State FACE Fatality Narrative: Laborer Falls Through Guardrail [Washington]

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 27-year-old construction laborer died when he fell 14 feet through a guardrail while unloading a telehandler from a second-floor balcony. He had worked for his employer, a general contractor, for nine months as a laborer and carpenter. He was with two coworkers at a new construction, multi-apartment complex. He was unloading boxes from the elevated forks of a telehandler to the balcony. The open edge of the balcony had a temporary guardrail made of a pair of two-by-six-inch boards. The boards were fastened with wood screws to supporting posts 10 feet apart at opposite ends of the balcony. His coworkers were working on the ground floor when they heard a loud cracking noise. One of them turned toward the noise and saw the laborer falling headfirst from the balcony to the pavement below. They found him on his back badly injured with two pieces of railing near him. They then contacted their supervisor who called 911. First responders arrived and began CPR. A few minutes later they declared the worker dead at the scene. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS - Following the incident, investigators found: 1) The pair of two-by-six-inch wood guardrails did not have a mid-way post for their 10-foot span as required for a span of more than eight feet. The guardrails were fastened to the front of the supporting posts of the balcony using just one two-and-a-half-inch wood screw on each end. The actual thickness of the nominal two-by-six-inch board is one inch and three-quarters, which allowed only a half inch of the screw to thread into the post. One of the boards also had a screw that was not fully seated into it. 2) The worker weighed over 300 pounds, but the guardrails were unable to withstand at least a 200-pound outward load applied to them, as required. 3) The site supervisor did not check the guardrail installation, nor did he know who had installed them. REQUIREMENTS - Employers must: When employees are exposed to fall hazards of four feet or more to the ground or lower level, provide a standard guardrail system, or the equivalent, on all open sides, except where there is entrance to a ramp, stairway, or ladder. The guardrail must be provided with a standard toeboard wherever: Beneath the open sides, persons can pass, there is moving machinery, or there is equipment with which falling materials could create a hazard. RECOMMENDATIONS - FACE investigators concluded, that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1) Perform a pre-job review of guardrail requirements with workers. Have supervisors review and ensure that workers understand specific guardrail requirements at the job site before they begin work. 2) Inspect guardrail systems before and during work. Arrive on-site each day before work begins or appoint a supervisor to check that guardrails are installed according to requirements. Do not begin work until requirements are met. Spot check guardrails throughout the day to ensure they are in good condition. 3) Make fall prevention a company priority. Emphasize fall protection in one-on-one worker check-in meetings, daily crew meetings, monthly safety meetings, annual stand-downs, and company media. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accidental Falls
  • Construction Industry
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Fatalities; Safety education; Falls; Construction; Fall protection; Safety equipment
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  All (0000) ; Construction (0005) ; Falls (0007) ; Falls - Construction - Commercial (0020)
• Source:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-277-2026s, 2026 Apr; :1-21
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• Document Type:
  Still Image
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Presentation
• Place as Subject:
  San Francisco Region OSHA ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071608
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  236115 - New Single - (NAICS 2022)
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259383/cdc_259383_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.06 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:514f10935b21cb167e8fa125e1ed79cf0ef8ed8621e938bf528e9b109e65ec81acf8fa3f438638c6133b5aa1280301dd06c2cae3b88af35c008b63c193c13adf