Falling Portable Scaffold Kills Carpenter

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hetzler, William E. ; Hirsh, Gary L.
• Corporate Authors:
  Nebraska Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program (Nebraska FACE) ; Nebraska. Department of Labor
• Description:
  A 37-year-old carpenter was killed when the wooden portable scaffold he was working on collapsed. He was crushed under the scaffold and the load that was on it. The victim and a coworker were both on the scaffold which was on the forks of a hydraulic lift. The lift had the scaffold raised approximately 25 feet. Both individuals were installing sheathing and plywood to the side of an apartment complex when the incident occurred. The load on the scaffold was too heavy for the way it was attached to the hydraulic lift. The wood around the forks of the lift snapped, causing the scaffold and the two individuals to fall. Personnel on site called 911 and the victim was life-flighted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other worker fell clear of the scaffold and was not severely injured. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital. The Nebraska Department of Labor Investigator concluded that to prevent future similar occurrences: 1. Employers should not use "homemade" scaffolds on lifting devices. 2. Employers should ensure scaffold platforms are securely fastened to the lifting device they are attached to. 3. Employers should develop, implement and enforce a comprehensive safety program that includes, but is not limited to, training in all hazard recognition and abatement.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-workers Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 7 Protective-measures Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-programs Scaffolds Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction ; Falls ; Machine (All) ; Machine - Manufacturing ; Falls - Construction - Residential ; Falls - Construction - Scaffolds
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE98NE032
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Nebraska ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027889
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-100723
• 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 98NE032, 1998 Dec ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Performing Organization:
  Nebraska Department of Labor
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1993/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ee654fd4aa078d01c4e5dacb7be601916cde2b9890cb17e77372ac5bd65d5a97328d56f772cf09c1511ca43def532e27b0a5d7b4bca879cb8724829b517d4adf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166995/cdc_166995_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 37.57 KB ]