ground to a dead-end connection at the pole for installation of a new service. He was holding one end of the new conductor, and the other end was touching the ground. The employee was not wearing rubber insulating gloves or using insulating protective equipment on the 4800-volt overhead power line on the pole. As he was maneuvering the aerial lift, an uninsulated portion of the bucket contacted the power line. The employee was electrocuted. ONE FINE FOR $5,000

    ---One Death (4/3)---

    06/07/2000 Commonwealth Edison Company-Union
    A power line worker was standing on the ground, coiling an old overhead power line. The line was in contact with another power line, which became energized. The power line worker was electrocuted. ONE FINE FOR $7,000 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO $3,500

    ---One Death (4/4)---

    06/15/2000 B&W Utilities Service-Non Union
    A four-employee crew was assigned to upgrade the underground distribution line running from a residential meter base to a pad-mounted transformer. The crew foreman was working on the 240/120-volt transformer secondary. Two helpers on the crew were assisting him. As the foreman was making a connection to an energized terminal, he slipped and fell onto energized parts of the transformer. He became wedged between the transformer and the cable-television pedestal and could not break free of the energized parts. He was electrocuted. THREE FINES FOR $16,800 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO TWO FINES FOR $7,280

    ---One Death (4/5)---

    06/29/2000 Harlan Electric Company-Union
    A power line worker was installing new switches and crossmembers. He contacted an energized part and was electrocuted. TWO WILLFULL FINES FOR $140,000 AND WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO ONE UNCLASSIFIED FOR $7,000

    ---One Death (4/6)---

    07/17/2000 Singing River Electric Power Association-Non Union
    Two electric utility employees were responding to an electrical outage on the west side a highway. The employees were standing behind their work vehicle, which was parked facing north in the southbound lane. A vehicle traveling northbound at an extremely high rate of speed crossed the center line and struck both employees. They died of injuries sustained in the accident. ONE SERIOUS FINE FOR $4,900

    ---Two Deaths (4/8)---

    07/26/2000 Chelan County PUD #1
    A power line crew was installing a new utility pole at the intersection of two streets. One of the employees on the crew was hit by a motor vehicle driven by an impaired driver. He died of his injuries 10 days after the accident.

    ---One Death (4/9)---

    08/17/2000 Southern California Edison-Union
    Employee #1 put a ladder up against a temporary utility pole for service of the weather head. While ascending the ladder the pole started to lean twisting the ladder around. He jumped approximately 5 ft and landed on his left ankle sustaining a minor ankle injury.

    ---One Injury (5/9)---

    08/18/2000 Oklahoma Gas & Electric-Non Union
    When a two-person power line crew arrived at a work site, the employees noticed that the B-phase of a 7200-volt overhead power line was down. They positioned their aerial lift under the power line near the utility pole supporting the line. Working on the ground, the crew spliced the downed conductor on the east side of the pole. They then pulled the conductor toward the pole. One employee entered the aerial lift bucket and elevated himself into position at the top of the pole. He raised the conductor to the top of the pole; and, as he was pulling on it, he contacted the A-phase conductor located on the north side of the pole. He was electrocuted. FOUR SERIOUS FINES FOR $18,000

    ---One Death (5/10)---

    10/10/2000 Matanuska Electric Association Inc.-Union
    Three journeyman power line workers were replacing a circuit breaker in a substation. They had to loosen an insulator to test it. One of the employees was unable to reach the bolts, which were along the side of the circuit breaker, so one of the other two employees reached into the right side of the cabinet. He contacted energized parts in the adjacent bay. He received an electric shock and fell into the vault below the two bays. His clothing had ignited. He crawled out of the vault without assistance, and his coworkers extinguished his burning clothing. The injured employee was hospitalized. One of his coworkers was also burned, apparently as he was dousing the flames. FIVE SERIOUS FINES WORTH $16,450

    ---Two Injuries (7/10)---

    11/02/2000 Tampa Electric Company-Union
    A power line worker was on a stepladder in a substation, replacing damaged bolts on disconnect switches on a 7620-volt power line. As he was checking the disconnect switch for tightness, a coworker closed the disconnect using a switch stick. The power line worker, who was touching energized parts of the switch, was electrocuted. TWO FINES WORTH $14,000 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO ONE FINE WORTH $7,000

