That's a sad story. I pray the worker recovers from his "serious" injuries.
When I do training for basic electrical safety I always stress that there are four catagories of injuries from electric shock:
1. Electrocution
2. Electric Shock
3. Burns
4. Falls from elevations
Many people only concentrate on the "direct" hazards associated with electric contact and never think about the "indirect" injuires, like falls. Falls account for the majority of work related injuries and fatalities.
The interesting fact from this article is the Canadian requirement for fall protection on portable ladders. There aren't any similar requirements in the OSHA regulations, either for tying off a portable ladder that is 20' high or for a "positioning" device on a portable ladder. There are OSHA requirements for this protection on "fixed" ladders.
Everyone should take away from this that the OSHA regulations are always considered to be minimum standards. They don't cover every circumstance and sometimes you may need to go above and beyond the minimum to ensure your safety.
Glenn
