A crew of three employees was pulling electric cable through 1,200 feet of HDPE conduit. The rope pulling the cable was attached to the bucket of an excavator. The excavator was pulling it back in stages, between which the rope would be untied so the truck could move forward and the rope could be re-tied. When one of the employees untied the rope, the tension in it caused it to catch his right hand and lacerate his middle finger. He was hospitalized.