Fatality Narrative: Crane Operator Falls While Descending Crane

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On November 5, 2007, an operating engineer of a crane was fatally injured when he fell while descending a crane. The 49-year-old victim was employed by a specialty trade contractor that supplies cranes and crane operators. He was the operator of a tower crane working on building a multi-level condominium complex. The victim reported to his supervisor that he would be coming down from the crane's cab. The crane's mast was placed inside the concrete elevator shaft of the building. The mast had a ladder and a series of landings inside the structure allowing the operator access to the crane. He climbed down from the cab and apparently attempted to access the building's 6th floor, where there was a temporary 2x4 railing guarding the shaft. The victim attempted to either jump or step across the gap from the crane's mast to the 6th floor, but instead fell unobserved about 70 feet down the elevator shaft. The broken railing was found at the bottom of the shaft. He was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Construction Industry Construction Materials Education Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Prevention Construction Construction Equipment Construction Materials Construction Workers Cranes Equipment Operation Equipment Operators Fall Protection Falls Fatalities Ladders Motor Vehicles Training Traumatic Injuries Work Environment Workers Worker Safety Work Zone

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• 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:20051678
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-83-2009, 2009 May; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: crane operator falls while descending crane
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a64894db7a53b4666f49f229c1c6c251e005d07b5b3267d92d91b49461d8738a32b704fc4b22a5f06ba2e7f8e8a9e32a35c695502498589fb5928059c422ecce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228790/cdc_228790_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 62.30 KB ]