Construction Injury Narrative: Roofer Falls 20 Feet Through Rotten Roof [2012]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  A 40-year-old Hispanic day laborer, Juan V.* (*Not the victim's real name), died when he fell from a scaffold. Juan was hired from a street corner to apply stone and stucco to the outside of a house. The victim rented, put together, and worked on the scaffold by himself. The homeowner did not know if Juan had any training in scaffold use. The scaffold was put together without guardrails and the walk board was not attached to the scaffold. There was nothing to prevent Juan from falling. As he reached for a cell phone, the walk board moved and Juan fell twelve feet to the ground. What Went Wrong? Juan may not have known how to safely use a scaffold. The walk board shifted when Juan reached for a cell phone. There was nothing to keep Juan from falling from the scaffold. What Should Be done? Employers (including homeowners) should make sure day laborers are trained in the safe use of scaffolds. The scaffold should be properly erected and the walk board should be secured to the scaffold frame. Employers should make sure day laborers use guardrails or personal fall protection when working on a scaffold. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accidental Falls
  • Accidents
  • Construction Industry
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Injuries
  • Fatalities
  • Injury prevention
  • Construction workers
  • Construction equipment
  • Scaffolds
  • Falls
  • Fall protection
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059448
• Citation:
  Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2012 Oct; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch, FACE Program, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, Third Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  FACE facts: a day laborer dies when he falls from a scaffold
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228944/cdc_228944_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 374.69 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:79d73704b2836c28d08b19d0418298cde843f48f71a589f57ca075aab16b1852915b6b284c7fe116f3d30287401b88a630626a2d0f33ac6f6b654dc39675e4da