Abstract: A maid was standing on a carpet getting ready to vacuum. She inserted a three-prong attachment plug into a 120-volt duplex receptacle outlet. The employee saw an electric arc and heard a popping sound come from the plug, and she received an electric shock. With some difficulty, she let go of the attachment plug and felt numbness throughout the entire side of her body. She was hospitalized for her injury and later released. The outlet and the plug had visible burn marks near the right (ungrounded circuit conductor) side of each. She did not have wet hands, and she was not wearing jewelry. The receptacle outlet was grounded, but the terminal screws on the attachment plug were exposed because its insulating face cover did not fit properly.