Abstract: On December 5, 2005, Employee #1 was working as a window washer at a two-story residential building. Employee #1 was cleaning the outside panel of a double-hung window on the second floor, 12 ft above a wooden deck on the first floor. Employee # 1 admitted he had been trained to use a ladder for cleaning such windows and had been provided with ladders and safety devices, but he chose not to use them! Employee #1 was sitting on the window sill, holding on with one hand to the bottom sash of the lower panel. Employee #1 was not wearing safety devices and there was no window cleaning safety anchors. At approximately 12:08 p.m., Employee #1 tried to climb back into the room and found the lower panel was jammed. Employee #1 tried to open the lower sash of the jammed window, which apparently had dry rot. The sash broke and Employee #1 fell backward onto the deck with his back against a chair. Both the home owner and a coworker were on the same floor but in different rooms. The home owner called the emergency services and Employee #1 was transported to the hospital. Employee #1 was hospitalized and underwent two surgeries for his broken back.