Billboard worker dies when scaffold makes contact with power line in Tennessee.
Authors
NIOSH
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 85-34, 1985 Aug; :1-5
A fatal accident circumstances and epidemiology (FACE) report of an electrocution in Tennessee was presented. The report was part of the NIOSH FACE project to collect data on electricity or confined space/related accidents involving fatalities. On July 20, 1985, a 39 year old billboard poster for an outdoor advertising company contacted a 13.8 kiloVolt power line that was located approximately 8 feet horizontally and 1 foot vertically from the catwalk of a billboard as he prepared to post a sign. The victim fell 30 feet to the ground. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest due to electrocution. The victim also suffered multiple chest and head injuries as a result of the fall. The company had written safety policies; however, these policies were not specific to billboard posting. The author recommends moving either the power lines that the victim contacted or the billboard, identifying all safety hazards at the worksite, and developing task specific safe job procedures.
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