Abstract: Some employees were demolishing a two-story single family dwelling. They had taken off the roof of the building except for the gable on the south side of the house. One of the employees told the crane operator on the crew that he was going back to the shop to pick up a wrecking ball so that it could be used instead of the clamshell they had been using. (They decided to use the wrecking ball because it placed less load on the hydraulic system of the crane.) The employee returned from the shop with the wrecking ball. The ball was unloaded and prepared for use. The crane operator dropped the clamshell, and the employee who had gone to the shop unhooked it. The operator then swung the boom over to pick up the ball. The employee reached down and grabbed the load line and the wrecking ball. The crane's boom had contacted a 7600-volt overhead power line, and the employee received an electric shock. The crane operator quickly moved the boom out of contact with the line. The employee was hospitalized with third degree burns to his hands, feet, and stomach. He suffered permanent damage to his hands and arms. Several surveys had been taken of the jobsite and of the power line. The employees indicated that their training came from their union and from the operator's manual for the crane.