Employee #1 and a trackhoe operator were installing sheet pilings in a ninefoot- deep hole that was dug for a manhole in a sewer line. The pilings were to protect the employees from cave-ins.
Initially, the operator would hold up each piling with the trackhoe bucket, while Employee #1 put it into place. The trackhoe then would be used to push the piling into the mud.
As the operator maneuvered the trackhoe to get it into position, the bucket came into contact with a high power line that contained 7,620 volts. Employee #1 came into contact with the sheet piling and was electrocuted.
What went wrong?
No information given to determine fault, but installing steel piling near a high-voltage power line—close enough for a trackhoe come into contact with both the power line and the piling—is inherently dangerous..
