Incident date: 2024-05-06
NAICS industry code: 221210

Employees were removing a single-phase, dead-end utility pole. The pole was lifted out of the hole and the boom of the truck was rotated to lay the pole down with the top toward the front of the truck. The pole guides were opened and the pole top shifted in the opposite direction. The top of the pole contacted the phase approximately 25 feet from the old dead-end insulator and an electrical arc occurred. The truck became energized with up to 7,000-volts. The injured employee was holding the bottom of the pole down. He was pushed into the step-opening of the truck and then fell to the ground. The employee sustained second-degree burns on his right shoulder and third-degree burns to the back of his legs.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Indirect exposure to electricity  greater than 220 volts
code_source: title: Power lines, transformers, convertors
code_nature: title: Electrical burns  any degree
code_body: title: Upper and lower extremities  n.e.c.
severity: moderate