Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126086552 - Mogab Electric

Inspection Information - Office: Monrovia District Office

Investigation Summary

On May 13, 2002, Employee #1, an electrician's assistant, was installing an outdoor lighting fixture at a large residence. He had been troubleshooting the energized fixture, trying to isolate a fault in the lamp. Unable to find the short, Employee #1 decided to replace the lighting fixture unit. Other employees were working on the line at the time at other places in the residence. Employee #1 was stripping the wire to install the new fixture when his right index finger slipped off his insulated pliers and contacted the live wire. He fell forward onto his left leg, and the current traveled across his heart and out his right leg to ground. A supervisor discovered Employee #1 leaning on the ground, seized to the light fixture, with current passing through him. The supervisor knocked the victim from the fixture and applied first aid. He performed CPR, after which Employee #1's heart resumed a normal rhythm. He was transported by paramedics to the hospital, where he was admitted and treated for electric shock and burns. Employee #1 was not a licensed electrician nor a registered journeyman; he had about five years experience working with electrical installations. The lighting system was apparently powered through a step-up transformer rated at about 200 volts. The employer was cited for violations of T8CCR 2320.4(a) and 2320.2(a) of the Electrical Safety Orders; the latter was deemed as related to the accident. The employer was also issued citations related to its written and implemented safety program. These included a violation, general, of T8CCR 1509(a) and (c), related to its safety program; and violations, serious/acident-related, of T8CCR 2320.2(a) and T8CCR 2320.4(a), related to de-energized equipment or systems.

Keywords: LIGHTING CIRCUIT, INSTALLING, WORK RULES, LIGHTING FIXTURE, SLIP, STRUCK AGAINST, CONSTRUCTION, LOCKOUT, ELEC CIRC PART--MISC, ELECTRIC SHOCK