Electrocution Accident Law

Portland Oregon Electrical Accident Attorney 503-221-2000

Risk of Electrocution in Non-Electrician Jobs

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The risk of an electrocution accident is well known to electricians and those who work on high voltage electric lines. However, a published study, written by engineers from the Centers for Disease Control, analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that other jobs, such as construction laborers, groundskeepers and gardeners, truck drivers, and farmers, also have the danger of electrical burns.

Data in the study is from 1992 through 2002. The study discusses the particular level of danger in the construction industry. Construction job site accidents that resulted in death were mostly from contact with overhead power lines. These accidents were often a result of hand-held tools or equipment, such as aluminum ladders. Other construction site electrical injuries were from contact with wiring or components. Wiring or grounding problems were typical causes of non-fatal injuries.

The study is available online at Trends in Electrical Injury.

On the job electrical injury results in $100,000 fine

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Employers are required to provide a safe workplace. The Occupational Health and Safety Act of Canada has this requirement set out

Duties of employers
25.  (1) An employer shall ensure that,
…
(c) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace;

(2) Without limiting the strict duty imposed by subsection (1), an employer shall,
…
(h) take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker…

Ontario Power Generation Inc. violated this requirement, and a worker was injured by burns from an arc flash. The company pleaded guilty and was fined $100,000. The conviction was under OHSA, Section 25(2)(h).

This is the description of what happened from the government website.

“On January 15, 2008, two maintenance workers at the company’s Atikokan operating station were called to examine some malfunctioning equipment. The equipment was locked in a chamber to protect workers from its electrically energized, moving apparatus.  A lockout system required equipment to be electrically de-energized, grounded and locked out before the chamber could open.  An equipment operator used a bypass key to circumvent the lockout system and open a hatch door while the equipment was still energized.  One of the workers shone a flashlight into the open door, causing an arc flash of electricity.  The arc flash burned the worker’s hand, arm and chest.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the key used to bypass the lockout system was available to workers.

Ontario Power Generation Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to take the reasonable precaution of preventing ready access to the means of circumventing the lockout system.”

Based on the description, it seems that the company did not enforce a safety rule of not bypassing the lockout without adequate supervision. Perhaps a supervisor standing by would have prevented using the flashlight, and the electrical injury on the job would have been prevented. For more information about employer’s safety duties see construction accident injuries.

Aluminum ladder results in construction injuries in Branford, Connecticut

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Serious electrical injuries were the result when an aluminum ladder contacted electric power lines during a roofing job. If any power lines are near the job, fiberglass ladders should be used. A brief article about the injuries, with a picture showing the power lines near the building, can be seen at WTNH Channel 8 web article.

The second picture in the series shows how the power lines were near the building. According to news articles, OSHA is investigating.

Virginia county employee electrocuted on the job

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The evening before Thanksgiving, a county worker from the water department in Arlington, Virginia lost his life as he was helping to repair a broken water main. This video has touching comments from his co-workers.

On the job injuries make up many of the electrical accident injury problems. Electrical wires are more dangerous around construction or repair activity. May this departed worker rest in peace.

Contractor cited by OSHA for Electrocution Hazard

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OSHA has cited a contractor for electrocution and fall hazards at a Westchester County, New York worksite. The information below, about significant construction job hazards, is from an OSHA news release dated November 9, 2009.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed over $50,000 in fines against Metro Steel Fabricators Inc., a Brooklyn steel erection contractor, for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards at a Tuckahoe, N.Y., jobsite.

OSHA’s inspection found that workers at the 30 Elm St. worksite were exposed to electrocution hazards while working within 10 feet of energized high-voltage power and service lines, while workers who were connecting steel beams without fall protection were exposed to falls of three stories.

“Falls and electrocutions are among the leading causes of death in construction work,” said Diana Cortez, OSHA’s area director in Tarrytown, N.Y. “Electricity can kill or injure instantly, while a momentary slip, trip or loss of balance can lead to a fatal or disabling plunge. There is no good reason for an employer’s failure to provide these basic, commonsense and legally required safeguards at each and every jobsite.”

The inspection also found that Metro Steel Fabricators was erecting steel without first receiving written verification that concrete footings were of sufficient strength to support the loads; a roadway workzone was improperly set up and lacked warning signs to tell motorists of a flagger and a crane in the roadway; and additional fall hazards stemmed from lack of perimeter safety cables and use of an incomplete stairway for access.

OSHA has issued Metro Steel Fabricators one willful citation, with a proposed fine of $35,000, for the electrocution hazard and seven serious citations, with $15,600 in fines, for the remaining items. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard of employee safety and health. Serious citations are issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known.

“One means of preventing hazardous conditions is to establish an effective safety and health management system through which employers and employees work together to proactively evaluate, identify and eliminate hazards,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.

Metro Steel Fabricators has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Tarrytown Area Office; telephone 914-524-7510.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, OSHA’s role is to promote safe and healthful working conditions for America’s men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, outreach and education. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov. For information about how on the job injuries may result in a claim in addition to the workers compensation claim, you may want to visit this article about the Employer Liability Law.

