A Custodian Dies When He Falls Off a Step Ladder

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cierpich, Hank ; Harrison, Robert ; Styles, Laura
• Corporate Authors:
  California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (CA/FACE) ; California. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Branch
• Description:
  A 68-year-old custodian for a school district died from head injuries when he fell off a seven-foot step ladder while washing windows at a middle school gymnasium. The tops of the windows were approximately 15 feet from ground level. He was part of a three-man maintenance crew preparing the school grounds for the beginning of the school year. The fall was unwitnessed. A co-worker found the victim at the base of the ladder and called 911. There were no records available to indicate employees received specific training on procedures for best practices and required tools to use when cleaning windows. The CA/FACE investigator determined that, in order to prevent future incidents, employers of maintenance workers should: 1. Ensure that the proper tools are available and used for jobs elevated above ground level. 2. Ensure that employees receive documented training on procedures that incorporate best practices and tools used for specific tasks. 3. Consider establishing a medical program to evaluate underlying health problems among workers who work on ladders.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidental Falls
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Education
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Environmental Pollution
  • Hazardous Substances
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  More +
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 9
  • Mortality-data
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Safety monitoring
  • Safety practices
  • Protective measures
  • Ladders
  • Tools
  • Medical screening
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Falls ; Hispanic ; Foreign Born Workers
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE16CA006
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052854
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-101641
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 16CA006, 2017 Oct ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  California Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  61 - Educational Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Resource Number:
  FACE-16CA006
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164978/cdc_164978_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 508.58 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d13bd4f877d9dc616d0828bb1d1b7f2a4984943cffa95270fa4e17304b704c47284a9c81eedb04c67c30478dd315c085abc9d78072ae1df58a8df2c6189d20b2