OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14298509

DISMANTLING,WORK RULES,CONSTRUCTION,FALL,FALL PROTECTION,STRUCK BY,LOST BALANCE,UNTRAINED

1987-08-21T00:00:00

Event: DISMANTLING,WORK RULES,CONSTRUCTION,FALL,FALL PROTECTION,STRUCK BY,LOST BALANCE,UNTRAINED
Linked inspection: No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number: 14298509
Report ID: 352410

Event description

Employee injured in 16 ft fall from perimeter wall

Investigation abstract

On August 21, 1987, Employee #1 and a coworker were working at a sewage treatmen ng from a mobile scaffold platform, unfastened his end of the brace and tucked h is hammer into his carpenter's belt. Before he could hand over the brace, Employ ee #1 began pulling the board toward himself. The weight of the board proved to be too much for Employee #1 to handle and he let the brace fall. As it fell, the perimeter wall acted as a fulcrum and the portion of the brace that extended be yond the wall struck Employee #1, causing him to lose his balance and fall appro ximately 16 ft to the concrete floor. Employee #1 was hospitalized for his injur ies. There was never any fall protection provided for Employee #1, and he had ne ver been trained to recognize the potential hazards, such as falls, related to t he profession. t plant construction site, removing the wooden braces that held the concrete col umns of an aeration tank's perimeter walls. Employee #1 would pry a board off th e perimeter wall and wait for the coworker to unfasten the brace at the column, after which the coworker would hand the brace to Employee #1. Employee #1 would then walk down the 24 in. wide perimeter wall and deposit the brace approximatel y 70 ft away. They had been performing this job for over an hour when Employee # 1 pried lose his end of a particular 2 by 6 brace that was approximately 16 ft l ong and extended over the perimeter wall by as much as 4 ft. The coworker, worki

Victim

#1 Hospitalized Age 28 M

Nature of injury
12

Part of body
19

Event type
5

Source
42

Occupation code
567

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
18

Task assigned
1

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