    ---One Death (7/11)---

    12/19/2000 Connecticut Light & Power Company-Union
    A power line crew was repairing a storm-damaged utility pole and a 345-kilovolt overhead power line supported by the pole. The power line was deenergized and grounded. The line conductors were bonded together and grounded to a pole ground. There were two static wires supported by the structure, but they were not grounded or bonded. The employees moved the static wire from the damaged pole to an adjacent center pole. After the crew moved the static wire, two employees went up in an aerial lift to the center pole to connect the static wire to a fitting on the pole. One of employees removed his leather work gloves and grabbed the static wire. He was electrocuted. TWO SERIOUS FINES WORTH $10,000

    ---One Death (7/12)---

    7 total Injuries and 12 Deaths listed on OSHA's site for sic 4911 (Electric Services) for 2000

  2. Default

    02/24/2001 Air-2 LLC.-Non Union
    On February 24, 2001, Employee #1, a lineman with Air-2, LLC, died when he fell ninety feet from a power pole. He was inspecting and performing maintenance on power transmission structures. He was transported by helicopter to an electric power line transmission structure on February 24, 2001. Employee #1 was sitting on an aluminum platform that was attached to the side of the helicopter. Employees working on the electric power structures are transported from the ground by riding on the platform. Employees working on the electric transmission lines will sit on the platform to perform their maintenance duties. The platform used was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. When a lineman is transported to the electric power transmission structure, the pilot of the helicopter will hover next to the electric power transmission structure. The lineman sitting on the platform will attach a bonding wire from the helicopter to the shield wire on the electric power transmission structure. The lineman sits on the platform with a seat belt and has his lanyard attached to a D-ring that is attached to the side of the helicopter. The pilot and the lineman are in radio communication with each other. However, when the helicopter is bonded to the shield wire there is no radio communication between the pilot and the lineman. The lineman sitting on the platform has his lanyard attached to a D-ring on the side of the helicopter. The lanyard is removed as the lineman transfers from the platform to the electric power transmission structure. The lineman is wearing climbing gaffs that are used to walk the structure downward. The pilot visually confirms the lineman has transferred to the electric power transmission structure. The pilot, while looking at the lineman and the drop site, moves the helicopter laterally out and away from the structure. During the investigation, it was discovered that Employee #1's lanyard was not hooked to the D-ring before he transferred to the electric power transmission structure. Employee #1's lanyard was hooked to a strut that was connected to the aluminum platform and the helicopter. The strut works as shock absorber that connects the platform to the helicopter. At the time, Employee #1 was transferring from the platform to the structure and his lanyard was still connected to the strut. The screw and bolt separated from the strut resulting in Employee #1 falling approximately ninety feet to his death. The strut was secured and sent to Salt Lake City laboratory to have a stress test conducted. The screw broke because of the weight being supported by the linemen hooking up to the strut constantly. THREE SERIOUS FINES FOR $12,100 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO TWO FINES FOR $7,600

    ---One Death (0/1)---

    03/16/2001 Orange County Rural Electric Membership Corporation-Union
    Two power line workers were assigned to repair a conductor on a utility pole. The conductor had been damaged by a storm. They arrived at the worksite, which was near a residence, in an aerial lift truck. They decided to climb the pole rather than damage the soft ground with the truck. One of the power line workers climbed the pole and removed a jumper that connected a tap conductor to an overhead feed-through conductor. With his right foot on the pole ground, the employee reached toward the pole to adjust the conductor sag at the dead-end clamp. He was not wearing rubber insulating gloves at the time. He contacted the overhead feed-through conductor with his left hand and received an electric shock. The other power line worker, who was on the ground to check the sag of the tap conductor, heard an arcing sound and turned to see his coworker slumped against the pole, supported by his body belt. The employee on the ground summoned emergency medical services as he rescued his coworker in the aerial lift. The injured power line worker was hospitalized. SIX INITIAL FINES WORTH $7,500 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO SIX FINES WORTH $3,750

    ---One Injured (1/1)---

    03/16/2001 Irby Construction Company Inc.-Non Union
    A power line worker had completed a maintenance inspection of an H-frame structure supporting an overhead power line and was on top of one of the structure's poles. He was waiting for a helicopter that was used to transfer employees on and off the structures. As the helicopter moved into position for the transfer, the power line worker reached for and grabbed the helicopter's skid. He was unable to maintain his grasp, lost his balance, and fell 18 meters to the ground, landing approximately 7.6 meters away from the base of the structure. He had disengaged his fall protection equipment as the helicopter approached.

