Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1299015.015 - John Campbell

Inspection Information - Office: Madison Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 4:00 p.m. on November 8, 2017, an employee was working for a firm that cleaned windows and gutters. He and a coworker, the company's owner, were at a residence cleaning gutters. The employee was trying to gain access to a residential rooftop. There, he would clean the gutters with an electric leaf blower. He was using a Werner 6.1-meter (20-foot) aluminum extension ladder. In the process, the employee fell approximately 2.9 meters (9 feet, 7 inches) to a concrete patio below. The employee sustained brain bleeding, short term memory loss, a collapsed lung, broken ribs, and a fracture in his spine. He was on life support for approximately two weeks. It is unknown if the injured employee fell from the rooftop or the ladder. There were no witness to the fall. The owner was not within sight when the fall occurred. The employee fell on the first attempt to access the rooftop level. As to the weather, the temperature at the time was 4.4 degrees Celsius (40 degrees Fahrenheit), with 16 kph (10 mph) winds and no precipitation. The employee was not trained on fall protection and safe ladder use. No fall protection was utilized on the site. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: Brain, Cleaning, Fall, Fall Protection, Fracture, Hemorrhage, Ladder, Lung, Rib, Roof, Spine, Walking Surface