Fatality Narrative: Painter/Rigger Falls 200 Feet from Bridge into River

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On October 7, 2012, a 40-year-old journeyman painter/rigger died when he fell from a bridge. The incident happened at a bridge over a large river where the steel superstructure was being cleaned and painted. The employer had been working on the bridge for over two years. The victim had 21 years of experience as a rigger and painter, 15 years of that with the employer, and he had been working on this project for over a year. On the day of the incident the victim was part of a crew rigging cables and tarps to create debris containment areas. Crews would later work in those areas using high-pressure air hoses to blast away rust and old paint from the bridge's steel superstructure. The victim was working from a temporary deck located alongside the bridge and about six feet below the main bridge deck. He was rigging a safety cable along the outside of the deck to serve as a horizontal lifeline to which workers could tie off. There was a safety cable at about head height; the victim was rigging another cable beneath it at mid-body level. Another rigger was feeding out cable to the victim as he strung it out by walking along the deck. When the victim got to the end of the cable he climbed up on a partially collapsed containment area tarp positioned over the deck to reach an anchor in order to secure the cable. As he did so, he lost his balance and fell off the side of the deck. He landed in the river 200 feet below. His body was found four weeks later. An examination of the victim's body by investigators revealed that he was wearing a personal fall arrest system consisting of a full body harness with two lanyards and the appropriate connectors. His system was found to be in working condition, which indicates that he was not tied off when he fell. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Education Occupational Health Paint Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Construction Construction Workers Fall Protection Falls Harnesses Hazards Painters Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Safety Equipment Safety Measures Safety Practices Training Work Environment Workers

  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051499
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-127-2014, 2014 Jan; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: painter/rigger falls 200 feet from bridge into river
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d9177fc5420f7c384e06d0d6dbb166853b19bdf36f63be3ee2b22c7baae049ec06ab36c5f912a062147d1e000162581007d50e54de12b2801ca8a7bfd0d9e79e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228745/cdc_228745_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 289.58 KB ]