Electricity can kill or cause catastrophic harm and permanent bodily injuries not only to electricians and those with electrical training who routinely work with electricity, but to workers in a variety of industries here in Indiana and Illinois. Construction workers and agricultural workers face a particularly high risk of severe on-the-job electricity injuries.
How? Work hazards are posed by electric-powered tools, machinery, and equipment as well as exposure or contact with either overhead or buried power lines on the worksite. Live power lines are especially dangerous. Consider the following warning from the Electrical Safety Foundation International: thirty-nine percent (39%) of all workplace fatalities caused by electricity were the result of the accident victim coming into contact with an overhead power line.
- For more on how electricity accidents can injure and kill, read Accidents Involving Electric Shock and Exposure to Electricity; Electricity Injuries: Fatal Electrocution Accidents; and Electrocution: Electricity Kills People In All Kinds of Electrical Accidents Be Careful of Electrocution Dangers.
Four Biggest Electricity Hazards on the Job Site
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) warns that many workers are not given proper training and warnings from employers on the dangers they face on the job from nearness to electricity. OSHA research confirms that the following four (4) job site dangers are the cause of most severe or fatal electricity injuries for workers in this country:
- Live Power Lines
- No Ground-Fault Protection/ Missing or Discontinuous Path to Ground
- Misuse of Electrically-Powered Equipment
- Misuse of Industrial Use Extension Cords and/or Flexible Cords.
1. Contact with Live Power Lines
On local worksites, power lines carrying electric current can be found buried under the ground as well as overhead on utility power lines. All these power lines carry a very high voltage that is more than enough to kill any human being with which they come into contact. See, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart K.
Of particular risk are workers required to work near power lines as a part of their job duties. This can include any construction or agricultural worker required to work on a scaffold or metal ladder, for instance. It also endangers those operating backhoes, cranes, etc.
2. No Ground Fault Protection or Missing/Discontinuous Path to Ground
All electrical equipment, machinery, and tools on any job site in Illinois or Indiana should be grounded to protect workers from harm. If the electric power is not grounded, and grounded properly, then the electric current will make contact with the worker, causing burns or a fatal electrocution. See, 29 CFR 1926.404.
Workers who regularly need power tools and electrical equipment to do their jobs are at a great risk of harm from grounding failures. From exposed metal components on a particular device, to a flaw in the site’s electrical system left undiscovered by the employer, no ground faults can be deadly.
3. Misuse of Electrically-Powered Equipment
Construction workers as well as agricultural workers in Indiana and Illinois go to work with much of their electrically-powered tools, machinery, and equipment provided by their employer. The worker must rely upon the employer to meet the legal duty of care and safety to make sure these devices, no matter their size or use, do not expose the worker to electrical injuries. See, 29 CFR 1926.403.
However, if electrically-powered equipment is not properly cared for (maintained and repaired as needed), or if it is provided for use in ways outside of the manufacturer’s intended design or use, then severe injuries or death can result. This can happen in all sorts of accidents from modification of insulation, to using tools outdoors that are intended for solely indoor use, to attaching two-prong adapter plugs to three-prong cords or tools.
4. Misuse of Industrial Use Extension Cords and/or Flexible Cords
Most workers in our part of the country are accustomed to the use of extension cords or flexible power cords on the job site. They are commonplace, and necessary to connect power sources to tools and equipment. However, if these cords are not properly wired, improperly grounded, or servicing in excess of their rating, accidents can happen with catastrophic results. See, 29 CFR 1926.405.
Loose or exposed wires must be repaired on all power cords. Only power cords designed for the intended use (e.g., 3-wire for 3-wire use) should be provided to the worker. Modification of electric cords should not be done; instead, factory-assembled cords manufactured for the particular use should be provided.
Victims of Electric Power Line and Live Wire Accidents in the Workplace
Throughout Indiana and Illinois, thousands of miles of electric power lines maneuver their way to our farms, rural communities, urban areas, and industrial sites providing necessary power for a variety of industrial needs. With this web of electric power comes a corresponding danger to workers who are required to work near power lines or to use electrically-powered devices on the job.
Employers have a duty to protect workers from these electricity risks on the worksite. See, Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
Employers under both state and federal law should do things like:
- Inspecting the job site before work commences to understand the location of all power lines, both overhead and underground;
- Contacting the local utility company to confirm each line’s voltage and grounding or shielding procedures;
- Determining the distance workers can work safety from the power lines (the greater the voltage, the more distance will be required for safety);
- Deciding upon the safety equipment each worker will need as Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”);
- Scheduling routine inspections of all electric-powered tools, machinery, and equipment, for safety and to the extent necessary, repair or replace; and
- Providing safety training for all workers on the dangers of working near live current, including instructions to stay away from downed power lines; being alert to how electricity is conducted (e.g., trees can conduct electricity from an overhead power line); understanding the need to shuffle and not lift feet off the ground should equipment come into contact with live wire current.
Here in Indiana and Illinois, all employees but especially our construction and agricultural workers, face a great risk of severe bodily injury from electrical accidents on the job. Bodily contact with live wires on the ground as well as overhead power lines can have deadly results or serious, life-altering consequences.
The state personal injury and workers’ compensation laws of Indiana and Illinois can provide avenues for justice to the electrical accident victim and their loved ones after an electricity injury on the job. Workers have a right to investigate the incident to determine the extent of legal liability of both their employer as well as third parties whose actions or failures to act may have contributed to the incident. For instance, manufacturers, suppliers, or contractors responsible for repair of electrically-powered equipment may have legal liability for the worker’s harm under the law.
For more, read:
- Electrical Injuries and Electrocution Accidents on the Construction Site
- Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- Industrial Accidents: Electricity Hazards on the Job
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- AFL-CIO 2021 Report: Shocking Risk of Dying on the Job for Workers in Indiana and Illinois.
Electricity is everywhere in our society and the high risk of serious injury or death to workers from electric current exposure is well-known. Nevertheless, each year there are severe preventable accidents on the industrial work sites of Indiana and Illinois.
Electricity is on almost every job site here in Indiana and Illinois. Workers face the risk of electrical injuries every day, and all too often these are preventable accidents resulting from a failure in established duties of care and safety. Please be careful out there!
