Pacific Bell: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Feb 26, 2002: Telephone worker receives head injury in fall from pole

At approximately 12:45 p.m. on February 26, 2002, Employee #1, working for Pacif ic Bell to install service for a new customer, climbed a telephone pole to drop a wire down to the house. Upon completion and when descending the pole, his left gaff, a climbing hook used for erecting or repairing a telephone or power line, cut out of the pole (wood around the gaff gave way). He started sliding down an d could not get his gaff to stick back into the pole. He could not hold on and f ell backward about 12 feet onto asphalt. He was working alone in a residential n eighborhood. He yelled for help because he was bleeding and could not get up. A neighbor heard him, came to assist, and called emergency medical services. The i njured employee was hospitalized for treatment and observation; he received stit ches on his head.

Incident on Oct 24, 2001: Employee injured in fall from truck

Employee #1 and a coworker arrived at a work site to replace some telephone cabl es. The coworker walked to the front of the truck to observe the lines to be rep laced, and Employee #1 climbed into the back of the truck to remove a spool of c able. Employee #1 lost his footing and fell backwards 1.5 meters from the truck to the ground. Employee #1 was transported to the hospital and was admitted. Emp loyee #1 was initially diagnosed with damage to the vertebrae, but this was chan ged to five fractured ribs the next morning. Employee #1 remained in the hospita l for 1 week and received outpatient care following his release for a vertigo pr oblems due to head trauma associated with his fall.

Incident on Jul 10, 2001: Employee injured in fall from pole

On July 10, 2001, Employee #1 was climbing a telephone pole to install equipment . He was using pole climbing gear equipped with a steel gaff on each foot, howev er he was not using a strap or belt connected to the pole while climbing. When E mployee #1 was about 14 ft. above the ground, his right gaff gave splintered the pole. He then lost his hold on the pole and fell to the ground. Employee #1 was hospitalized with a fractured vertebra in his lower back.

Incident on Mar 6, 2001: Employee run over by a truck trailer

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on March 6, 2007, Employee #1, a splicing technician, was between a Ford 600 service truck and an attached trailer. He was setting co nes on the road way when he was knocked down and run over by the right rear tire s of the trailer. He sustained a skull fracture, epidural hematoma, and a right knee contusion. He was hospitalized.

Incident on Jul 25, 2000: Employee injured in fall from rolling ladder

A communication technician in the central office of a telecommunications company was running jumpers and connecting dial tones on the main frame in the facility . The supervisor would give job orders for connecting new lines to the technicia ns so that they could run the jumpers and connect the dial tones. It took two em ployees working as a team to run jumpers. An employee on one side would hook the jumper to the circuit and feed the jumper through a hole. The second employee, from the other side, would grab the jumper and connect it to the circuit board o n that side. Each telephone line had a specific position on the frame. Employees would use a rolling ladder to reach higher positions. On the day of the acciden t, the communication technician was standing on a rolling ladder reaching into t he frame to catch a jumper from another employee. The ladder moved, and the empl oyee lost her balance and fell 1.2 meters to the floor. She fractured her left w rist, which struck a metal frame in her fall. She was hospitalized with a compou nd fracture and dislocated left wrist. The ladder had moved because of a broken locking mechanism at the top of the ladder. Rubber rings on the brake pads of th at ladder and others at the site were worn out. Consequently, the brakes on thos e ladders would not function properly.

Incident on May 16, 2000: Employee fractured arm and pelvis in fall from ladder

An employee was replacing a midspan single-pair telephone service drop with a tw o-pair service drop. He had already attached and terminated the new service drop at the utility pole. The employee was at the rear of a house on an 8.5-meter la dder supported at midspan by its ladder hooks. He had not secured himself to the ladder or strand. As he was attaching the service at midspan, he lost his balan ce and fell to the ground, hitting a bystander below. The employee was hospitali zed with a fractured left arm and a fractured pelvis. His arm required surgery t o insert a pin.