    ---One Death (1/2)---

    04/03/2001 Consumers Power Inc.-Union
    At approximately 4:01 p.m. on March 21, 2007, Employee #1 and his crew were responding to an outage call. The employee opened the first vault to place the assumed load on a parking stand, then he called for a refuse and closure of the cutout at the dip pole. Employee #1 then proceeded to the junction box and found a 7200-volt elbow disengaged. He called to the crew to refuse and close the cutout at the tap pole. As the crew was closing the tap feed, Employee #1 started to clean the lip of the bushing when he contacted the energized bushing. Employee #1 sustained burns to both hands and his left leg. He was hospitalized for his injuries. THREE FINES WORTH $12,500

    ---One Injury (2/2)---

    04/04/2001 Red Simpson Inc.-Non Union
    A ten member crew was performing maintenance on a 115,000 kilovolt three-way switch. Clearances were obtained and grounds placed before work was started on the deenergized structure. The switches are mounted on a switch frame assembly that is secured to a concrete pole at levels 46 feet, 66 feet and 86 feet above ground. Employee #1 was checking the operation of the opening and closing function of the point switch when he fell 86 feet from the switch frame to the ground. He was wearing a safety harness and lanyard. However, he did not have the lanyard secured to an anchorage. Employee #1's injuries were fatal. FOUR FINES WORTH $91,000 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THREE FINES FOR $21,000

    ---One Death (2/3)---

    04/11/2001 Central Power & Light-Non Union
    A three person, two truck crew was completing a single phase overhead line extension of approximately 700 feet in length that was started the previous day in a sandy remote location. It was cloudy with winds in excess of 35 miles per hour. The driver was attempting to relocate his truck so he could back into the area where they had to finish working. In the process of moving the bucket truck, he ran over Employee #1, not seeing anyone behind him. He then ran back over him after he was told to stop and move forward. Employee #1 was killed. THREE FINES WORTH $5,275 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO TWO FINES WORTH $3,275

    ---One Death (2/4)---

    05/04/2001 Southern California Edison-Union
    At 10:30 a.m. on March 13, 2001, Employee #1 fell approximately 15 feet from a transmission pole he was climbing. Employee #1 was hospitalized for 13 days as a result of his injuries, a fractured left wrist and internal injuries.

    ---One Injury (3/4)---

    05/30/2001 Kansas City Power & Light Company-Union
    A power line crew was in the final phases of construction of a new double-circuit overhead power line. The lower circuit was energized to the west side of the second utility pole supporting the new power line. An apprentice line worker climbed the pole to remove protective grounds on the east side of the pole. He contacted the energized side of the 7200-volt (phase-to-ground) power line, received an electric shock, and was knocked from the pole. He fell 9.8 meters to the ground. He died of his injuries. FOUR INITIAL FINES WORTH $28,000 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THREE FINES WORTH $16,800

    ---One Death (3/5)---

    11/28/2001 Sacramento Municipal Utility District-Union
    At about 8:00 a.m. on November 27, 2001, Employee #1, a lineman of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was working on the utility pole in a place located in Wilton, California, in Sacramento County. Employee #1 finished preparing a jumper connection and was making a cross-over move to get down from the cross arm to the pole to make the connection for the center conductor. When Employee #1 swung down from the cross arm and attempted to sink his gaffs into the pole, his gaff struck a mounting plate for the guy cable and did not allow any foundation to support Employee #1's weight, as he anticipated. As a consequence, he relaxed his grip on the crossarm and could not recover that grip enough to prevent his fall. Employee #1 fell about 44 ft, landing head down. Employee #1 was killed instantly from massive head injuries.

    ---One Death (3/6)---

  3. Default

    12/04/2001 Pacific Gas and Electric-Union
    A power line worker was part of a four-employee crew. The crew had been called back to work and was assembling the tools and equipment they needed to replace a transform on a utility pole. The foreman checked the equipment in the back of his 1-ton digger-derrick, got in, and started backing up to the tool warehouse, which was about 12.2 meters away. A coworker was getting a capstan there. As the foreman neared the warehouse he felt a bump under the truck. Not knowing what it was, he got out and found Employee #1 under the truck. The two other coworkers in the area heard the bump and Employee #1's screams and were there before the foreman could get out of the truck. One coworker called for medical services and the other coworker retrieved a forklift. The work crew provided first aid before Employee #1 was airlifted to a hospital. Employee #1 suffered extensive injuries including a laceration to the left upper leg, the amputation of his right lower leg, and internal crushing injuries to organs in pelvic and lower abdomen. Employee #1 was hospitalized. ONE FINE WORTH $350

    ---One Injury (4/6)---

    4 Injuries and 6 Deaths listed under sic 4911 (Electric Services) for the year of 2001.

  4. Default

    02/01/2002 Kansas City Power and Light-Union
    A power line worker was working from the bucket of an aerial lift about 17 meters above the ground. He contacted a fused disconnect on a utility pole and was electrocuted.

