Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300827854 - Jesus Morales

Inspection Information - Office: Van Nuys District Office

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a handyman for a homeowner, was working on a metal conduit in a crawl space when he was electrocuted. He was found on his back by his brother on September 4, 2004, approximately three days after he had last been seen. A pair of wire cutters, a 50-volt to 500-volt tester, and tape were near the body. The conduit had two exposed power lines that were underneath Employee #1, but they were not energized. A test of the power lines showed that they may have been energized when Employee #1 was working on them, but it was unclear. His wire cutters were also poorly insulated. Employee #1 sometimes did not work when he was supposed to or worked a few hours a day. Neither his brother nor the owner of the house, who was building a small addition, knew he was working in the crawl space. Employee #1 may have tripped a breaker switch causing a short, or a member of the owner's family could have turned on the power for the circuit Employee #1 was working on, unaware that he was in the crawl space.

Keywords: INSULATED TOOL, WORK RULES, ELECTROCUTED, STRUCK AGAINST, CONSTRUCTION, ELECTRICAL WORK, CIRCUIT BREAKER, ELEC CIRC PART--MISC, COMMUNICATION, CRAWL SPACE