Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119542108 - Hagerstown Masonry Contractors, Inc.

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

Investigation Summary

Employees #1 and #2 were working 26 ft 4 in. high on a scaffold that had been erected four frames high and six frames wide. Each frame was 5 ft wide, 7 ft long, and 6 ft 7 in. high. The two employees, who were on the top frame disassembling the scaffold, had removed approximately 30 planks from the top frame and stacked them on two frames at the end of the scaffold. The planks were stacked on the outriggers and the back side of the frames. The three vertical members of the two frames, on the front side, did not have locking pins at the vertical pins; as a result, the front side of the two frames lifted up and the frames flipped over to the back side of the scaffold. Employee #1 fell 26 ft 4 in. to the concrete floor with the stacked planks. He was transported to the hospital and treated for a compression fracture of his vertebrae. Employee #2 fell to the deck of the third frame. He suffered minor abrasions and lacerations to his left forearm. The employer had not provided a competent person to assist with erecting or disassembling the scaffold. The employer had not inspected the scaffold to ensure that it had been erected properly and that all the locking pins were in place.

Keywords: FRACTURE, DISMANTLING, UNSECURED, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, FALL PROTECTION, VERTEBRA, SCAFFOLD, UNSTABLE LOAD