Diamond Bar Electric: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Sep 3, 2002: Employee fractures hip in fall after electric shock

On September 3, 2002, Employee #1, a foreman with Diamond Bar Electric, was work ing on a job at a pet food store in Irwindale, CA. The store has a service contr act with the company for electric work on an as-needed basis. Employee #1 report ed to the site around 7.30 a.m. and, after getting his assignment, began work on wiring a circuit breaker for supplying power to a duplex outlet on the wall of the production area, about 35 feet away from the electrical panel. He was workin g alone for this task, and he de-energized several circuit breakers before retri eving a 12 ft plastic A-frame ladder from another room and placing it to reach t he ceiling near the wall. With his right hand, he started using a metal fish tap e to pull a conductor through the conduit. He received an electric shock as soon as soon as he touched the conduit with his left hand. Employee #1 fell from the ladder to the floor, fracturing his left hip. He was transported to Kaiser Perm anente in Baldwin Park, where he underwent surgery and was treated for six days. The ladder was inspected on September 18, 2002, and was found to be in good wor king condition. Employee #1 did not place any warning signs or tags on or near t he panel before leaving the power area; apparently, a coworker in the area turne d the breakers on without informing him. Employee #1 stated that he had tested a nd checked the voltage on that conductor and found nothing, so he felt it was sa fe to work on the de-energized conductor and duplex outlet. Employee #1 said he had no warning signs and had not been provided any by his company. The employer was cited for a violation, regulatory, of T8CCR342(a); a violation, serious, of T8CCR 2320.6(a); a violation, serious, of T8CCR 2340.7(c); a violation, serious, of T8CCR 2340.22(a); and a violation, serious, of T8CCR 2340.4(a).