Incident on Apr 9, 2000: Employee sustains multiple fractures in a fall off a ladder

At about 1:30 p.m. on April 9, 2000, Employee #1, a service technician for Pacif ic Bell in Hayward, CA, was placing an aerial service drop at mid span and was w orking from his 28-ft extension ladder which was properly hooked and tied to the cable. However, Employee #1 did not tie himself to the ladder or cable or the b oth ladder and cable. When he cut off the old service drop from the cable, the l adder swung back and he was thrown off the ladder 18 ft to the ground. Employee #1 was taken to the Eden Hospital where he was diagnosed with fractures of his p elvis, hip, shoulder, and ankle. He was hospitalized. Employee #1 was employed b y Pacific Bell since October 14, 1996.

Incident on Mar 21, 2000: Employee's pelvis fractured in fall from utility pole

Employee #1 was climbing a utility pole using a body belt and pole climbers. His gaff hit a crystallized knot and cut out. He slipped 4.9 meters down the pole, fracturing his pelvis. He was hospitalized for his injuries. Employee #1 was eng aged in a rope and roller assignment at the time of the accident.

Incident on Dec 12, 1999: Employee injured in fall from ladder

At 5:00 p.m. on December 22, 1999, Employee #1, a Telephone Installation Repair Technician, fell approximately 18 feet to the sidewalk while attempting to place a phone cable drop at mid span. Employee #1 was working alone and there were no witnesses to the accident. Employee #1 was employed by Pacific Bell Service in Hayward, California. The accident scene was a hilly residential area. Employee # 1 did not have any extra leveling wedges, which were normally located in the bac k of his truck when he arrived at the job site, so he decided to improvise and m ake a leveling wedge from some wood to stabilize the ladder. Employee #1 started to ascend the ladder but the ladder began to sway and slipped off the make-shif t wedge. Before he could hook up his body-harness he fell to the ground, sufferi ng multiple injuries. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Incident on Jan 29, 2000: Employee is injured in fall from utility pole

A telecommunications line worker was climbing a utility pole when he fell, feet first. He landed on a picket fence and sustained a puncture injury to his groin area. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Incident on Aug 25, 1998: Employee fractured leg in fall from utility pole

An employee was installing a splicing terminal for a residential telephone servi ce. The utility pole on which he was to install the terminal did not have steps, so the employee used his Buckingham climbers to ascend the pole. He climbed the pole and, after reaching the working height (approximately 4.6 meters above the ground), began placing his pole strap around the pole. His climbers cut out, an d he fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with a fractured left leg. The empl oyee had checked his climbers before climbing, and they were in good condition. He had attended pole-climbing school and had considerable experience climbing po les.

Incident on Feb 25, 1998: Employee fractures pelvis when snowmobile strikes tree

At 12:15 p.m. on February 25, 1998, Employee #1, a systems technician, was trave ling downhill on a Polaris snowmobile after visiting a microwave site. He suffer ed a fractured pelvis when the snowmobile struck a tree that was next to the tra il.

Incident on Nov 17, 1997: Employee's leg fractured in fall from extension span ladder

Employee #1, a maintenance splicer for the telephone company, was setting up a 3 2 ft long extension "span ladder" over a sloping horse pasture, 30 ft away from a pole. He was climbing the ladder when a hook came off the line and the ladder began to twist. Employee #1 started to descend but lost his grip and fell about 13 ft to the ground, fracturing his left leg. It was raining at the time of the accident.

Incident on Sep 8, 1997: Fall - pole climber cutout

A telephone company employee with 17 years of experience climbing poles was inst alling a second phone line at a worksite. He was wearing pole climbers, heavy bo ots, a body belt with positioning strap, and leather gloves. He started climbing a hardwood utility pole. When he got about 6.1 meters up the pole, he stopped t o see how far he had to go. When he shifted his weight to his left foot and star ted up again, his gaff cut out. He slid down the pole all the way to the ground, holding on with his hands and forearms. The employee suffered a compression fra cture of the L1 vertebrae and a stress fracture of the bone above the ankle on h is right leg. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Incident on Sep 18, 1996: Fall - climber cutout

A telephone line worker was climbing a utility pole. His gaffs cut out, and he f ell about 6.1 meters. He suffered a concussion and was hospitalized for his inju ries.

