Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125618710 - Sf-Dept. Of Recreation & Parks

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:40 a.m. on January 22, 2007, Employee #1, a gardener from the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, was working at the Golden Gate Park. She was trying to prune a branch with a two-year whip. But, due to crowded branches, she could not place the ladder exactly under that branch. The two-year old whip was approximately 2-in. to 3-in. thick, so she could not use a hand clipper to cut it. She took a lopper, Brand: Corona and climbed up a 16-ft aluminum tripod ladder, Stokes, Model Number 1116. The tree was located on a compacted soil area. She positioned herself on the third rung from the top of the ladder, at the height of approximately 13 ft 4 in. As she reached out to her right side to get to the whip, her foot slipped and she lost her balance and fell backward to the ground. Employee #1 sustained three vertical fractures of her sacrum and a compression fracture of her spine at the L1 level. She was hospitalized for five days. The cause of the accident was unsafe work practices, where branches had to be cut off of a 16-ft tripod orchard ladder, utilizing tools and techniques involving both hands. Moreover, the tripod ladder involved in this accident had soil-filled and worn-out pole, and the ground was a compacted soil, which made the ladder even more unstable.

Keywords: FRACTURE, LADDER, SLIP, METAL LADDER, PELVIS, FALL, LOST BALANCE, VERTEBRA, TREE TRIMMING, UNSTABLE POSITION