# Fractures at National Grid
> OSHA SIR `2016054003` · 5/10/2016 · GOUVERNEUR, NEW YORK
## Severity
- **1 hospitalization**
- **Body part:** Lumbar region
- **Nature of injury:** Fractures
## Cause
- **Event:** Other fall to lower level 11 to 15 feet
- **Source:** Extension ladders
- **Secondary source:** Towers, poles, n.e.c.
## Employer
- **Name:** National Grid
- **Location:** County Route 9, GOUVERNEUR, NEW YORK, 13642
- **NAICS:** 221122
- **Jurisdiction:** 1
## Narrative

On 5/10/16, at approximately 0900 hours, an employee was climbing a ladder that was set up on a meter pole when the pole began to crack. The employee began descending the ladder and the pole broke. The employee fell approximately 15 feet from the ladder to a stone/grassy surface, shattering the L2 vertebra and requiring hospitalization.

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*Source: [OSHA Severe Injury Reports](https://www.osha.gov/severe-injury-reports) · MORVS · CC0 1.0*