Case Reports
As part of the Fatal Accident Circumstances and Epidemiology (FACE) Program, NIOSH investigated five incidents (resulting in six electrocutions) that occurred between 1985 and 1987 and that involved contact between portable aluminum ladders and overhead power lines.
Case No. 1--One Fatality
On May 4, 1985, a 28-year-old male worker removed the bottom of a poster on a 12-by-24-foot (-ft) billboard that was scheduled for reposting. He then removed a 24-ft aluminum hook ladder from the service truck. While the worker was positioning the ladder to reach the top section of the billboard, the ladder contacted a 7,200-volt (-V) overhead power line that was located 8 ft from the top of the billboard, and he was electrocuted [NIOSH 1985a].
Case No. 2--One Fatality
On July 21, 1986, a 27-year-old male painter was standing on a fully extended 24-ft aluminum ladder while painting a rain gutter on an apartment building. After painting a section of the gutter, the worker descended the ladder to move it to a new location. As he was repositioning the ladder, it contacted a 7,200-V overhead power line that was located 8 ft from the gutter, and he was electrocuted [NIOSH 1987d].
Case No. 3--Two Fatalities
On November 17, 1986, two male painters (20 and 21 years old) were using a 36-ft aluminum extension ladder to paint a 20-ft-high metal light pole. One worker was standing on the ladder painting, and his coworker was on the ground holding the ladder. The ladder slipped away from the pole and contacted a 12,460-V overhead power line that was located within 2 ft of the pole. Both painters were electrocuted [NIOSH 1987c].
Case No. 4--One Fatality
On September 1, 1987, a 28-year-old male painter and a coworker were using an aluminum extension ladder while cleaning the outside brick wall of a three-story convalescent home before painting. After cleaning one section, the workers moved the ladder to another location. The painter held the base of the ladder as the coworker simultaneously climbed and raised the extension of the 40-ft ladder. When the ladder was extended to approximately 34-ft, it tipped backward, contacting a 7,200-V overhead power line that was located 15 ft from the structure. The coworker on the ladder received an electrical shock and fell to the ground. The painter holding the ladder provided a path to the ground for the electrical current and was electrocuted [NIOSH 1987b].
Case No. 5--One Fatality
On September 24, 1987, an 18-year-old male construction worker and two coworkers were looking for an area on an office building roof to store shingles. The 18-year-old and a coworker were holding a fully extended, 32-ft aluminum ladder as the other coworker descended it. The ladder tipped backward, contacting a 7,200-V overhead power line that was located 6 ft from the building, electrocuting the 18-year-old holding the ladder, and shocking the other two coworkers [NIOSH 1987a].