Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300872397 - La City Water & Power

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

On October 18,2010, the LA District Office received a report of an injury to an employee, a lineman of DWP on Imperial Hwy near Western Avenue at LA CA 90047. This was reported by Bradley Walker/Safety Manager of DWP. According to the report, the employee slid from a pole 25 feet and broke both ankles. Case was assigned to undersigned ASE. ASE observed no activity on site reported took photos of the subject pole. According to Bradley Walker, work has been completed on site. ASE requested appointment be set to interview injured employee. According to injured employee he is a Senior Journeyman Electrician since 1994.He is an experienced pole climber. At the time of the accident, he was assigned to the Imperial Ave/Western Ave sector where there are several poles along Imperial Highway that needed to be moved; i.e., to transfer power lines from existing old poles to newly erected poles. He and his crew were a block away from Western Avenue along Imperial. They have finished transferring power lines to new pole erected by SC Edison Co. He was 'transitioning' from the Positioning belt to his climbing belt so he can climb down. He thought he had hooked on his climbing belt and unbuckled the positioning belt, only to find out the climbing belt was not hooked. He fell some 20 feet, sliding down the pole. He was transported by paramedics to Harbor hospital where he had surgery on both feet. He stayed 8 days.

Keywords: POWER LINE WORKER, PPE, ELECTRICIAN, CLIMBING ON COLUMN, FALL, UTILITY POLE, ANKLE, FOOT