UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 8:00 a.m. on December 9, 2020, Employee #1 and coworkers, employed by a const ruction company, were engaged in installing roof decking for a new three-story c oncrete commercial building. Employee #1 was sitting on a riding anchor cart th at was used for fall protection and preparing to fasten joist corners to secure a decking panel and pin the decking lap seam. A coworker was operating a "Mex-M aster" modified articulating lift with a hydraulic component to raise a new deck ing panel. The hydraulics on the lift failed to make a clean release, causing a joist to deflect. As coworkers applied tension to the joist in an attempt to m ove it into the proper position, a 5-inch gap appeared between the newly placed decks that compromised the decking's structural integrity. Employee #1 had been 60 feet away, but he apparently drove the anchor cart over to the area where th e problem was. The decking gave way, and Employee #1 and the anchor cart fell 4 1 feet. Emergency services transported Employee #1 to the hospital for treatmen t of traumatic head and neck injuries and a fractured leg. He died at the hospi tal six days later.