LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Another safety incident is being brought to light after Nevada OSHA officials competed another investigation into The Boring Company.
According to OSHA documents, the incident happened on July 24, 2025 at a portable substation at Convention Center Silver Lot 3, which is located off of Paradise Road and Desert Inn Road. Documents state a worker asked another worker for assistance with landing connections with a transformer at the portable substation.
"At this point, the panels of the portable substation had already been removed, and the first employee was under the impression that the second employee had already deenergized the equipment," records state. "Without stopping to conduct a pre-task discussion or verify de-energization, the second employee got into a rear compartment of the substation's transformer, and began to land a connection with a standard, uninsulated ratchet. The first employee was instructed to hold the other side of the nut with pliers while the second used the ratchet. At this time, the equipment and ratchet caused an arc, flash affecting the second employee only."
The second employee, identified as Andy Shannon, was taken to Sunrise Hospital by a third employee after suffering from several burns.
During the investigation, inspectors found several issues that led to the incident. One was managers told inspectors they did not give the go-ahead to remove the substation panels and that Shannon did not follow instructions.
"The job plan discussed included both the management and employee going together to the main disconnect at the Virgin Hotel parking lot prior to the panels being removed, but prior to any of the deenergizing work, the employee was tasked to gather the tools and [personal protective equipment] needed for the work. Management indicated they were not aware that the panels had been removed because they were located at the job trailer of the Silver Lot 3 when the incident occurred."
In an interview with a Boring Company manager, he told inspectors the de-energization process would take down power to a few other sites, which is why they were trying to coordinate the work.
"It involves a lot of other people and the other sites," the manager told inspectors. "I was on the phone with the other site leaders. I was about 600 feet away at the east fence line on the phone, and I saw other people running to the west fence line where the conex was. I realized what happened. I checked to make sure Andy was okay."
As soon as the incident was reported to management, OSHA records state they drove to the source disconnect, locked and tagged out the equipment, and found that the relay to the circuit had been tripped, "potentially preventing more serious injuries by automatically disconnecting the circuit when the fault/arc flash occurred."
In addition to not following procedures, OSHA records state neither worker was wearing any protective equipment.
"In addition to the high voltage gloves that are issued to electricians individually, we have extra high voltage gloves and arc flash suits are available - they aren't on site but our safety team is available 24/7," a manager told inspectors. "We can call them and they will bring it out in 10 minutes or less... If the work had gone forward as planned, I would have contacted our safety team to bring the arc flash suit to use while I tested that the system was de-energized."
One manager claimed that Shannon went "rogue" by going ahead with the work while Shannon's direct supervisor said he was "extremely shocked when he heard about the incident."
"Andy worked for The Boring Company for about two to three years. He had electrical experience before coming to the TBC," his supervisor said in a written statement to inspectors. "We hired him for his experience in electrical maintenance and troubleshooting. He was also trained in the Navy as an electrician to my recollection."
Ultimately, Shannon was fired after this incident.
When looking at the Termination Checklist document from The Boring Company, it states that Shannon "has demonstrated a serious lapse in judgment on more than one occasion. ... This pattern of behavior indicates gross negligence."
Nevada OSHA inspectors cleared The Boring Company and this investigation was closed on Jan. 16, 2026.
"Violation identified. However, employee misconduct was applicable," the findings read in part. "The employer had conducted a job briefing prior to the work occurring outlining the plan for the work as required ... The plan did not call for any live work to occur prior to de-energization, and that the employee was to gather the PPE and tools needed. Additionally, the hazard was identified, immediately corrected, and reiterated during the closing conference."
This is one of several concerning safety incidents that have been brought to light over the past couple of years.
For example, we've learned of multiple incidents where workers were burned by chemicals in the Vegas Loop tunnels, two firefighters were burned during training incidents in the tunnels, and a worker was hospitalized with a broken pelvis after being crushed.
We know there are still several open investigations into The Boring Company by Nevada OSHA inspectors.
You can see the full list of investigations by state inspectors below.
