Utility Worker Electrocuted to Death in Work Accident

According to WTHI, a worker was fatally injured in a work accident after being electrocuted in Sullivan County, Indiana, on Wednesday afternoon.

Details of Workplace Accident

Officials say a utility worker for Win Energy was working on a power line in the area of West County Road 1100 North and North County Road 25 West when the fatal accident occurred. At around 3:30 p.m. local time, the worker was handling a line that was not supposed to be active, but when he picked up the line, he was electrocuted.

Ray Lockhart, 46, died at the scene of the accident. Lockhart was an employee of WIN Energy, reports WTHI. Lockhart was responding to a power outage in northern Sullivan County.

The fatal workplace injury accident is still under investigation.

On the Job Accident Statistics

The following information is provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

• 4,821 workers died on the job in 2014.
• Fatal electrocutions accounted for 74 construction worker fatalities in 2014. The “Fatal Four” leading causes of private sector worker deaths are:
  • Falls – 359 out of 899 total deaths in construction in 2014 (39.9%)
  • Electrocutions – 74 (8.2%)
  • Struck by Object – 73 (8.1%)
  • Caught-in/between – 39 (4.3%)
• Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2014.