Fatality Narrative: Carpet Installer Dies After Falling from Window Opening

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On November 12, 2009, a carpet installer died when he fell from the fourth floor window opening of a building. The 45-year-old victim had worked as a carpet layer for over 20 years. He was hired by a flooring contractor to install carpeting in a new hotel. The victim was unloading carpet rolls from a three-sided wooden box through the unfinished window opening. The box was raised to the window on a reach forklift. The window opening was approximately 5 feet wide by 5 feet high with a sill height of 26 inches. The 2x4 toprail had been removed in order to get the carpet through the window. Each roll weighed 80 lb. and stuck out about 30 inches from the work box. While attempting to unload a roll of carpet, the victim put one foot on the window sill and one foot on a roll of carpet. He then put both feet on the carpet roll, causing him to fall along with the carpet to the ground 32 feet below. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accidental Falls
  • Accidents
  • Construction Industry
  • Construction Materials
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • Safety
  • Staff Development
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Floors
  • Falls
  • Fall protection
  • Forklifts
  • Construction materials
  • Training
  • Safety
  • Safety equipment
  • Safety measures
  • Safety practices
  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• 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:20051579
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-112-2012, 2012 Aug; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: carpet installer dies after falling from window opening
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228761/cdc_228761_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 128.99 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:acf4ea2e6ca4fb731f992ec2c622120147dfc23405d6179208c8e97323facc2ba80428aa820a9482a4be48266dd89326c523070848292f7efea245076b04ebeb