Abstract: Employee #1, a carpenter, was working on the second level of a home under construction when he apparently stepped on an unsecured 4 by 8 piece of plywood that partially covered the floor opening for the stairway. The plywood acted like a trap door and he fell 21 ft through the opening to the basement. Employee #1 landed on his feet but suffered dorsal and ventral fractures of the lower fibula; a dorsal fracture of the tibia; tears to all the ligaments between his foot and his ankle; two fractured lumbar vertebrae; and three compressed vertebrae, with accompanying ruptured disks. He was transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, CT, where he underwent surgery and was put in a full body cast for his back injuries. Employee #1 had previously suffered brain damage in a non-work auto accident, and he was being observed for possible seizures.