Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 200100576 - Employee killed in fall when thrown from aerial lift basket

Accident Summary Nr: 200100576 -- Report ID: 0522300 -- Event Date: 10/12/1999
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
302509583	10/12/1999	1542	0	Illes Construction Co.

Abstract: Employee #1 was using a Condor 48 ft aerial lift to demolish the back wall of a two-story motel. This process involved removing glass windows and wooden soffits; Employee #1 and his coworkers used bars and the lift basket to pry the soffits from the underhang and wall. On the morning of the accident, they had been using the lift to reach the second floor and to lower windows they had already removed. According to a witness, Employee #1 was thrown from the lift's basket, flew in an arc over the guardrails, and fell, head first, to the pavement. He was killed. Neither Employee #1 nor the other workers who had been using the aerial lift were using body belts or harnesses with lanyards attached to the boom or basket. Coworkers later stated that the lift had been acting erratically. Another coworker believed it "jumped" and responded too rapidly to the controls, but the machine had not removed from service. After the accident, the lift was tested and the platform leveling mechanism failed to respond. This may have been what caused Employee #1 to be thrown from the basket.

Keywords: DEMOLITION, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, MECH MAT HANDLING, AERIAL LIFT CONTROLS, ELEVATED WORK PLAT, MECH MALFUNCTION, AERIAL LIFT

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Commercial building		Demolition		Under $50,000	14		X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	302509583			Fatality	Fracture	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: 14 feet Cause: Demolition Fatality Cause: Fall from/with ladder

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