    ---One Death (0/1)---

    02/08/2002 Los Angeles Water and Power-Union
    A power line worker was repairing a downed 4800-volt overhead power line. He was wearing safety glasses, a hard hat, rubber gloves, and a Nomex shirt. The conductor being repaired had been positioned with slack blocks. To keep the new conductor, which had a steel core, from touching the energized end of the existing conductor, the employee bent the new conductor downward. He estimated the distance to the energized end and cut the new conductor with lineman's pliers. The new conductor sprung up as it was cut and touched the energized end, causing an electrical fault. The ensuing electric arc burned the employee on his face and arms. Despite his safety equipment, the employee required surgery and hospitalization for his injuries at a burn center. TWO FINES WORTH $3,750 AND IS STILL OPEN

    ---One Injury (1/1)---

    02/14/2002 Enron Corporation-Union
    A power line worker was using a hook and block to lower a deenergized phase conductor. The hook was pushed into the crossarm of a utility pole for support. As the employee used a handline to lower the conductor, the hook came out of the crossarm, transferring the weight to the handline. The extra weight caused him to lose his balance and turn his right ankle. He sustained a fracture to his right ankle and was hospitalized for surgery. ONE SERIOUS FINE WORTH $300 THAT WAS OVERTURNED

    ---One Injury (2/1)---

    03/15/2002 Southern California Edison-Union
    A power line worker was inspecting a live-front, pad-mounted transformer that was to be replaced. He contacted an exposed, energized bushing on the 12-kilovolt transformer and received an electric shock and burns to his right hand and arm. He was hospitalized in a burn center for 17 days. ONE SERIOUS VIOLATION FOR $18,000 THAT WAS DELETED

    ---One Injury (3/1)---

    04/05/2002 Illumination Company, A FirstEnergy Company-Union
    An employee working on 5000-volt cables in a manhole was electrocuted. (The original form did not describe how the accident occurred.) INITIAL FINE WAS THREE VIOLATIONS FOR $70,000 WHICH STAYED

    ---One Death (3/2)---

    04/15/2002 Pacificorp-Union
    A journeyman power line worker was on a utility pole, installing jumpers connecting power line conductors together. As he was changing his position on the pole, his back contacted a 7200-volt overhead power line. He received an electric shock and was hospitalized for his injuries. ONE SERIOUS VIOLATION WORTH $500 THAT STAYED

    ---One Injury (4/2)---

    05/01/2002 Southern California Edison-Union
    A power line worker was electrocuted. (The original form did not provide any details about the accident.) TWO VIOLATIONS WORTH $18,375 THAT WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO TWO VIOLATIONS WORTH $18,300

    ---One Death (4/3)---

    05/16/2002 PSE&G-Union
    Four electric utility employees were verifying ratio changes in transformers at a substation. The lead employee entered the compartment of an air circuit breaker to place a test lead on a deenergized 4160-volt bus. He contacted an energized 4160-volt busbar instead and caused an electrical fault. The ensuing electric arc severely burned the four employees. They were hospitalized for their injuries. SIX VIOLATIONS WORTH $18,500 WHICH WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO THREE VIOLATIONS WORTH $3,000

    ---Four Injuries (8/3)---

    06/05/2002 Kodiak Electric Association Inc.-Union
    An employee received an electric shock. He was hospitalized for his injuries. (The original form did not describe how the accident occurred.)

    ---One Injury (9/3)---

    06/11/2002 Arkansas Electric Cooperative Inc.-Non Union
    A power line crew was installing a utility pole. They raised the pole into contact with a 14.4-kilovolt overhead power line. Two employees were holding onto the pole as it was being set in its hole. One of them was electrocuted. The other one received an electric shock and sustained severe burns. (The second employee was not listed on an injury line on the original form.) FOUR FINES WORTH $85,000 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO $17,500

    ---One Injury, One Death (10/4)---

    06/13/2002 Portland General Electric Company-Union
    A power line worker was descending a utility pole. A gaff on his climbers cut out, and he fell 2.4 meters to the ground. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

    ---One Injury (11/4)---

    06/21/2002 Los Angeles Water and Power-Union
    A five-person power line crew was assigned to install a three-phase service from a pad-mounted transformer to a new meter cabinet. The 480/277-volt circuit remained energized while the employees were working, despite the limited working space for the bolts they were to install. They covered energized parts with a rubber insulating blanket. However, they left the terminal on which they were working and the back plate of the terminals uncovered. The employees connected the first terminal without incident. On the second terminal, the supervisor on the crew dropped a bolt he was inserting. The bolt caused an electrical fault between the terminal and the back plate. The ensuing electric arc burned the supervisor on the face. He was hospitalized for his injuries. ONE SERIOUS VIOLATION WORTH $18,000 THAT STAYED

