Abstract: A 19-year-old utility worker was climbing a utility pole at a training facility. He lost his grip and fell 7.6 meters into a redwood chip pit. He was hospitalized with a broken leg.

Abstract: A power line worker was participating in a regular training session involving the climbing of wood poles in a training area. The ground around the poles was covered with wood chips. The employee had completed the required walking and stretching exercise before ascending the pole. He was wearing a body belt, but he was free climbing during ascent and descent. According to the employer, the employee was probably on his second climb of a 10.7-meter-tall pole and was starting his descent when his right gaff cut out. The employee pitched 90 degrees to the left and fell about 7.6 meters to the ground, landing in a face-first prone position in the wood chips. He was hospitalized for 5 days with a fractured right wrist, a concussion, and memory loss. The employee was an experienced climber and had completed 2.5 years as an apprentice. He had had formal training sessions and daily field work.

Abstract: A POWER LINE APPRENTICE TRAINEE WAS CLIMBING A 50-FOOT-TALL UTILITY POLE AT THE TRAINING FACILITY OF AN ELECTRIC UTILITY. AT ABOUT THE 30-FOOT LEVEL, HIS POLE CLIMBERS CUT OUT, AND HE SLID DOWN THE POLE. THE EMPLOYEE FELL FROM THE POLE TO THE GROUND THE LAST 6 FEET. EMERGENCY RESCUE SERVICES TRANSPORTED THE EMPLOYEE TO A HOSPITAL. HE WAS TREATED FOR NECK AND BACK CONTUSIONS AND ABRASIONS AND FOR SPLINTERS IN BOTH ARMS AND THEN WAS RELEASED.

Abstract: An employee was climbing a practice pole at an electric utility climbing school. He was using pole climbers and a positioning strap attached a body belt. The employee was tossing a ball to another worker so that they could develop confidence on the pole. The first employee reached too low for the ball and bent his knees, which he had been warned not to do. His pole climbers cut out from the pole, and he fell about 3 meters to a thick mattress of fine wood chips provided to break the falls of trainees. This precaution did not, however, prevent the employee from being injured when he landed. He was hospitalized with a broken leg.

Abstract: An employee for an electric utility was climbing a 13.7-meter-tall utility pole as a prerequisite to his becoming a ground worker for the installation and repair of overhead power lines. As he was climbing the pole, he fell from a height of about 6.1 meters, landing on the ground. He sustained a back injury for which he was hospitalized. He was diagnosed with two crushed vertebrae (T6 and T10).