Abstract: At approximately 3:00 p.m. on March 5, 1997, Employee #1 was welding a staircase to access a new loft in the concrete cylinder room in the pile driving yard. He was using a Werner heavy-duty, industrial aluminum extension ladder, which he had tied to the I-beam of the loft platform, to reach the work area. At the end of work, Employee #1 untied the ladder from the I-beam. He was stepping onto the ladder from the loft platform when it slid backward and he fell approximately 5 ft onto the concrete floor. He sustained a fractured skull, a concussion, a fractured T-12 vertebrae, and a rib contusion. The ladder was neither blocked nor secured to prevent it from becoming displaced. The employer was cited for a violation of T8CCR 1675(j). No supervisor was at the site at the time of accident.