    ---One Injury (12/4)---

    07/16/2002 Utah Power and Light Company-Union
    One employee was electrocuted, one employee was burned, and two other employees were injured in an accident involving a broken utility pole. The pole supported a 120/240-volt overhead power line 1.8 meters from the top of the pole and a 7200-volt power line at the top. The burned employee was hospitalized for his injuries. (The original form did not indicate how the accident occurred.)

    ---Three Injuries and One Death (15/5)---

    07/30/2002 Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative Inc.-Non Union
    A journeyman power line worker and an apprentice were assigned to repair the downed primary and neutral conductors on a 12.96-kilovolt (7200-volt-to-ground) overhead power line located in a very rural area toward the end of the service. The recloser-type oil circuit breaker feeding the general area was open (according to the power line worker), and the conductors, which branched off the incoming line, had fuses that were open. The employees reconnected the downed primary, secured it to the far pole, and sagged the conductor. The conductor was then ready to be jumpered to the feeder line. At this point, a second crew, which stopped by to drop off supplies, began to assist in the operation. Wearing pole climbers and a harness, the apprentice climbed to the top section of the utility pole. In position on the pole, he started to don his insulated gloves when he appeared to lose his balance. He reacted by throwing his arm in the air and apparently contacted the incoming line, which was supposedly deenergized by the open circuit breaker. His coworkers heard arcing, indicating that the line was energized. The apprentice asked for someone to help him and then slumped back with his harness holding him in place. The second crew ran to the truck, drove it through a fence, and used it to rescue the injured employee, whereupon they administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Emergency medical services arrived and tried to defibrillate the apprentice. However, their efforts to revive the employee were unsuccessful, and he died of electrocution. TWO SERIOUS VIOLATIONS WITH FINES OF $10,800

    ---One Death (15/6)---

    08/07/2002 Texas-New Mexico Power Company-Non Union
    An electric utility worker was replacing cross-timbers on a 115-kilovolt overhead power line. A cross member broke, causing the employee to fall about 16 meters to the ground. He died of injuries sustained in the fall. ONE SERIOUS VIOLATIONS WORTH $2,625

    ---One Death (15/7)---

    08/16/2002 Westar Energy-Union
    An electric utility employee had locked down a pole switch. A ground fault occurred when an insulator failed on a nearby utility pole, electrocuting the employee.

    ---One Death (15/8)---

  5. Default

    09/04/2002 San Diego Gas and Electric-Union
    A journeyman power line worker was climbing a wood utility pole to repair an insulator on a 4160-volt overhead power line. He was wearing a tool belt and 40-millimeter-long pole climbing gaffs made by M. Klein and Sons. When he was about 10 to 12 meters up the pole, he fell. He was hospitalized with a fractured right femur, pelvis, and right wrist, eight cracked ribs, and a collapsed lung. The employee was not sure why he fell, perhaps because a gaff hit a knot or check and did not grip well.

    ---One Injury (16/8)---

    09/05/2002 Southern California Edison-Union
    An employee was in a maintenance yard of an electric utility, hitching a trailer to his truck. He lost his grip and dropped the trailer tongue on his left foot. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured left foot.

    ---One Injury (17/8)---

    09/16/2002 Kansas City Power and Light-Union
    A three-person power line crew was removing a three-phase overhead phase line. A power line worker was in the bucket of an aerial lift, preparing to lower a neutral conductor. A tractor-trailer rig approached the area from the east, and the two employees on the ground signaled it to a stop. The employee in the aerial lift swung the boom to the south to allow the truck to pass. He remained in the bucket and, while the truck was passing, the vehicle got caught on a cable television cable. The tension on the line broke a utility pole, which struck the employee in the bucket in the back. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained in intensive care for 16 days until he died of injuries sustained in the accident. FINED WITH ONE VIOLATION WORTH $7,000

    ---One Death (17-9)---

    10/08/2002 W.A. Chester LLC.-Union
    An employee was removing an underground power line cable. He had secured the cable to the boom of an aerial lift. He was in the aerial lift bucket, using the boom to pull the cable from the ground. The cable broke, catapulting the employee from the bucket. He struck an overhead communication line on a nearby utility pole and fell 4.5 meters to the ground. He was hospitalized with multiple fractures of his back and pelvis.

