Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104375217 - C & G Lamotte Masonry, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

On October 3, 1988, Employee #1 was using a Pettibone Corp. Extendo lift, model B-66 5-113, to place and remove materials on scaffolding for use by coworkers who were erecting a facing wall on the rear of a two-story home that was under construction. The employee was going to retrieve a partially full mud pan of cement from the scaffold and use it to erect bricks on the front of the house. As he approached the scaffolding with the boom extended 12 ft, the lift stalled and then began rolling backward away from the house. The employee had not set the lift's parking brakes because he had not planned to stop. He tried to restart the engine as the lift, with the boom still extended, continued downslope. Apparently, the employee then turned the lift, causing it to overturn. He jumped or was expelled to the ground by the momentum of the overturning lift, sustaining fractures, lacerations, and a cracked neck vertebra. He was hospitalized for nine days. The lift had ROPS, a covered canopy, and a seat belt, although it was not being used at the time of the accident. Employee #1 had 20 years of experience operating this type of equipment. He had received training, but the employer had no organized program in place to ensure compliance with this training.

Keywords: FRACTURE, IND TRK OPERATOR, BRAKE, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, INDUSTRIAL TRUCK, LACERATION, SEAT BELT, MECH MALFUNCTION, OVERTURN