Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300758141 - Southern California Gas

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:15 a.m. on December 17, 1999, Employee #1, a full-time meter reader, was peering over a 6 ft wall, attempting to read the gas meter on a house from the back yard of the neighboring unit. He had put his right hand on top of the wall when it was bitten by an aggressive dog in the yard of the house with the meter. He sustained multiple lacerations and the tip of his little finger had to be surgically amputated. Factors contributing to the accident were that (1) Employee #1 chose not to read the meter from the front yard of the aggressive dog owner's property, as indicated by the meter location code displayed on his handheld computer; and (2) Employee #1 did not follow his company's policy on dog bite prevention and location codes.

Keywords: AMPUTATED, FINGER, WORK RULES, LACERATION, ANIMAL BITE