Abstract: At approximately 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 1999, Employee #1 of TCI Redlands was replacing a mid-span attachment at an existing overhead television cable line. Employee #1 ascended the hook ladder that had been placed at the overhead strand. He cut the drop cable at the overhead line. When the tension on the line slacked, the cable line hit the ladder, causing the ladder and Employee #1 to be thrown to the ground. Another employee stated that the hook elements on the ladder were not in contact with the strand. The hooks were extending upwards beyond the strand. The ladder was leaning against the strand. Employee #1 was not wearing the safety belt he had been issued at the time of the accident. Employee #1 sustained a fractured neck, knee, and hip when he fell approximately 17 feet from the unsecured ladder and was hospitalized.