Incident on Jun 13, 1996: Fall - ladder struck by cable

A communications worker was working from a ladder, tying a frame jumper. He was an experienced worker with training in ladder safety. A coworker was pulling cab le from a cable reel beneath him. The cable reel jammed, causing the cable to st rike the ladder and the employee on it to lose his balance and fall 1.8 meters t o the ground. The employee landed on his left arm, breaking his left wrist. He w as hospitalized for his injuries. After the accident, the company inspected the ladder and found no problems. The company also took the cable reel out of servic e and repaired it.

Incident on Aug 31, 1996: Employee fractures vertebra in fall from telephone pole

Employee #1 was a repair technician for a regional telephone company. He was on a service call and had isolated the problem to a specific telephone pole. Becaus e a manzanita bush growing at the base of the pole, Employee #1 was limited to u sing about one quadrant of the pole as he began to climb. He was using climbing spurs and a climbing belt, but not the belt's safety strap. Employee #1's feet w ere about 4 ft above the ground when one of his spurs, embedded near a split in the pole, popped out as he put his weight on it to move his other foot. Both his feet came off the pole and he fell backward to the ground. Employee #1 landed o n a piece of reinforcing steel, which struck his climbing belt at a point where a thick tab was attached to it, providing an overall thickness of 7/8 in. He suf fered a cracked vertebra and two fractured transverse process bones.

Incident on Mar 12, 1995: Employee injured in fall from ladder

Employee #1 was repairing a customer drop line from the house to the pole. He ha d followed all company rules regarding line testing and ladder usage. Employee # 1 began to climb a fiberglass extension ladder using the proper fire fighter's s tance for angle on the ladder, with hooks extended onto the strand and testing s trand and a rope over the strand for security. The drop line from the strand to the customer's house became loose and caused the strand to move forward. Employe e #1 felt the ladder move forward and then back. He was thrown off the ladder an d fell between 10 ft and 15 ft. Employee #1 sustained a compression fracture to L1 and a basal skull fracture with intracerebellar hemorrhaging. He was hospital ized. There were no witnesses to the accident.

Incident on Aug 31, 1994: Hydraulic cutter severed thumb

An outside plant technician working on a heavy construction crew had pulled out an old electric cable. The lead-sheathed cable was about 75 millimeters in diame ter. The employee's truck was equipped to pull out the cable and chop it into pi eces. The cable needed to have a clean cut on the end so that it could be drawn through a long tube as part of the operation. The employee used a hydraulic cutt er to make the cut. As he was raising the cutter into position, he felt a pain i n his left hand. He discovered that part of his left thumb was missing when he r emoved his work glove. The cutter had amputated it. He was hospitalized where su rgeons reattached his thumb, which was found inside his work glove.

Incident on Oct 11, 1993: Electric shock & fall - ground fault in pole ground

A LINE WORKER FOR A TELEPHONE COMPANY CLIMBED A LADDER TO ACCESS A WORKING POSIT ION ON A UTILITY POLE. HE WAS GOING TO PERFORM A CHECK ON A TELEPHONE LINE. HE W AS AT A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 15 FEET ABOVE A PAVEMENT. AS HE WAS PREPARING TO BELT OF F TO THE POLE, HE CONTACTED AN EXPOSED PORTION OF AN ENERGIZED GROUND ON THE POL E. HE RECEIVED AN ELECTRIC SHOCK, WHICH CAUSED HIM TO FALL TO THE PAVEMENT. THE EMPLOYEE SUSTAINED A SHATTERED LEFT ELBOW, ELECTRICAL BURNS, BRUISES, SCRAPES, A ND ABRASIONS, FOR WHICH HE WAS HOSPITALIZED.

Incident on Aug 6, 1993: Fall - ladder slipped off of utility pole

A TELEPHONE LINE WAS LYING IN A ROAD. A TELEPHONE LINE WORKER, WHO WAS ASSIGNED TO REPAIR THE LINE, HURRIED TO GET IT OUT OF THE ROAD. HE CLIMBED A LADDER, QUIC KLY PULLING THE CABLE WITH HIM AND SECURING IT TO A SPAN CLAMP ON A UTILITY POLE . HE THEN TURNED TOWARD THE TERMINAL AND SAW A PAPER WASP. THIS WASP WAS SUDDENL Y FOLLOWED BY A SWARM OF OTHER WASPS. THE EMPLOYEE REACTED BY PULLING BACK. THIS CAUSED THE LADDER TO FALL, CARRYING HIM WITH IT. (IN HIS HASTE, THE EMPLOYEE HA D NOT SECURED THE LADDER TO THE POLE.) A NEIGHBOR SAW THE ACCIDENT AND CALLED FO R EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. THE EMPLOYEE WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR FOUR BROKEN RI BS ON HIS LEFT SIDE, FOR BRUISING AND INTERNAL BLEEDING, FOR A BROKEN COLLARBONE (WHICH WAS BROKEN IN FOUR PLACES), AND FOR ABRASIONS TO HIS RIGHT LEG.

