Abstract: An employee was painting a switchgear cabinet inside a substation operated by an electric utility. The substation was enclosed inside a chain link fence. The employee was masking the area directly above the cabinet, where a 2400-volt circuit entered. The 1.2-meter (4-foot) aluminum stepladder from which he was working wobbled causing the employee to contact exposed live parts with his hands between an animal guard above and an insulator ring below the connection point. He received an electric shock and was apparently severely burned. The employee died of his injuries 5 days after the accident.