Inspection Detail

Inspection: 101315018 - Bennett & Kohnweiler Asset Mgmt. Co.

Inspection Information - Office: Chicago South Area Office

Investigation Summary

On July 31, 1987, Employee #1 intended to use a manually-operated elevator in order to leave his office. Employee #1 normally used the manually-operated elevator as a way of transportation to and from his office on the 11th floor. Since the elevator was manually operated, it could not be accessed by a call button, except the fire key. The elevator would normally stay where Employee #1 had left it until the next time he went to use it. Employee #1 would have to bypass a safety interlock on the outer doors with a coat hanger-type device to access the elevator. On July 31, 1987, the day of the accident, Employee #1 used the elevator to get to his office on the 11th floor. When he wanted to leave the office, he "jammed" the outer doors open and stepped into what he supposed was his elevator. The elevator wasn't there and Employee #1 stepped into the empty shaft and fell, sustaining multiple injuries that proved fatal. There was a bank of fully automatic elevators only 15 feet away that Employee #1 could have used. Employee #1 should not have been using an elevator which required him to bypass safety interlocks in order to use it.

Keywords: FRACTURE, INTERLOCK, SHAFT, FALL, ELEVATOR