Sign Erector Dies in Falling 90 Feet from a Ladder Hung over a Billboard in Massachusetts

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health. Occupational Health Surveillance Program
• Description:
  A 39 year old male, owner/operator of a sign company (victim) died after falling 90 feet from a ladder suspended from a billboard on which he was working. The victim, his son (age 19) and another man (co-workers) were changing the billboard advertisement. The victim was standing on a 25-30 foot ladder which was hooked over the top of the billboard, while the others worked on the opposite side of the billboard. Witnesses from a nearby gas station and electric utility company stated they saw the victim "bounce his ladder" to move it to the left and fell off the ladder, then off the platform to the ground below. The victim died from injuries sustained in falling, landing on a rail car below and then the ground. Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries investigators concluded that, in order to prevent future similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure that people working over 25 feet above ground level should be protected from falls with a safety harness, life line and lanyard. 2. Ensure that movable ladders are tied, blocked or otherwise secured to prevent their being displaced. 3. Ensure that work off a platform more than 6 feet over ground level be guarded by a railing on all open sides. 4. Develop and implement safe work procedures and training for workers exposed to fall hazards.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention Ladders OSHA Region 1 Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Protective-measures Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-programs Training Traumatic-injuries Warning-signs Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Falls ; Falls - Construction - Ladders
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE91MA006
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028368
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2013-101704
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 91MA006, 1991 Oct ; :1-3
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1992
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1992/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:96358b2eb139e625cf3664dcfdce6a79b830b31371df24a12fe456747baf0aa0914711ea65fc38c7ff70de1499b320dc0856b071d600bf80ccf0deff774036fc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166750/cdc_166750_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 31.75 KB ]