Inspection Detail

Inspection: 120138433 - Golden State Overhead Garage Doors Inc

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At about 10:30 a.m. on April 8, 2000, Employee #1, a garage door installer, was seriously injured when he fell about 16 ft while unloading materials from his truck, parked on an elevated driveway of a newly constructed two to three story hillside home. The grade sloped away from the street and the driveway had drop off on both sides. The concrete driveway was recently poured (on April 3, 2000) and the guard railings had not been yet installed. Employee #1 had parked his truck about 4-6 ft back from the garage door opening and about 4-5 ft from the left edge of the elevated driveway. After carrying the door tracks and associated installation hardware into the garage, he walked to the left side of his truck and placed the right end on the driveway. As he was backing away from the panels, he stepped backwards off the driveway and fell face first to the ground. Employee #1 struck a vertical PVC pipe with his chest before hitting a pile of dirt with both hands in front of him to break his fall. He felt pain in his left arm as he crawled up the hill. He walked next door to a neighbor and called his office. Three coworkers arrived and one of them drove him to a local Trauma Center where he was hospitalized. The next day Employee #1 had an operation to repair his left wrist.

Keywords: FRACTURE, GUARDRAIL, CONSTRUCTION, FALL, CONCRETE, WRIST