Abstract: A laborer was on a flat bed trailer unloading concrete storm sewer pipe. He placed a steel bar on a lifting cable inside the pipe, and then he stood on top on of another pipe. The trailer was parked below and parallel to a 4700-volt overhead power line that was 8.4 meters above the ground. A Caterpillar crawler-type backhoe (Model No. C225) was moving at the rear of the trailer, under the power line. The hinge on the boom caught the neutral conductor, which was 7.6 meters above the ground. The neutral conductor broke and whipped over the phase conductor, which raised the voltage on the neutral. The neutral conductor then struck and wrapped around the laborer. The employee received an electric shock, which knocked him off the trailer. The employee rolled on the ground and freed himself from the conductor. He sustained burns to his body, atrial fibrillation of his heart, and a fractured right elbow. The employee survived but was hospitalized for his injuries.