    ---One Injury (18-9)---

    10/09/2002 French Broad Electric Membership Corporation-Non Union
    An employee came was rerouting an energized power line. He contacted circuit parts energized at 740 volts in a terminal box and was electrocuted. ONE FINE WORTH $4,200

    ---One Death (18-10)---

    10/17/2002 Rappahannock Electric Cooperative-Non Union
    A two-person power line crew was switching auger bits on a digger-derrick. The employees had parked the truck beneath a 7200-volt, three-phase overhead power line. The area had had about 50 millimeters of rain in the past 2 days. The crew had swapped auger bits and was hoisting the larger auger back into the carrying cradle on the left side of the truck body when the tip of the boom contacted the power line. The boom operator immediately lowered the boom free of the power line. The employee working on the ground had been standing clear of the truck at the moment of contact. The boom operator could not see his coworker, so he jumped clear of the truck bed and ran to his partner. The ground worker initially stated that he was fine, but he appeared to be in shock. Apparently, he had received an electric shock from potential gradients in the earth. His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he went into cardiac arrest. The boom operator immediately began administering cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Emergency medical services arrived shortly afterwards. There efforts to save the injured employee were to no avail, however; he died of electrocution.

    ---One Death (18-11)---

    11/08/2002 Pacific Gas and Electric-Union
    A two-person general construction crew working for an electric utility was digging holes for utility poles. The utility was under contract to replace three poles owned by an irrigation district. The worksite was on a steep incline, separated by 3-meter-wide ledges, facing a dam for a reservoir. The employees were transferring their equipment up the hill with ropes and pulleys. While they were doing this, a boulder became dislodged from the side of the hill and rolled down towards one of the employees. His coworker, the crew supervisor, warned him, and he dodged behind a small tree. However, the boulder bounced and careened directly into the employee before he could react. The boulder struck him on the right side of his face and threw him back about 4.5 meters. The injured employee was airlifted to a hospital, where he was treated for a fractured sinus and a concussion.

    ---One Injury (19-11)---

    12/05/2002 Westar Energy-Union
    A power line crew was at a construction site to facilitate a planned outage for the removal five sets of cables from a 7200/480-volt pad-mounted transformer. While they were working, the employees noticed a blown lightning arrester on one phase on the primary side of the transformer. After they completed their assigned tasks, the employees decided to move the blown arrester to prevent contact of the arrester cap with the transformer frame. One of the employees contacted an energized part on the live-front primary side of the transformer. He was electrocuted. THREE FINES WORTH $15,000

    ---One Death (19-12)---

    12/27/2002 Commonwealth Edison Company-Union
    An employee working on a commercial power line was electrocuted. (The original form did not describe how the accident occurred.) FIVE INITIAL VIOLATIONS TOTALING $20,000 THAT WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO TWO VIOLATIONS WORTH $10,000

    ---One Death (19-13)---

    19 Injuries and 13 Deaths reported under sic 4911 (Electric Services) during the 2002 year.

  6. Default

    02/11/2003 Pioneer Electric Cooperative-Non Union
    On February 10, 2003, Employee #1 was dispatched to a downed power line with a fallen tree. Upon arrival, he started to clear the tree, which was totally across the two lane road, with a chain saw. He cleared a lane so he could get his vehicle to the pole with the circuit breaker on it. He did not place any warning signs out to warn oncoming traffic. A fully loaded logging truck came around a hill top curve and attempted to stop before getting to the fallen tree. While breaking, the trailer's back wheels caught the soft shoulder and continued to slide down an embankment, which caused the cab to turn sideways and flip over. Employee #1 tried to escape the oncoming truck; however, his direct escape path ended up being directly into the path of the sliding vehicle. Employee #1 was killed. It is not clear if he was killed by the truck cap as it rolled over or the logs as they became dislodged from the trailer. THREE INITIAL VIOLATIONS WORTH $6,400 AND ENDED UP WITH TWO VIOLATIONS WORTH $5,650.

    ---One Death (0/1)---

    03/03/2003 Pacific Gas and Electric-Union
    On February 18, 2003, Employee #1 was on a training called bucket truck rescue, being conducted by his employer. He was in a double-bucket truck which was used in the training when his attention was disrupted. As he turned to see the other employee on the other side of the boom, he stepped off from the catwalk. Employee #1 fell about 6 ft to the concrete and sustained lacerations to the head and a lumbar fracture. ONE VIOLATION WORTH $450.

