Inspection Detail

Inspection: 119908507 - J. G. Berry Drywall Company

Inspection Information - Office: Labor Enforcement Task Force (Letf) Unit - South

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, the owner of J. G. Berry Drywall Company, was removing drywall in the south-return air riser of a building, to allow access to the exterior building panel in the southwest corner. At the request of the welders, who were re-attaching the exterior building panels, Employee #1 stepped into the shaft of the building to enlarge an opening in the drywall. He used a 1-inch piece of drywall as a platform to stand on while removing the additional section of shaft wall. As he prepared to exit the shaft, the piece of drywall he was standing on snapped and he fell, feet first, about 26 ft to the bottom of the shaft on the ground floor. During his fall, he broke through two horizontal 16-gauge metal studs used as spacers between the interior shaft wall and the exterior panel wall of the building, which may have slowed his descent. Employee #1 was hospitalized for fractures.

Keywords: FRACTURE, SHAFT, FALL