UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

On April 4, 2002, Employee #1, an electrician's assistant, was installing a ceiling fan in the bathroom of a residence. He was working alone in the attic crawl space when the supervisor, a son of the company owner, said that he heard a groan and then the sound of the employee falling down. The supervisor told the homeowner to cut the power and to call 911. Employee #1 was killed. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Report #02-02658, stated that burn wounds were present on his right hand and left breast, consistent with a low-voltage electrocution. The attic crawl space was reportedly very hot and body moisture via perspiration may have been a factor. The power to the house was on via a newly installed 200-amp service breaker box. The employer, a family-owned electrical contrator, said it was possible that the system became energized through a jumper lead tied to a stack switch in the bathroom in which the fan was being installed. There was, apparently, no means of shutting off power to the circuit being worked on to protect it from being accidentally energized. The supervisor denied having exact knowledge of what job Employee #1 was doing at the time of the accident. Employee #1 was not a licensed electrician, nor a journeyman with any union. He had been with the company for about one year but did not have any previous experience in electrical work. After an investigation, the employer was cited for violations, general, of T8CCR 1509(a), Injury and Illness Prevention Program, and T8CCR 2395.51(a)(1,) effective grounding of equipment; for a violation, regulatory, of T8CCR 342(a), reporting work-connected fatalities and serious injuries; violations, serious, of T8CCR 2320.5(a)(1), authorized person responsibility around re-energized systems, and T8CCR 2320.1(a) work procedures/work by qualified personnel; and a violation, serious/accident-related, of T8CCR 2320.4(a), de-energized equipment or systems/lockout-tagout.