Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 130583.015 - Employee walking backward on roof falls through roof hatch a
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
1498930.015 | 10/22/2020 | 238990 | Western Waterproofing Company, Inc. |
Abstract: At 1:15 p.m. on October 20, 2020, an employee was working as a brick mason and stonemason for a waterproofing service. The firm was installing HVAC and associated equipment on the flat roof of a commercial building. This was a maintenance or repair project. A crew of four workers was moving a swing stage scaffold from an upper roof to a lower roof section. Two workers were on the upper section and two were on the lower section. The two workers on the lower section were the employee and one of his coworkers. They were carrying a support beam for the swing stage scaffold, with one worker on each end of the beam. The beam was 24 feet (7.3-meters) long. The workers were walking backward. The employee and his coworker were working about 17 feet (5.2 m) away from the edge of the roof. The coworker stopped walking, because he thought they were where they needed to be. The employee, who was the nearer of the two to the edge of the roof, continued to walk backward. He fell through an open roof hatch used to access the roof. He fell 17 feet (5.2 m) and suffered head injuries when he landed on the floor. He was hospitalized. The employees were not using personal fall arrest systems. No guardrails were erected between the employees and the edge of the roof. The hole created by the roof access was not covered, and no guard rails had been erected around its opening. No safety nets were installed. The employer did not ensure that the employees were protected from falling through the roof hatch by personal fall arrest systems, covers, or guardrail systems. The foreman was on the roof line above the injured employee. He was directing the activities involving the movement of the swing stage scaffold. He was in a position to see the hazard, but he did not take the necessary steps to abate or minimize the hazard. The roof hatch was equipped with an alarm. According to the security logs the hatch had been open since approximately 9:00 a.m.
End Use | Project Type | Project Cost | Stories | Non-building Height | Fatality | ||
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Commercial building | Maintenance or repair | 1 |
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation | Construction |
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1 | 1498930.015 | 42 | M | Hospitalized injury | Brickmasons and stonemasons | Distance of Fall: 17 feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 17 feet Cause: Installing equipment (HVAC and other) Fatality Cause: |