Inspection Detail

Inspection: 111963898 - Pacific Gas And Electric Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Redding District Office

Investigation Summary

An overhead power line had fallen in the backyard of a home. Three electric utility employees were dispatched to take care of the problem. When they arrived at the work site, they found a huge mulberry tree that was causing the problem. To make repairs to the power line, the crew had to remove some limbs from the tree. Since they could not get their trucks into the area, they decided that one of them, a power line worker, would climb the tree and that the other two employees would work from a ladder. The power line worker donned his climbers and body belt. He checked out his chain saw, then he went onto a deck and into the tree. He found a limb that was growing straight up and that looked strong enough to support him. He cut the top of the limb at about nose height and then threw his positioning strap over the limb. He cut some branches. He decided to cut one more branch before moving somewhere else in the tree. The branch he cut fell onto the limb he was standing on, and the employee was catapulted out of the tree. (His positioning strap went over the limb it was on.) He fell about 16 feet to the ground and fractured his left hip and left upper leg. He was hospitalized for his injuries. The injured employee had experience in trimming trees in previous occupations.

Keywords: TREE LIMB, POWER LINE WORKER, TREE, ELEC UTILITY WORK, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, FALLING OBJECT, HIP, TREE TRIMMING, LEG