Inspection Detail

Inspection: 104391644 - G & O General Contractors, Inc.

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

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 and a coworker were painting span #8 between piers #7 and #8 at the end of a structural steel bridge over the Potomac River. They were returning to work from lunch to paint the east bay end. They descended a ladder from the top of the bridge (the roadway) to pier #7 and to the east bay, picking up their paint and thinner from a platform at the center bay. The coworker was carrying a 5-gallon bucket of paint and one of thinner, while Employee #1 had a 5-gallon bucket of paint. Both were wearing safety belts with a single lanyard attached to a safety line in the center of the bay. They left pier #7 and began walking toward the east bay, heading for a platform located on the south side of pier #8. They were walking on horizontal struts that looked like an inverted T and zigzagging between girders. An expansion joint with a cross brace on either side of it was 26 ft north of pier #7. The cross braces were approximately 4 ft apart at each cross brace superstructure. The employees had to unhook their lanyards, cross over the cross brace, and rehook the lanyard on the other side. The buckets of paint and thinner, which were attached to the safety line with S-hooks, were pulled behind the employees. Each was unhooked, moved past the cross brace, and rehooked on the other side. The coworker was approximately 20 ft in front of Employee #1 when he heard a sound. He turned back and saw him in mid-air at about treetop height. The employee fell approximately 75 ft from the bridge, striking against rocks near the water's edge. He died of multiple injuries. The company's safety training for employees includes the president watching them and telling them when they did something wrong. Although the coworker did not see Employee #1 fall, it probably happened at the expansion joint when his paint bucket was unhooked at the same time his lanyard was unhooked.

Keywords: WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, BRIDGE