Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1422802.015 - Aspen Rayn Enterprises, Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Houston South Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:00 p.m. on July 29, 2019, three employees were working for a structural steel and precast concrete contractor. They were working at a roofing project going on at an existing commercial building, a lodge. Employee #1 was working as a construction laborer. He was on the roof, guiding insulated roof panels into place for securing into steel beams with self-tapping bolts. He was working approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters) above a concrete surface. Each of the other workers, Employees #2 and #3, was in a scissor lift being used to lift the panels into place for securing. Working in unison, the scissor lifts were lifting the roof panel into position to fasten to the peak first and then to the outside wall edge. The roof panel nearest the exterior wall was less than 10 feet (3.1 meters) from an overhead power line energized at 7,620 volts. (Another source said that the conductor was energized at 13.2 kV.) There was an arc from the power line to the roof panel. All three employees received an electric shock and burn injuries. Employee 1 fell from the roof onto concrete approximately 25 feet (7.6 meters) below. The fall was captured on a security camera video. Employees #2 and #3 in the scissor lifts received electrical burn injuries. They were treated and released at a local hospital. Employee #1, the employee who fell to the concrete from the roof, was life flighted to large public university's medical school teaching hospital. He was put into a medically induced coma to allow for stabilizing prior to treatment. He suffered several injuries. Among them were multiple fractures of the right leg and arm, numerous broken facial bones, severely damaged lungs, a torn aorta, and possible spinal damage. He was hospitalized for two or more days.

Keywords: Arm, Broken Bone, Cardiovasc System, Commercial Building, Construction, E C (construction), Electric Shock, Electrical, Emergency Response, Energized, Face, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Fracture, Heart, KV (Kilovolts), Leg, Lung, Overhead Power Line, Power Lines, Renovation, Reporting, Roof, Roofer, Scissor lift, Spine, Training, Unconsciousness, Unprotected, Untrained, Vertebra, Walking Surface, Work at Elevation