Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108455.015 - Bjb Properties, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Chicago North Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on October 31, 2011, , Employee #1, a 53 year old maintenance person, was exiting the crawl space on the twelfth floor of the residential building he worked in using a 10 foot A-Frame ladder in a collapsed position, similar to a straight ladder. The employee was turning the water back on to a tier of the building that had been turned off to fix a water leak. While climbing down, the ladder slipped, pivoted, and fell over the twelfth floor railing and the ladder straddled the railing and extended into the light well. The employee fell approximately 110 feet down the light well from the twelfth floor to land on a concrete step in the first floor stairway. The employee's body fell down the first floor stairway and came to rest at the bottom level of the building. There were no witnesses to the accident. The employee died that same day as a result of multiple injuries sustained during the fall. Factors that contributed to the accident include the use of a ladder for other than its intended purpose, as well as poor and unsafe condition of the same ladder.

Keywords: Access/Egress, Fall, Ladder