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A siding mechanic falls from a ladder after he contacted a power line.

Maryland Division of Labor and Industry

Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 98MD019, 1998 Nov; :1-4

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/md/98md019.html

20026204

On Thursday, May 14, 1998, a 40-year-old siding mechanic died four hours after falling approximately 25-feet from an aluminum extension ladder. The victim and three other workers were installing aluminum siding on a 2½ story duplex home, when the accident occurred at 3:15 p.m. He was standing near the top of the ladder holding a 9-foot long by 10-inch wide aluminum siding cap. As he rotated the aluminum cap positioning it for installation, one end of the cap touched a utility wire that runs next to the home. Electricity arced to the house, through the aluminum siding cap, shocking the victim and causing him to fall onto the paved alleyway below the ladder. Emergency medical crews arrived within ten minutes. They resuscitated and then transported the victim to the local trauma center. The victim died approximately four hours later, from injuries received from the fall. The MD/FACE investigator concluded, that to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. De-energize, ground or effectively guard circuits by insulation or other means before permitting work in the proximity to electrical power lines. 2. Use ladders constructed with non-conductive materials when working near exposed energized electrical equipment. 3. Develop, implement and enforce a safety and health program to instruct employees in hazard recognition and to provide clear guidance on safe work procedures and safe work practices.

Accident-analysis; Accident-potential; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Safety-education; Traumatic-injuries; Electric-power-transmission-lines; Electric-properties; Electrical-fields; Electrical-safety; Region-3; Ladders; Electrocutions

19981101

Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation

Cooperative Agreement

1999

PB2007-107697

A01

FACE-98MD019; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-309872

NAICS-23

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

MD; WV

Maryland Division of Labor and Industry