Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1472364.015 - Charter Communications Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Hi-E-Honolulu

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on April 6, 2020, an employee was working for a cable television and internet service provider in Hawaii. The company was extending service to a two-story house by way of an aboveground service drop. Earlier, the employee had installed gear on the house's exterior. On this day, he would access equipment on a utility pole. He had a 28-foot (8.5-meter) Green Giant extension ladder. He propped the ladder against the house to inspect it. He inspected the pavement where the ladder would go for even terrain. He inspected the road for traffic hazards. He tapped the wooden utility pole to detect termite damage. Satisfied, he set up his ladder on the asphalt, leaning the upper part against the cable that ran from pole to house, sloping as it went. The wire's midspan was about 18 feet (5.5 meters) up. From the ground, the employee looked at the stainless-steel hardware and cable to assess their integrity. The employee went up the ladder about three or four rungs. He shook the ladder forward to see if the cable could hold the ladder. Finding no problems, the employee resumed climbing. He was partially tied off to the ladder. The cable broke, and the ladder fell. The employee fell too, 15 feet (4.6 meters), landing on the asphalt road. He suffered fractures, soft tissue bruises, lacerations, and severe trauma to his arm, head, and hip. He was hospitalized. There were no witnesses. The debris had been cleaned up by the time a CSHO arrived the next day. This firm's practice, and that of the industry generally, was for employees connecting aboveground service drops to work from ladders leaned against cables in their midspan. Climate was a factor. A coworker said that the windward coast had been known for years for corroded materials, this area being one of the worst. This peninsula was windy and subject to spray from ocean swells. Northeasterly trade winds ensured that corrosion would occur here at a faster rate than at most other locations along the windward coast.

Keywords: Abrasion, Arm, Broken Bone, Broken Cable, Cable, Cable Tv Work, Contusion, Corrosion, Extension Ladder, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Falling Object, Head, Hip, Installing, Laceration, Ladder, Telecom Work, Weather, Work at Elevation