Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126800424 - Ims Masonry

Inspection Information - Office: Utah Division Of Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was part of a crew that had been laying blocks all morning from a three-tiered scaffold. When work was completed on the third level, the crew prepared to move to the fourth level. Employee #1 had bent down to gather his tools when his feet slipped out from under him and he fell toward the outside of the scaffold. He was unable to grab the crossbrace or upright and fell 20 ft to the ground, landing on his back. He remained conscious while coworkers called paramedics. Employee #1 was transported by Life Flight to the Latter Day Saints' Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT, where he was treated for approximately one week with a crushed disc at the L1 vertebra in his lower back, and a fractured right elbow. The scaffolding throughout the site had been properly erected with the exception of missing midrails or top rails to complete the guardrail system. The crew was using cross-bracing throughout except for the top, which had the standard top rails and midrails. Planking was also adequate. Employee #1 had worked for the company for approximately three weeks and it was his second day at the work site. Documented training and orientation was provided by the employer. There were no direct witnesses to the accident.

Keywords: FRACTURE, GUARDRAIL, WORK RULES, SLIP, CONSTRUCTION, BACK, FALL, MIDRAIL, VERTEBRA, SCAFFOLD