Tree experts and power line cases

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When trees grow up near electrical power lines, injury or death can result. Many electrical injury cases happen because trees were allowed to grow too close to power lines. An issue in such a case is whether the electric power utility complied with the safety rules. Each state has safety rules about keeping the trees cut away from the high voltage lines.

Recently, John Sevier, a tree expert and Certified Arborist in California, graciously provided this site with a citation to the minimum distance rules in California. Those California rules provided by Mr. Sevier are cited in the tree growth and electric power lines page. Mr. Sevier has testified in court and in the legislative process about tree safety issues. His information is appreciated.

In an electrical injury case involving the specific tree clearance standard of care, the attorney will usually retain an expert. The expert will advise the attorney about which standards the state officials would expect the power company to have followed, how the state officials interpret their policies (the states vary on how strict they are) and whether the documents show that the power company was in compliance with the standards.

Tree Grew Around Power Lines, Child Electrocuted

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Recent North Carolina case: Kenemore v EnergyUnited.

North Carolina lawyers recently filed this lawsuit. As set out in the Complaint, a pine tree in a residential back yard grew over the years up and around an electric power line. A six year old neighbor boy from next door was visiting with his mother. He and the six year old girl who lives in the house went outside to play in the yard, and the boy climbed the tree. The little girl playing with him came into the house and told the boy’s mother that the boy was pretending to be asleep up in the tree.

The mother went out and called up to her son, who did not move, so she climbed the tree to his limp body, screaming his name. An ambulance took her son to the hospital, but he was dead from electrocution.

There was a 7,200 volt uninsulated electric power line running through the tree or near enough to reach. The 6 year old boy had no idea of the danger.

complaint as filed page 1

Complaint as filed, page 1

As readers of this website know, there are electrical safety standards to protect people from the danger of high voltage electric power lines. The National Electrical Safety Code requires the electric power utility companies to keep tree branches cut back from their power lines, to prevent just this sort of accident. It appears from the Complaint that a violation of the National Electrical Safety Code caused the death of an innocent victim.

For a copy of the Complaint as filed in the Court, in Adobe pdf format, click here. But be warned, reading the Complaint will bring tears to your eyes.

My sympathy to the family and friends and neighbors of the boy who was killed.

Update: This case was settled, by the power company making a substantial payment.

For more information about safety standards of keeping trees cut back from power lines, visit the page on trees near power lines.

Trial in Scotland about Death of Electrician

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An unfortunate electrician was on the job pulling cable in a false ceiling, when he died from electrical shock because he touched a cable. The cable had been marked “not in use” but it was in fact connected.

A contractor and three of its employees are facing charges:

“The charges include failing to provide a safe system of working, training, supervision, risk assessment and resources; failing to test circuits and wires into a distribution board before they were made live; and failing to ensure the board was not live while employees worked on circuits connected to it.”

The defendants deny the charges. The trial is expected to last 3 weeks. The BBC news story is available here.

Delayed Effect of Electrical Shock

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In a recent article, surgeons from England reported on an electric shock that resulted, 18 months later, in blood vessel problems, causing death of the leg bone at the hip joint. The patient was apparently susceptible because of a genetic predisposition.

The patient had stepped on a 500 volt exposed conductor, and his footwear was wet. His muscles contracted but after about 30 seconds he was able to pull himself free.

The surgeons believe that his genetic weakness would probably have not caused the blood vessel problem and resulting leg bone problem, except for the electric shock.

He underwent total hip replacement. The femoral head, that is the top end of the thigh bone, was examined and showed that the blood vessels had died.

“More than five years after the injury the patient’s [total hip replacement] was functioning well and the opposite hip remained clinically and radiologically normal.”

The surgeons commented on the unfortunate typical results as the voltage increases.

“The consequences of electrical injuries to bone may present immediately or after a delay of months to years; in addition, the bony injuries may exist near the entry point, or at a point distant from it.

Most reports to date relate to high-voltage injuries (i.e. currents over 1000 V). These currents take a direct path between entry and exit point. Blood vessels and nerves are severely damaged as are muscle and skin damage, resulting in amputation in over 50% of cases. …

Low-voltage currents (< 1000 V) behave differently and follow the path of least resistance along nerve and blood vessels. Bone itself is a poor conductor and does not carry a large enough current to sustain direct damage.”

The article, by L. Vanderstraeten and M. Binns, is titled Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Following an Electrical Injury to the Leg. It was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and is set out in a RedOrbit.com blog post.

NY Times: Our Soldiers in Iraq in Danger of Electrocution

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On July 18, 2008 the New York Times had an article about the danger that United States troops face because of electrical danger. The article points out

“… the Pentagon has previously reported that 13 Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq, many more have been injured, some seriously, by shocks…”

According to the article, qualified electricians have tried to get the situation corrected, but to no avail.

To read about this outrageous situation, refer to the article entitled Electrical Risks at Iraq Bases Are Worse Than Said.