Why Do Electrical Fatalities Occur on the Job?: Understanding the Human Factor of a Fatality

Abstract

Contact with or exposure to electricity continues to be one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities and injuries in the United States. Between 2011 and 2021, there was a total of 1,201 workplace fatalities involving electricity reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), accounting for 6% of all workplace deaths. During this period, 69% of all electrically related fatalities happened in nonelectrically related occupations. Further, there has not been a significant decrease in the number of electrical fatalities since 2011. This article reviews each electrical incident reported to OSHA during this period to find the commonalities in fatal electrical incidents, determine if engineering controls or behavioral changes could have avoided the injury, and propose changes that can be made in the workplace and training to reduce the number of electrically related injuries in the United States.