Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119540003 - Anderson And Greise Construction

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

A two-person crew was remodeling a residence. They had removed an interior wall, leaving two existing wall receptacle outlets and 120-volt wiring hanging. One of the employees was disconnecting the receptacle boxes so that the drywall could be patched. He removed the first 15-ampere receptacle, which was connected by a two-conductor, 12 AWG Romex cable, without incident. He then moved to the second outlet, which was connected by one three-conductor, 12 AWG and one two-conductor, 12 AWG Romex cable and which had been mounted in a plastic outlet box. When the box was handled, a wire nut fell from the box and a spark was observed. The employee's coworker entered the room and discussed the spark with the first employee. The first employee then reached to move the receptacle out of the way and collapsed on the floor. (His coworker did not believe that the injured employee contacted the conductors.) The injured employee had initially stopped breathing, but resumed normal respiration before emergency medical services arrived. There were no visible burn marks; however, the injured employee had a contusion to his head where it contacted the floor. He was transported to a hospital, where he was tested. The testing confirmed that the employee had sustained an electric shock. The circuit had not been deenergized while the employees were working because they were using electric tools. However, the 100-ampere main circuit breaker was tripped at the time of the investigation. The employer had provided no training and had no safety and health program.

Keywords: RESPIRATORY, E GI IV, ELECTRICAL, LOCKOUT, ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR, ELECTRIC SHOCK, ELECTRICAL BOX, UNTRAINED