Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201520178 - Two employees injured when struck by falling scaffold

Accident Summary Nr: 201520178 -- Report ID: 0111500 -- Event Date: 08/25/1997
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
123171340	09/22/1997	1741	0	H. Louis Bothwell, Inc.

Abstract: At approximately 2:15 p.m. on August 25, 1997, Employees #1 and #2 were working for H. Louis Bothwell, Inc., a mason contractor, at a residential construction site in New Canaan, CT. They were removing a fieldstone veneer on a foundation adjacent to a tubular welded-frame scaffold, one section high, that was loaded with approximately 25 to 30 concrete blocks. When it started to rain, a coworker began to cover the blocks with a plastic tarp. He was stepping on one of the cross-braces when it disengaged. This removed any lateral support because the brace was not attached on the opposite side of the unit. The scaffold collapsed, striking the two employees dismantling the foundation veneer. Employee #1, the owner's son, fractured his 11th and 12th thoracic vertebrae, resulting in paralysis. Employee #2 suffered a head laceration and a bruised leg. The coworker indicated to the police officer that he had hooked the brace back on but did not remember if he again started climbing the scaffold before it collapsed. There was one broken plank among the debris.

Keywords: FRACTURE, HEAD, PARALYSIS, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, SCAFFOLD COLLAPSE, STRUCK BY, VERTEBRA, TUBULAR SCAFFOLD

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		New project or new addition		$50,000 to $250,000	2

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	123171340			Hospitalized injury	Fracture	Brickmasons and stonemasons	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Exterior masonry Fatality Cause: Struck by falling object/projectile
2	123171340			Hospitalized injury	Cut/Laceration	Brickmasons and stonemasons	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Exterior masonry Fatality Cause: Struck by falling object/projectile

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