Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302471677 - C & V Utilities, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

A contractor was installing an underground water line during the construction of a finished water plant. Because of the force created by the pumps in the plant, the contractor was constructing thrust blocks for two joints in the water line. The contractor's employees were using a 27.2-metric-ton Trandano truck crane (Model No. TR-300XL) to move ready-mix concrete in a 0.39-cubic-meter GAR-BRO concrete bucket from a concrete truck to the forms for the blocks. The crane and truck were located on one side of a 44-kilovolt (25.4-kilovolt, phase-to-ground) overhead power line, which crossed the construction site. The employees positioned the truck and the crane on the same side of the power line to avoid operating the crane close to the line. After the employees finished off-loading the concrete, the truck driver moved his truck to an area on the other side of the power line, so that he could wash out the chute. The truck operator offered to wash out the concrete bucket if the crane operator moved the bucket to the wash area. The crane operator accepted the offer and started moving the bucket. A signaler directed the movement of the bucket. The load line on the crane contacted the power line. The signaler was walking next to the concrete bucket and was apparently touching the bucket. He received an electric shock and sustained severe burns to his left hand, left leg, and right foot. An emergency medical services team transported the injured employee to the local hospital, and a medevac subsequently transported him to a burn center, where he was hospitalized. Doctors amputated the employee's left hand and arm 100 millimeters below his elbow; his left foot 200 millimeters below his left knee; and a portion of the right foot and toes.

Keywords: BURN, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, CONSTRUCTION, E C, ELECTRIC SHOCK, LOAD LINE, CRANE