    ---One Injury (1/1)---

    06/12/2003 Nashville Electric Service-Union
    A journeyman lineman employed by Nashville Electric Service was fatally electrocuted as he attempted to shut an energized (23,900kv) power line fuse switch without using his personal protective equipment (insulated gloves) nor did he test the line for energy. Apparently as he was positioning his body to shut the fuse he was holding on to the pole guide line with his right hand and as his left hand touched the fuse switch he was electrocuted.

    ---One Death (1/2)---

    08/08/2003 North Houston Pole Line-Union
    Two employees were replacing wooden power lines with metal ones when the wooden pole snapped hitting the both employees in the head and killing them. TWO VIOLATIONS WORTH $14,000

    ---Two Deaths (1/4)---

    1 Injury and 4 Deaths under the 4911 sic under OSHA for 2003.

  7. Default

    02/10/2004 Knoxville Utility-Non Union
    On February 2, 2004, Employee #1 was in the bucket of a boom truck and was removing Christmas decorations from a transformer building. He secured the decorations to the winch line of the truck boom. The employee was rotating the bucket away from the building when the truck tipped over and he fell approximately 36 feet to the ground. He was hospitalized and died 5 days later.

    ---One Death (0/1)---

    07/28/2004 Pacific Gas and Electric-Union
    At approximately 12:00 p.m. on July 25, 2004, Employee #1 worked as a lineman for PG & E. and was called to an emergency repair of a power line. He and five other employees reported to the job site in a remote location of the county. Prior to beginning work, the supervisor held a training session, and then the employees talked over the best procedure to use for this particular repair. The power line was running in a north to south direction, with poles on both sides of a dry feeder creek. The banks of the creek were extremely steep with a slope of about 60 degrees. The terrain was broken shale. It was decided to use a throwing ball to start carrying successively larger diameter wires across the gap. Employee #1 had the throwing ball, and when he walked down the slope, the shale gave way beneath his feet, and he slid approximately 300 feet to the bottom of the hill, breaking his ankle. He fell feet first and used his hands on the slope in an attempt to slow his fall. Employee #1 was airlifted from the accident site by a California Department of Forestry helicopter and taken to Sutter Medical Center. He was transferred to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for ankle surgery. He was hospitalized for five days. Factors that contributed to the accident were the extreme slope of the terrain, coupled with the unstable nature of the soil. In addition, thick brush on the hillside made it difficult to assess the security of one's footing.

    ---One Injury (1/1)---

    09/20/2004 Alabama Power Company-Union
    On September 19, 2004, Employee #1, a Lineman, was operating an Autocar Norstar AE Series 95 Aerial Platform. The boom has a reach of approximately 95 ft and is the articulating extensible type. The base plate is secured by eighteen 0.75-in. grade-eight bolts. He removed a temporary ground from a distribution line prior to the restoration of power. He was bringing down the platform when the boom turntable separated from the turret base plate. He was catapulted and landed approximately 30 yards from the front of the vehicle and died.

    ---One Death (1/2)---

    10/12/2004 Allegheny Power-Union
    Employee #1 was struck and killed by a falling telephone pole. ONE INITIAL VIOLATION FOR $7,000 WHICH WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO $5,250.

    ---One Death (1/3)---

    One Injury and 3 Deaths under sic 4911 in 2004.

  8. Default

    01/06/2005 CenterPoint Energy-Non Union
    On April 1, 2004, Employee #1was struck in the knees by poles. Employee #1 had surgery on his knee on June 15, 2004. Employee #1 developed a blood clot in his knee and died on July 2, 2004. TWO INITIAL VIOLATIONS FOR $5,900 AND BROUGHT DOWN TO ONE VIOLATION OF $100.

    ---One Death (0/1)---

    This was all they reported that had descriptions. 1 Death.

  9. Default

    01/26/2006 Pacific Gas and Electric-Union
    On December 31, 2005, Employee #1, a troubleman, was cutting a tree off the power lines that dropped to the ground. The power was disconnected and work was in progress to get the power on to customers. Employee #1 was working by himself. He cut some branches off the lines, when the lines snapped up and struck Employee #1 on his arms and forehead. Employee #1's arms were fractured by the power lines as they were raised in the air. He was hospitalized.

