Unsafe Access Leads to Death on Suspended Scaffold

Case Report from OSHA files An employee was restoring a building's exterior. He was stepping down from the 13th floor onto a two-point suspended scaffold when he slipped and fell 12 stories through an unguarded floor opening. He had failed to connect his safety belt to the lifeline. In addition, the scaffold did not have a guardrail on the side facing the building, where there was a 2½-foot-wide opening between the building and the scaffold created by indented window arches. The victim died from his injuries.