Municipal Electrician Dies after Falling from the Raised Bucket of a Vehicle-mounted Aerial Lift That Was Struck by a Tractor-trailer – Massachusetts
Massachusetts Case Report: 11MA043
Release Date: October 31, 2012
The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
SUMMARY
On October 18, 2011 a 58-year-old male municipal maintenance technician/electrician (victim) was fatally injured when he fell from a vehicle-mounted aerial lift’s raised bucket. The victim and two co-workers were repairing a faulty cantilevered traffic signal at a four-way intersection. The victim was inside the raised bucket accessing the traffic light when a tractor-trailer driving through the intersection struck the raised bucket. The victim was ejected out of the bucket and fell approximately seventeen feet to the roadway below. A call was placed for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) by the co-workers. Within minutes EMS and the local police arrived at the incident location and the victim was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.