Abstract: A cable television installer was working alone in the attic of an old motel. He contacted an exposed portion of some old wiring in the attic as he was crawling past the wiring. He received an electric shock and was unable to pull himself free. The electric shock lasted several minutes until a coworker, who heard his cries for help over a cellular radio, arrived at the site and had the circuit deenergized. The injured employee was hospitalized for 2 days. More than 2 weeks after the accident, his right arm was still cramping and not functioning properly. Before the accident, the injured employee had asked about the old wiring, some of which had lost its insulation. The motel operator told him that the motel had been rewired and that the old wiring was not energized. The employee assumed that the old wiring was deenergized without testing it. He had a volt-ohmmeter at the site, but his employer, a cable installation contractor, did not have a work rule requiring the testing of such wiring. The contractor had been in business for 15 months, and the employee had worked for the contractor for 8 months. The employee had a total of 5 years of experience in cable television installations.