Beamon v. Ga. Power Co

In Beamon v. Ga. Power Co. 199 Ga. App. 309 (404 S.E.2d 463) (1991), an electrical lineman was attempting to reposition an electrical transformer on a utility pole owned by Georgia Power Company when the bucket truck in which he was working suddenly lurched upward, causing him to come into contact with an energized wire and receive an electrical shock. The lineman sued Georgia Power and the manufacturer of the bucket truck. He charged Georgia Power with negligence in improperly mounting the transformer to the utility pole over a metal groundwire. He sued the manufacturer for defects in the bucket truck. The Court held that any negligence by Georgia Power in improperly mounting the transformer was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury, because it was not reasonably foreseeable that someone working on the transformer would be involuntarily lifted several feet above the transformer in an allegedly defective bucket truck. In addition, Beamon admitted that he was not wearing rubber gloves or using rubber hoses, and it was undisputed that his injury would not have occurred if he had done so.