Wired Telecommunications Carriers

NarrativeAt 12:00 a.m. on June 27, 2018, Employee #1 was working underground in a manhole, splicing telecommunication cable. The employee felt ill and passed out, possibly due to a heat-related illness.

NarrativeAt 2:15 p.m. on June 28, 2017, Employee #1 was installing internet/phone service at a residence. It was a hot day. The employee called his manager and said that he wasn't feeling well. Employee #1 was hospitalized, where he was treated for heat exhaustion and dehydration.

NarrativeAt 10:30 a.m. on June 26, 2017, Employee #1 and two coworkers were replacing communication lines and poles. The metal pole had already been installed near the wooden pole, and the crew removed the existing communication lines (power lines had already been moved) and placed them onto the new metal pole. In order to give the lines enough room and slack to reach the new pole, they had to cut off about 25 inches from the top of the wooden pole. The crew was using two bucket trucks and lifted one of the coworkers to the top of the pole. The coworker used an electric powered chain saw to cut off the top of the wood pole. The other coworker was in the cab of the second bucket truck near the metal pole and used it to hold tension on the lines so they could be winched onto the new pole. Employee #1 was on the ground. The coworker who was cutting the pole made two cuts with the chain saw, the first nearly through the pole, and another cut from the opposite direction about four inches above the first cut. Once the pole was cut, he could "shake" the pole, causing the two pieces to separate. The coworker then used a nylon web sling and wrapped it around the cut section of the wooden pole, which was 25 inches tall by 15 inches in diameter and weighed about 50 lbs. The cut section of the wooden pole was then detached and placed in a choker hitch that was hooked to the other end to the bucket. As the choker hitch with the cut section the wooden pole was lowered to the ground, the cut section of pole slipped from the sling and struck one of the guy wires that supported the pole. The cut section of pole then ricocheted and struck Employee #1 in the back, resulting in a fractured vertebrae and fractured scapula. Employee #1 also sustained a laceration to his head and was hospitalized for two days.