Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126105998 - Crommie Construction Corp

Inspection Information - Office: Ca Los Angeles

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 31, 2000, Employee #1, a laborer, and a coworker were installing drywall partitions on the second floor of an office renovation site. Employee #1 and the coworker were using a built-up, rolling metal scaffold that had been assembled under the instruction of a supervisor from components of two types of scaffolds, both 29 in. wide and with a total height of approximately 12 ft. The bottom part, painted yellow and with rollers, was 69 in. high by 62 in. long, while the top part, painted black, was 75.5 in. high by 69 in. long. As they worked, the coworker climbed down to get more screws, whereupon the scaffold tipped over and Employee #1 fell to the concrete floor. He suffered a fractured left femur that required surgery to repair. Employee #1 later stated that the bottom and top parts of the makeshift scaffold were tied together with telephone wire and that the scaffold base did not have an outrigger. Since the scaffold sections were of different lengths, the connection points likely did not line up, prompting the sections to be tied together with telephone wire.

Keywords:fracture, mobile scaffold, unsecured, work rules, construction, fall, elevated work plat, work surface, leg, overturn