OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14499685
FRACTURE,COLLAPSE,CONSTRUCTION,BACK,CRUSHED,STRUCK BY,FALLING OBJECT,LEG,UNSTABLE POSITION
Event description
EMPLOYEES INJURED IN BUILDING COLLAPSE
Investigation abstract
AT APPROXIMATELY 1:15 PM ON JANUARY 9, 1987, EMPLOYEE #1 WAS PLACING A 48 INCH W E TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. EMPLOYEE #1 WAS LOCATED ON THE ROOF PLANK. EMPLOYEES #2 AND #3 WERE BENEATH THE MEZZANINE DECK, AT GROUND LEVEL, INSTALLING SEWER PIPE I N A 3 FOOT DEEP TRENCH. FIVE CONCRETE PLANKS WERE PLACED ON THE ROOF LEVEL. ALL WERE PLACED ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE INVERTED "T" BEAM. THIS CAUSED THE "T" BEAM TO ROLL TOWARD THE WEIGHTED SIDE AND OFF THE SUPPORT COLUMN. EMPLOYEE #1 WAS CRU SHED BY THE "T" BEAM AS IT FELL. EMPLOYEE #2 AND #3 WERE BURIED BY THE MEZZANINE PLANKING THAT ALSO COLLAPSED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE FALLING ROOF PLANK AND BEA M. EMPLOYEE #2 SUFFERED A FRACTURED LEG. EMPLOYEE #3 SUSTAINED A BACK STRAIN. BE ING IN THE 3 FOOT TRENCH PROBABLY SAVED THEIR LIVES. EMPLOYEE #1 WAS KILLED AS T HE "T" BEAM STRUCK HIM AS IT FELL, CRUSHING HIS BACK FROM THE SHOULDER TO PELVIC IDE, 8 INCH THICK, 38 FOOT LONG PRECAST CONCRETE PLANK ONTO PRECAST CONCRETE BEA AREA. MS. ONE BEAM WAS 30 INCHES WIDE, 16 INCHES THICK AND 31 FEET LONG. THE OTHER BEA M WAS OF AN INVERTED "T" CONFIGURATION AND 40 INCHES WIDE, 24 INCHES THICK AND 3 0 1/2 FEET LONG. A 5 INCH X 8 1/8 INCH NOTCH RAN THE LENGTH OF THE BEAM AT EACH UPPER CORNER. EACH BEAM WAS SUPPORTED BY COLUMNS, 16 X 16 INCHES AND 20 FEET HIG H. THESE PLANKS WERE TO FORM THE UPPER, OR ROOF, DECK OF THE BUILDING. A MEZZANI NE FLOOR, OF PRECAST PLANK RESTING ON CONCRETE BLOCK WALLS, HAD BEEN SET EARLIER IN THE DAY. THE MEZZANINE FLOOR WAS DIRECTLY BELOW THE PLANK BEING PLACED AT TH
Victims (3)
-
#1 Fatality Age 48 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 5
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 8
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 11
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 32 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 16
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 8
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 11
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Non-hospitalized injury Age 33 M
- Nature of injury
- 20
- Part of body
- 3
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 8
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 11
- Environmental factor
- 6
- 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.