High Island, TX — A worker was electrically shocked and injured this past Monday in High Island while he was working on painting a tank for the Bolivar Water District. This happened on Monday, April 13, and the man had to be taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The specific details of what happened aren’t available yet, but it appears that this worker was shocked, then fell about 40 feet to the ground.
The news said that the man was painting a large water storage tank on Monday afternoon and was about 40 feet in the air, using a ladder to paint. As he was working, one of his tarps became unsecured. As he reached it with his pole to adjust it, he accidentally touched some power lines and was immediately shocked.
He fell off his ladder and landed on the ground, 40 feet below. A medical helicopter was sent for him, though the news seemed to think that he wasn’t in a very serious condition.
More details to come later. It appears that this man may have been a contractor, not a Bolivar Water District employee.
Map of High Island
Commentary:
I don’t know all the details of what happened here, but it looks like this worker may have been put in a dangerous situation. Now, with any kind of manual labor, there’s some degree of inherent risk, but it’s never okay for an employer, boss, or supervisor to instruct someone to do something flat-out dangerous. At least not without training and safety gear, and even then, it’s questionable.
There are a few technical questions that I’d like answered to know more about what happened here. Was the worker using his own equipment? Was he hired as an independent contractor, or an hourly employee? Was he warned about electrical lines? Given any safety equipment.
Texas has special laws and rules for employer to follow, and many of them protect employers from being sued for negligence. However, that’s not just a blank check for them to do anything want. And just so we’re clear, I’m not implying that this company/manager was being excessively negligent or anything of the sort. It’s just that most workers are told that they have no rights under Texas law if something happens to them on the job, and that’s simply not true.
— Grossman Law Offices
