UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee #1, a steelworker, and a coworker were at a height of approximately 25 ft, installing steel beams at a construction site. They had just placed a beam and Employee #1 was beginning to bolt it in place. He told the coworker that he did not need help, and the coworker had returned to other tasks when he saw Employee #1 fall from the beam. Employee #1 tried to grab onto another beam about half-way to the ground, but missed and landed on concrete. He suffered head and facial injuries and was transported to the hospital, where he remained in a coma for some period. The fall protection in place required the use of two lanyards and a beamer attached to each lanyard. Workers moving from one place to another were supposed to hook up one lanyard and beamer before disconnecting from where they had been. Employee #1 had on a harness and lanyard, but was not connected to the beamer used to anchor him to the steel. When he fell, one beamer was in place on a beam and the other was on a lanyard hanging from his harness. The company had provided fall protection equipment and training to all exposed workers. The general contractor, Cargill, had also provided training on fall protection to all employees of contractors. The company had training records and records of disciplinary actions taken against workers at this site for not wearing proper fall protection. The employer also had a written policy on fall protection. Coworkers interviewed indicated that the company provided them training and enforced the use of fall protection.