NIPSCO lineman dies of injuries

OSHA 'troubled' by recent incidents at utility
BY KEITH BENMAN
kbenman@nwitimes.com
219.933.3326
Date posted online: Tuesday, February 26, 2008

A second NIPSCO lineman in the past year-and-a-half has died after coming in contact with electrified equipment while making repairs.

NIPSCO journeyman lineman Jeffrey R. Cox, 48, of Plymouth, died Friday at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Burn Center, in Fort Wayne, from injuries he sustained on Feb. 16, according to officials of Local 12775 of the United Steelworkers union.

In August 2006, lineman Michael Nesius, of Rensselaer, was electrocuted as he operated a tamper to install a power pole near Medaryville, Ind. Two months later another lineman suffered serious burn injuries when he came in contact with a live 7,200-volt line.

"We have been watching their safety program for awhile and they have had some nasty accidents and we are troubled," said Jeffry Stuart Carter, Indiana Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Occupational Health and Safety.

Carter confirmed it is unusual for a utility to have that number of serious incidents in such a short span of time. The Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Feb. 16 incident.

NIPSCO is appealing the findings of an earlier IOSHA investigation into the circumstances surrounding Nesius' fatal accident. IOSHA found the company allowed use of an inappropriate tool and did not use proper protective shields. The utility was fined $1,875.

NIPSCO launched its own investigation Feb. 16 into the incident that claimed Cox's life and will look to see if there are any similarities with previous incidents, according to NIPSCO spokeswoman Colleen Reilly.

"Any time you have a serious injury or fatality on the job, you take a fresh look at everything you are doing," Reilly said.

The utility constantly emphasizes safety on the job, she said.

Local 12775 President Jim Blythe said he will be meeting with new NIPSCO CEO Eileen O'Neill Odum on Friday. Another union officer met with her on the day of Cox's death, Blythe said.

"It's a very disturbing trend we have right now and we have to find a means of stopping it," Blythe said.

The union will again raise the issue of instituting new safety programs, Blythe said.

Before Nesius, the last on-the-job fatality involving electrical contact by a NIPSCO lineman occurred in August 2001, according to the union.

In the Feb. 16 incident, preliminary investigation shows Cox came in contact with a piece of equipment energized with 7,200 volts while up in the bucket of a boom truck, Blythe said.

The lineman caught on fire and had to be brought down and doused with a fire extinguisher by other linemen, who administered Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived, Blythe said.

According to a CaringBridge Web page established by his family, Cox underwent surgery on Thursday. But by Friday he no longer had brain activity and had been dependent on a ventilator for 24 hours.

He is survived by his wife, Patti Cox, and a son, Christopher Cox, of Charlotte, N.C. He also is survived by his parents and a brother and a sister.

Visitation will take place from 2 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, at the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, Plymouth. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Thursday, at the Plymouth Wesleyan Church with burial to follow at Bremen Cemetery.

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