An electrocution in San Antonio out on the sidewalk. : vTools eNotice

IEEE.org | IEEE Xplore Digital Library | IEEE Standards | IEEE Spectrum | More Sites

An electrocution in San Antonio out on the sidewalk.

To view complete details for this event, click here to view the announcement

An electrocution in San Antonio out on the sidewalk.

Anatomy of an Accident:
How Sloppy work and a Lack of Documentation Caused Massive Payouts!

On Thursday morning, January 7, 1999, a woman walking to work died on the sidewalk in front of UTSA downtown. The cause was ruled as electrocution from an energized metal lid in the sidewalk. The resultant investigation revealed a lack of final inspection on the original work and many problems with subsequent work. Enough that San Antonio’s Central Power Supply (CPS) and others paid out a combined $6.4M. James Mercier, who was at that time an engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation, will present and discuss the various errors discovered from his investigation for TxDOT and in the court records. Long after the court case was settled, James may have figured out what really happened that day!