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BETTESWORTHConstruction
AED

What to Do If Someone Is Experiencing an Electric Shock on a Job Site

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Keep yourself out of the electrical path first. Do not touch a worker who may still be connected to an energized source. Warn everyone away, isolate the power only if you can do so safely and within your role, then call 911 (or the local emergency number). Approach the worker only after the hazard is controlled. Check responsiveness and normal breathing, begin CPR and use an AED if indicated and you are trained, and arrange medical evaluation even when the worker appears well.

This sequence summarizes U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and MedlinePlus guidance. Emergency numbers, electrical rules and workplace procedures differ outside the United States. It is first-aid information, not a substitute for emergency-dispatch instructions, site-specific procedures or qualified electrical-rescue training.

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1. Stop the exposure without becoming the next victim

An electrical injury is a two-person hazard until the source is controlled. Current can pass from the energized equipment through the injured worker and into anyone who touches the worker, clothing, tools or nearby conductive material. OSHA electrical-safety training states: “If someone nearby has contact with a live electric current and receives an electrical shock, DO NOT touch the person.”

Warn people away

  • Shout a clear warning and establish a perimeter. Keep coworkers, visitors and would-be rescuers away from the worker, the equipment and any fallen conductors.
  • Do not step into water, touch metal barriers or handle the worker’s clothing while the source may be energized.
  • Keep access routes open for emergency responders, but do not move toward the victim until the electrical hazard is controlled.

Isolate power only through a safe, authorized method

If you are trained and authorized, operate the appropriate breaker, disconnect or emergency shutoff from a safe position. Follow the site’s energy-control procedure. A lockout/tagout device or label by itself is not proof that a circuit is de-energized; the approved procedure must include verification that the source is safe before anyone approaches.

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Never improvise by pulling a person away, cutting a cable, throwing liquid on equipment or reaching around an energized panel. If you cannot positively control the source, retreat and wait for qualified electrical personnel and emergency responders.

Power-line incidents are a hard stop

Treat overhead and underground power lines as high-voltage hazards. Do not approach, touch the worker, move a vehicle, climb onto equipment or attempt a rescue with a makeshift object. Keep everyone back and call emergency services; tell dispatch that a power line may be involved. The utility must be contacted through the emergency response process, and the area must be declared safe before an unqualified person enters.

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OSHA and MedlinePlus describe nonconductive separation objects only in limited circumstances. That information is not a universal rescue technique and does not make a high-voltage scene safe. Do not use a broom, ladder, rope, timber or other object unless a qualified responder and the site procedure specifically direct it for the known voltage and conditions.

2. Call emergency services and give useful site information

Once someone can call without entering the hazard area, dial 911 in the United States or the applicable emergency number where you work. Electrical injury warrants an emergency call because serious internal injury, burns, abnormal heart rhythms and trauma may not be visible.

Tell the dispatcher

  • Exact job-site address, gate, floor, unit or access point and the safest entrance for responders.
  • That an electrical shock has occurred and whether a power line, panel, tool, temporary supply or other source is involved.
  • The suspected voltage or equipment rating, if known; do not guess.
  • Whether power has been isolated and whether a qualified person has verified the area safe.
  • How many people are injured and whether the worker is responsive and breathing normally.
  • Any fire, smoke, fall, confined-space, traffic or other continuing danger.

Send another worker to meet responders at the entrance and guide them around active construction hazards. Keep bystanders out and prevent anyone from re-energizing equipment until qualified personnel have completed the site’s electrical-safety process.

3. Assess the worker only after the source is controlled

Approach only when the electrical hazard has been isolated or emergency responders have declared the area safe. Then check whether the worker responds to your voice and whether they are breathing normally. Follow the dispatcher’s instructions and provide only care within your training.

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If the worker is unresponsive and not breathing normally

  1. Tell the dispatcher the worker is unresponsive and not breathing normally, or have someone make the call while you act.
  2. Start CPR promptly. Ask another person to bring the site AED.
  3. Turn on the AED, expose the chest as directed, apply the pads and follow every spoken or displayed instruction.
  4. Pause compressions only when the AED tells everyone to stand clear for analysis or a shock. Resume when instructed.
  5. Continue until the worker shows signs of life, another trained responder takes over, you are physically unable to continue or EMS directs you to stop.

Emergency operators can guide CPR. An AED cannot be used while anyone is touching the worker or when the scene remains electrically unsafe, so hazard control always comes first.

If the worker is conscious or breathing

  • Keep the worker still and reassure them while monitoring responsiveness and breathing.
  • Do not give food, drink or medication unless directed by a medical professional.
  • Look for burns and bleeding without scrubbing, peeling clothing from a burn or applying creams.
  • Ask whether they fell, struck their head or neck, or have pain, weakness, numbness, chest discomfort or trouble breathing. Report these findings to EMS.

