OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14354179
FRACTURE,EXTENSION LADDER,LADDER,CONSTRUCTION,FALL,VERTEBRA,INATTENTION,SCAFFOLD
Event description
EMPLOYEE INJURED WHEN HE FELL FROM AN EXTENSION LADDER
Investigation abstract
EMPLOYEE #1 HAD BEEN USING AN EXTENSION LADDER TO CLIMB TO A SCAFFOLD FOR 3 WEEK S. THE EMPLOYEE DID NOT INSPECT THE LADDER BEFORE BEGINNING TO CLIMB, OR, IF HE DID, HE DID NOTHING ABOUT TIGHTENING THE WIRE WHICH HAD BEEN PLACED ON THE LADDE R TO KEEP IT FROM MOVING. THE LADDER WAS PARALLEL TO THE SCAFFOLD. THE EMPLOYEE CLIMBED THE LADDER TO THE SCAFFOLD, TURNED LEFT TO STEP ONTO IT, MISSED THE SCAF FOLD WITH HIS LEFT FOOT AND FELL BACKWARDS ABOUT 10 FEET TO THE CONCRETE FLOOR. HE SUFFERED A FRACTURE TO HIS FIRST LUMBAR VERTEBRAE. THE EMPLOYEE CLAIMED BEFOR E AND AFTER THE FALL THAT A TRIPPING HAZARD WAS PRESENT AT THE LANDING, BUT NONE WAS FOUND. EMPLOYEE #1 LATER DIED IN SURGERY.
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 57 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 3
- Event type
- 5
- Source
- 15
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Hazardous substance
- 8330
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.