HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling denying an electric company’s motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit alleging a man that was electrocuted by a sagging power line.
The suit was brought on behalf of Juan Carlos Ramirez and accuses Oncor Electric Delivery Company of negligence.
Ramirez was working as a pumper at a wellsite when he saw a brushfire. He went to investigate and was electrocuted by a sagging high voltage power line, according to the First Court’s Feb. 27 opinion.
After going to check on the brushfire, Ramirez was found dead. His body lay next to one of Oncor’s high voltage overhead lines, which was sagging about two feet or so off the ground due to a damaged utility pole. The brushfire consumed five acres before firefighters put it out.
None of the parties dispute that Ramirez was electrocuted.
Court records show Oncor sought summary judgment on the grounds that Ramirez qualified as a “person responsible” under Chapter 752 of Texas’s Health and Safety Code, which states that a person “responsible for temporary work… (close) to a high voltage overhead line” must give the electric company 48 hours notice “before the work begins.”
Oncor argued that Ramirez failed and had to comply with Chapter 752’s requirements. The trial court denied the motion and the appeal ensued.
The First Court affirmed the ruling, finding that Oncor did not conclusively prove that Ramirez qualified as a “person responsible” under the statute.
“As a final matter, Oncor argues that Ramirez must be responsible because he was the lone person at the scene of the accident, and neither (of his coworkers) was aware of the sagging line,” the opinion states. “Oncor argues that, due to this, neither company could conceivably be responsible for purposes of Chapter 752. But the only issue before us is whether Oncor has conclusively shown that Ramirez was ‘responsible.’
“We conclude Oncor has not made that showing—and we offer no opinion beyond that.”
Case No. 01-24-00088-CV