Incident on Feb 5, 1993 (fatal): Electric shock - direct contact with overhead line

A TELEPHONE LINE WORKER WAS WORKING FROM THE BUCKET OF AN AERIAL LIFT. HE WAS NO T WEARING HEAD PROTECTION OR PERSONAL FALL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT. EVEN THOUGH THE WORK HE WAS PERFORMING BROUGHT HIM NEAR A 12-KILOVOLT OVERHEAD POWER LINE, THE JOB PLAN FOR HIS WORK DID CONTAIN ANY CAUTIONS REGARDING THE POWER LINE. (ADDITI ONALLY, THE EMPLOYEE'S WORK TECHNIQUE WAS INCORRECT. HE WAS CUTTING THE TELEPHON E CABLE, SHORTING OUT THE TELEPHONE SERVICE, RATHER THAN OPENING THE SPLICE AND TRIMMING THE CONDUCTORS.) THE EMPLOYEE'S WORKING POSITION IN THE AERIAL LIFT VIO LATED THE 24-INCH MINIMUM APPROACH DISTANCE FROM THE OVERHEAD POWER LINE. AS HE WAS CUTTING THE CABLE WITH CABLE CUTTERS, HE CONTACTED THE POWER LINE AND WAS EL ECTROCUTED.

Incident on Mar 5, 1992: Fall - slipped on floor

AN EMPLOYEE OF A TELEPHONE COMPANY WAS WORKING AT A CUSTOMER'S HOME. ALTHOUGH HE WAS WEARING COMPANY RECOMMENDED SHOES, HE SLIPPED ON A NEWLY WAXED FLOOR AND IN JURED HIS LOWER BACK. THE EMPLOYEE WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR HIS INJURY. HE IS EXPECT ED TO LOSE 1 MONTH'S WORK.

Incident on Dec 16, 1991: Fall from unsecured ladder

A telephone line worker was installing a telephone line on a utility pole. He st epped from the pole onto an unsecured ladder. He fell and suffered a concussion. He was hospitalized for his injury.

Incident on Aug 29, 1991: Employee injured when pickup runs over trench

Employee #1 was kneeling in a trench pulling wire and a pipe when a pickup truck ran over the trench. He sustained head injuries, for which he was hospitalized. The trench was not marked with barriers to prevent mobile equipment from runnin g into it.

Incident on Jun 27, 1991: Fall from aerial lift

A telephone line installer with 13 years of experience received a radio call fro m another telephone line installer to help install a telephone service drop. The first employee, who normally worked out of a van, got an aerial lift truck and drove to the work site. (The employee's supervisor was unaware that the employee was going to use an aerial lift.) The employee went up in the aerial lift bucke t twice, pulling the telephone line thru a tree and cutting limbs off the tree a s necessary. He went up for a third time, but did not use his safety belt, which was secured to the bucket. As the employee leaned out of the bucket to remove a limb, the bucket door, against which he was leaning, opened. He fell through th e tree to the ground. He was hospitalized with fractured ribs.

Incident on May 20, 1991: Fall from tree

Four telephone line workers were lashing a new cable to an existing telephone li ne. The existing line was attached to one utility pole at one end and ran across a ravine and a driveway to another utility pole. Three fir trees were growing o n the side of the ravine. The new telephone cable caught in the limbs of one of the trees. One of the employees climbed the 1.2-meter-diameter tree, using its l imbs as hand and foot holds. He was not using any fall protection equipment. The employee freed the cable and leaned out to release it clear of the remaining li mbs. The limb he was standing on broke, and the employee fell 6.1 to 7.6 meters to the ground. He was hospitalized with four cracked ribs and a small hole in hi s right lung.