Abstract: At approximately 6:00 a.m. on October 23, 1997, Employee #1, working alone, was taking down a flag from a flagpole with a rope hoist. He was either standing on a Werner 8 ft aluminum stepladder or on the concrete surface when he lost his footing and fell backward, striking his head on the concrete. Another employee coming into work noticed the ladder in front of the building and saw an arm reaching for the ladder. She found Employee #1 in a sitting position, leaning up against the building column. The coworker went to the intercom and requested help. Employee #1 told another coworker that he did not fall from the ladder and that he felt dizzy. Both coworkers noticed profuse bleeding from the back of Employee #1's head, but he was conversant when he left the accident site. Employee #1 was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. He died at approximately 10:00 p.m. that same day, as a result of blunt head trauma.