    ---One Injury (1/0)---

    04/25/2006 Otero County Electric Cooperative-Non Union
    On April 24, 2006, Employees #1 and #2, along with their crew, were dispatched to change a power pole that had been rejected in an inspection two months prior. The crew arrived at the site and prepared for the pole change. Employees #1 and #2 climbed the pole to remove the hardware and the lines. There was some difficulty removing the neutral line, so Employees #1 and #2 requested assistance from their coworker. The coworker was using a bucket truck to assist them with the hardware removal. After the neutral line was removed, the pole fell. Employees #1 and #2 fell off of the pole, and were struck and killed by the pole as it hit the ground. ONE FINE FOR $2,500 THAT WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO $2,000

    ---Two Deaths (1/2)---

    05/12/2006 Wisconsin Public Service Corporation-Union
    At approximately 12:20 p.m. on May 11, 2006, Employee #1 was removing a 6-inch diameter tree that had fallen onto a power line and was resting on the upper energized wire, causing it to smolder and burn. He was performing this work during stormy conditions, which included rain and strong winds. As Employee #1 cut a section out of the middle of the tree with a chain saw, allowing the stump end to fall to the ground and the upper part to be removed, a 90 foot tree that was 75 feet away from Employee #1 was uprooted by the strong wind. Employee #1 was struck and killed. The accident investigation revealed that Employee #1 was trained in special hazards such as environmental conditions, using discretion when working in adverse conditions, determining hazards such as dead trees in work areas, as well as proper PPE and chain saw safety.

    ---One Death (1/3)---

    05/23/2006 San Diego Gas and Electric-Union
    At approximately 10:00 p.m. on March 31, 2006, Employee #1 was repairing a power pole to work on the street light attached to it. Employee #1 and a coworker had inspected the pole thoroughly and indicated that it was sound. The butt of the pole turned out to be rotted. As Employee #1 climbed to the top at approximately 35 ft of elevation, the pole started to tip over toward a line truck. The coworker directed Employee #1 to start climbing down the pole immediately, but it was too late. Employee #1 rode the pole, as it tipped over in a westerly direction and he made contact with the pole and the assist truck. Employee #1 received serious injuries including a broken jaw, a knee injury, and unspecified fractures. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

    ---One Injured (2/3)---

    06/06/2006 Ilion Village Municipal Electric-Union
    On May 24, 2006, Employee #1 was on break, when he experienced a myocardial infarction that killed him.

    ---One Death (2/4)---

    09/07/2006 Delmarva Power and Light Inc.-Union
    On September 3, 2006, Employees were contracted to replace and repair utility poles damaged by a passing storm. Utility lines had been set up to replace a broken pole. The safety supervisor for the employees company asked an employee from the contracting company contacted (Miss Utility) regulating body for digging. No one was able to verify if they had, but stated that they were not having any luck with emergency locates due to call volume caused by the storm. The safety supervisor for the employees company arrived on site and conducted a visual survey and observed overhead cable and telephone lines and the potential for underground water line due to the close proximity of a fire hydrant. Seeing no other potential hazards the supervisor approved the utility employees to start excavation of a new hole for the new utility pole and to prepare overhead lines for transfer to the new pole. The employees had bored down approximately 6 ft when they saw dirt start to fly out of the hole followed by the strong odor of gas. The safety supervisor immediately ordered them to stop, turn off the trucks, and clear the area. An employee in the boom truck lowered himself to the ground and went to shut the truck off as did the operator of the auger truck. While shutting off the trucks, the safety supervisor heard one of the truck motors start to race, he restated to the employee to shut the truck off. The employee responded by saying that he had and showed the truck keys in his hand. At this point, apparently the truck back fired and ignited the gas leaking out of the hole. The safety supervisor had his employees remove other vehicles that were safe to access and stage them across the street at the car wash. There were no injuries to report. However, the company lost both the boom truck and the auger truck. ONE FINE FOR $2,400 THAT WAS DROPPED TO $1,200.

    ---No Injuries---

    11/28/2006 Northwestern Energy Inc.-Union
    At approximately 10:00 a.m. on November 27, 2006, Employee #1 was cutting down a tree which had fallen into a 150 KV transmission line. When the tree came off the stump, the root wad began tumbling down the slope. Employee #1 was struck and carried down the slope by the root wad. He was killed when the root wad came to rest on top of him. ONE FINE FOR $4,500

    ---One Death (2/5)---

    2 Injuries and 5 Deaths under sic 4911 for 2006 (alot of reports have not been filed therefore the low numbers)

    Everything from 2007-2008 are too new to have descriptions as most cases are still not closed.
    Last edited by never_forget_our_brothers; 04-30-2010 at 03:25 PM.

  10. #10

    Thumbs down Fallen/injured brothers

    Featured Sponsorr

    Why is there no death/ injuries recorded for C.W. Wright. They are right up there with the leader of the pack- PIKE, followed by MASTEC.

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