4. Check for burns, falls and other trauma

Electricity can cause an entry and exit burn while also damaging tissue beneath normal-looking skin. A shock can throw a worker from a ladder, scaffold, lift or roof, creating head, neck, spinal or internal injuries.

Move the worker only for an immediate danger

Do not reposition the worker merely to make the scene more convenient. Leave the head and neck aligned if a spinal injury is possible. Move the person only when fire, collapse, traffic, drowning or another immediate threat makes staying put more dangerous, and use the safest method available to your training.

Monitor until responders arrive

Watch breathing and responsiveness continuously. If either changes, update the dispatcher and follow new instructions. Keep the worker warm without placing material over a serious burn, and preserve a clear path for EMS. Even a small visible burn or a worker who says they feel fine requires medical evaluation; internal injury and heart-rhythm problems may be delayed or hidden.

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5. What not to do

  • Do not touch the victim before de-energization. This is the most common way a rescuer becomes a second victim.
  • Do not assume a tripped breaker made the scene safe. Other feeds, backfeed, stored energy or an incorrect breaker identification may remain.
  • Do not approach a downed power line or a vehicle touching one. Stay back and wait for the utility and emergency responders.
  • Do not re-energize equipment to test it. Preserve the isolation and leave testing to qualified personnel.
  • Do not dismiss the event because there is no visible burn. OSHA training material says, “Electrical shocks always need emergency medical attention, even if the person seems to be fine afterward.”
  • Do not delay CPR for paperwork or a supervisor. Once the hazard is controlled, begin according to dispatcher and AED instructions.

6. A quick decision guide for common job-site scenes

Scene Immediate decision Next safe action
Worker touching a tool, cord or panel that may still be energized Do not touch the worker or equipment. Warn others away; isolate power through an authorized control if safe, then call emergency services.
Breaker is off but no one has verified the circuit Treat it as energized. Keep clear until the approved procedure and qualified personnel verify zero energy.
Worker or equipment is near a fallen or overhead power line Do not enter the area or attempt separation. Call emergency services and the utility through dispatch; maintain a wide exclusion zone.
Power is controlled and worker is unresponsive, not breathing normally Begin resuscitation immediately. CPR, AED and dispatcher instructions; continue until EMS takes over.
Power is controlled and worker is awake Assume a potentially serious injury. Call EMS, monitor breathing and responsiveness, inspect for burns and trauma without unnecessary movement.
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7. Workplace preparedness before an incident

A response plan is more reliable when workers know who may isolate equipment, where the emergency shutoffs are, how responders enter the site and where the AED is located. Review the plan during orientation and when the site layout or electrical systems change.

Training and staffing under U.S. OSHA rules

OSHA’s electric-power rule at 29 CFR 1910.269(b)(1) covers employees performing work on or associated with exposed lines or equipment energized at 50 volts or more. For covered field work involving two or more employees at a work location, at least two first-aid-trained people must be available. At covered fixed work locations such as substations, enough trained people must be available for an exposed employee to be reached within four minutes, subject to the rule’s exception when staffing is insufficient.

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The construction electric-power rule at 29 CFR 1926.951 contains parallel provisions. These are specific regulatory requirements, not a promise that every construction site has a responder within four minutes. Determine which rule applies to the work, location and employer, and confirm the current requirements with the site safety lead.

CPR and AED readiness

OSHA’s electric-power first-aid guidance recommends including AED instruction with CPR training as a best practice. The site plan should identify trained workers, refresher dates, AED location, inspection responsibility, pad and battery expiration checks, and the process for calling EMS. Select equipment and training for the workforce, environment and applicable adult or pediatric needs; the available guidance does not establish a particular AED model or rescue device.

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Electrical-rescue equipment

Nonconductive rescue hooks or poles may be discussed in a qualified electrical-rescue program, but a generic product label does not establish voltage rating, design suitability or approval. Do not buy or deploy one as a substitute for de-energization, utility coordination or trained responders. Any equipment must be selected, inspected and used under the employer’s electrical-safety program.

8. After the emergency

Leave the equipment isolated and preserve the scene as required by the employer’s incident procedure. Record what happened while details are fresh: the task, equipment identification, visible conditions, isolation steps, witnesses, time of the event and instructions given by dispatch. Do not alter, repair or discard involved equipment until the responsible safety and electrical personnel authorize it.

Report the incident through the site’s supervisor, safety or occupational-health process. Arrange follow-up for the injured worker and any rescuer who may have been exposed. Review whether access controls, labels, temporary power, grounding, protective equipment, training or emergency communications need correction before work resumes.

9. Limits of this guidance

The sequence above is based on U.S. OSHA workplace materials and U.S. government MedlinePlus first-aid information. OSHA regulations, emergency contacts and workplace requirements vary by country and can change. Your employer’s written emergency plan, a dispatcher’s instructions and direction from qualified electrical personnel take precedence whenever they are more specific to the site and hazard.

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