L&I investigating electric shock of construction worker in the Paulsen Center

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has opened an investigation after a worker received an electric shock while remodeling the 11th floor of the downtown Spokane Paulsen Center last week.

L&I spokeswoman Elaine Fischer said an inspector visited the work site on Tuesday. A full investigation is expected to take several months.

Spokane Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said last week that his department responded to a report of a man who had been shocked and was in cardiac arrest and not breathing. The man, identified by family members as 25-year-old Mark Wilson, was resuscitated and taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Wilson was in intensive care for several days in an induced coma, said his mother-in-law, Pam Crowe. He was on a ventilator and doctors also induced hypothermia to reduce possible neurological damage, she said.

Wilson was listed in stable condition Thursday afternoon and Crowe said he has been improving and is expected to be transferred to St. Luke’s Rehabilitation soon. “He’s made some great strides,” she said.

He is married with two young children and was working as a journeyman apprentice for Merit Electric at the time of the accident, Crowe said.

The company declined to comment when contacted Thursday.

According to the Spokane Journal of Business, the 11th floor of the Paulsen Center is being remodeled to become executive offices for Inland Northwest Bank. The project, led by general contractor Construction Associates of Spokane, is expected to be complete at the beginning of next year.