Bridge Inspector Dies After Falling From Seawall

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boyle, Debora ; Parker, David L. ; Wahl, George
• Corporate Authors:
  Minnesota Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Program (MN FACE) ; Minnesota. Department of Health
• Description:
  A 56-year old bridge inspector drowned after falling from a seawall. The victim and a coworker were inspecting a highway bridge over a waterway that connected two bays of a large lake. Although life vests were available in the inspectors vehicle, they were not being worn at the time of the incident. The bridge inspectors were working at ground level on one side of the waterway. A concrete seawall existed along the edge of the waterway. The top of the seawall was wet and slippery due to waves striking it and due to the growth of algae in the water. The inspectors were looking for evidence of structural deterioration in the concrete portions of the bridge. After inspecting the underside of the bridge furthest from the waterway, the victim walked to the edge of the water while the coworker remained in an area away from the waterway. The victim stepped onto the seawall and stood on it with his back toward the water. He was wearing a pair of general purpose "tennis" type shoes. The coworker did not see the victim fall from the seawall but heard the victim strike the water. The coworker rushed to the edge of the water and briefly saw the victim in the water before he disappeared beneath the surface. Rescue personnel were called to the scene and located the victim under water. Resuscitation efforts were performed as the victim was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. MN FACE investigators concluded that to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences, employers should: 1. ensure that personal flotation devices are available and used when employees work near or over water where the danger of drowning exists
  
  and 2. ensure that footwear appropriate for the work environment is available and worn by employees.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Safety Safety Management Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 5 Personal-protection Protective-equipment Protective-measures Safety-clothing Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Falls
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE95MN050
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027515
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2012-108963
• 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 95MN050, 1996 Feb ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Performing Organization:
  Minnesota Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  48-49 - Transportation and Warehousing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:58d2a252523efe21c256a1837ca766936027a624db082f1acdf8c4a239ebac9ca228075cdbd8ef1216e0799e96db75e5b111a9607544d99501894c0dcc0dc6d9
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/167159/cdc_167159_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 66.14 KB ]