Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 201072287 - Employee Fractres Leg in Fall from Telephone Pole
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
310815915 | 04/10/2008 | 4813 | 517110 | At & T |
Abstract: At approximately 10:30 AM on Thursday, April 3, 2008, a 31 year-old maintenance service technician working for a telecommunications company in El Centro suffered serious injury when he fell from a telephone pole during a practice climb. The injured, Employee #1, was transported to El Centro Regional Hospital and later to UCSD Medical Center where he underwent surgery to install plates and pins in his fractured right tibia. The worksite where the accident occurred is a testing facility where employees are evaluated for their pole climbing skills. The employees in the field may chose to either climb a pole using gaff shoes and positioning belt, or free climb with the gaff shoes only, and belt in when they're in position at the top of the pole. The employer is required to annually evaluate the employees who climb poles to make sure their technique is sound. The employee arrived at the testing site where there are two poles in a testing pit with a simulated line strung between them at a height of about 19 feet. Employee #1 used his gaff shoes but not his positioning belt to climb the pole. He climbed up to the line and stopped to rest for a second before heading down. His supervisor who was watching and evaluating his climb had no cause for concern and felt that the employee was climbing well. Asemployee #1 started down, he had made about three steps when his right gaff came out of the pole ("gaffed out"). Employee #1 had thought that the gaff was secure, but when he felt it coming out he pushed away from the pole as he fell, landing on his feet between the edge of the pit and the concrete wall. He fell from a height of about 15 feet, and broke his right tibia and suffered three fractures in his left foot.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 310815915 | Hospitalized injury | Fracture | Telephone line installers and repairers |