Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 130895.015 - Employee dies after falling down unfinished stairway
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
1500974.015 | 11/03/2020 | 238130 | Raul Antonio Herrera Leiva |
Abstract: At 10:45 a.m. on November 2, 2020, Employee #1 and a coworker, employed by a construction company, were working at a new five-story multifamily residential building, a multi-employer construction project. They were installing OSB (oriented strand board) engineered wood panels to the exterior of the building. Employee #1 was working inside the building on the fourth level, taking measurements and making cuts in 4 by 8 foot sheets of OSB. His coworker was outside of the building in an aerial lift. Employee #1 was passing the sheets of OSB to the coworker in the aerial lift through wall openings and over guardrails. Employee #1 removed the top rail of a guardrail that had been installed in the doorway leading to a landing for an unfinished stairway on the fourth level of the building. The landing had been blocked off by a mid rail and top rail to prevent access to the landing, which was approximately 5 feet wide and had an unprotected side that measured approximately 8 feet 7.5 inches in length. As Employee #1 attempted to pick up the OSB sheet and pass it out of the window opening in the landing area, he lost his balance and fell backward over the unprotected side of the landing. He fell to the basement's concrete floor below, a fall height of 42 feet 7.5 inches. As he fell, he struck and broke diagonal 2 by 4 wood bracing that had been installed to keep walls plumb in the unfinished stairway. Employee #1 sustained a head injury and additional injuries to his arms and legs. Emergency medical personnel transported Employee #1 to the hospital, where he died later that day.
End Use | Project Type | Project Cost | Stories | Non-building Height | Fatality | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Multi-family dwelling | New project or new addition | 5 | X |
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation | Construction |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1500974.015 | 22 | M | Fatality | Construction Laborer | Distance of Fall: 43 feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 43 feet Cause: Exterior carpentry Fatality Cause: |