Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120205794 - Charles Espinoza Construction Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento District Office

Investigation Summary

On July 23, 2007, Employee #1, age 19, and a coworker were reinstalling an electrical outlet into a new bathroom wall after it had been removed from the pre-existing wall. The 120-volt outlet electrical box was energized and lying on the floor. Employee #1 went into a crawl space under the house while the coworker went to the electrical panel and shut off the power to the home. Employee #1 was having trouble seeing in the darkness of the crawl space, and he asked the coworker to turn on the power so he could use a halogen lamp that had a cord running up through the floor and into an outlet in the kitchen. When the coworker turned on the power, this also energized the electric conductors that Employee #1 was wiring in the junction box. He was lying on his back under the floor, on top of the water line for the home. This pipe had been used to ground the electrical system of the house when it was built and Employee #1 was electrocuted when he connected the wires. The coworker, hearing a noise, tried to communicate with Employee #1. When he did not get a response, he again turned off the electricity to the house. The coworker alerted the owner and tried to call 911 on his cell phone, but could not get through. He and the owner tried to call 911 on the house's land line, but it was electrically-based, and so they once again turned on the power to place the call. The owner then cut a hole in the floor, removed Employee #1 from the crawl space, and attempted CPR until paramedics arrived. The coroner stated cause of death was low voltage electrocution.

Keywords: INSTALLING, CPR, WORK RULES, ELECTROCUTED, STRUCK AGAINST, CONSTRUCTION, ELECTRICAL WORK, LOCKOUT, ELEC CIRC PART--MISC, CRAWL SPACE