Abstract: On December 3, 1999, Employee #1, a bridge painter, was attempting to climb over and down the exterior portion of a recently rehabilitated concrete bridge. He had climbed down a section of aluminum extension ladder which was tied to the parapet wall of the bridge. Then he stepped onto a pic which was 1 ft wide by 20 ft long. This pic had just been put in place by Employee #1 and a coworker. This pic was suspended at each end by 0.75-in. manila rope which was tied to the bridge parapet. The one end utilized a single section of rope while the rope at the other end of the pic was made up of two pieces of rope tied together. When Employee #1 stepped onto the pic, the knot where the two pieces of rope were tied together came apart causing the one end of the pic to fall. Employee #1 fell on his face 55 ft into the shallow creek. He died as the result of massive blunt head trauma. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 was wearing a harness and lanyard though he was not tied off to anything.