Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126169762 - Alpha Property Management Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

On June 8, 2000, Employee #1, the manager and maintenance supervisor of an apartment complex, responded to several resident complaints of someone trespassing and yelling from the roof. He and a coworker investigated, found no one on the roof, and re-entered the building. As they went through the door from the light of day to the darkness of the stairway, they could hardly see because there was no lighting fixture in the area. Employee #1 began to walk down the 45 1/2 in. wide stairway. There was a handrail only on one side and when he tried to reach for the railing with both hands he missed and step and fell to the bottom of the flight of stairs. Employee #1 sustained multiple contusions, muscle strains, and sprains, especially to his back. The Fire Department responded and transported him to the Los Angeles Count/USC Medical Center for treatment. Causal factors in this accident were the lack of handrails on each side of the stairway, and the lack of adequate lighting in the stairway accessing the roof. The employer was cited for a serious violation of T8CCR 3214(a), for the lack of stair rails and handrails, and for a general violation of T8CCR 3317(a), for the lack of lighting.

Keywords: STAIR, WORK RULES, LIGHTING FIXTURE, DESCENDING, HANDRAIL, LIGHTING, FALL, CONTUSION, POOR VISIBILITY