Abstract: An employee was acting as a flagman for an electric utility crew under contract with the electric utility. Wire stringing equipment was being used at the jobsite, and she was leaning against it. She received a severe electric shock when the stringing equipment became energized through contact with a 7200-volt conductor. Although the stringing equipment was grounded through the earth, an equipotential zone had not been created around the equipment. (An electric utility employee also received a "mild" electric shock, but this injury was not reported on an injury line on the original form.) The flagman had not been trained or even briefed in the electrical hazards involved in the job. (The electric utility denied responsibility for the flagman's safety, despite having control over her work at the jobsite.) The flagman was hospitalized for her injury.