Abstract: On June 9, 2005, an employee was removing a fall protection system bracket that was attached at the top of a corner of a two story house under construction. He had his right foot on a window sill of second floor and his left foot on a temporary 2 by 4 top rail of a balcony. The employee was removing the last bolt, while he was holding the bracket with his left hand to prevent it from falling. Suddenly, the 2 by 4 rail broke under his weight, and he fell to the ground. There was only one extension ladder at the site, and it was being used by the employer's framers. The employee was paid piece rate. He was paid $60.00 per one fall protection system assembly and $40.00 per one fall protection dismantling; as a result, he could not afford to stand around and wait for the framers to finish with the ladder. The employee proceeded to dismantle the bracket, while working from the unprotected side of the two story house. He was not using any conventional fall protection, such as personal fall protection system, a scaffold, or an aerial device. The employee was transported to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was hospitalized for 7 days. He sustained an L3 burst fracture with right extremity radiculopathy.