Inspection Detail

Note: The following inspection has not been indicated as closed. OSHA citation items will be posted 30 (thirty) days after the employer receives the citation(s), except in cases of significant public interest. Posted citation items reflect any amendments to citations that are the result of a prompt settlement, which OSHA encourages. Employers and employee representatives will continue to receive copies of the citation(s) upon issuance.

Inspection: 1500974.015 - Raul Antonio Herrera Leiva

Inspection Information - Office: Tennessee Osha Nashville Office - Safety

Investigation Summary

At 10:45 a.m. on November 2, 2020, Employee #1 and a coworker, employed by a construction company, were working at a new five-story multifamily residential building, a multi-employer construction project. They were installing OSB (oriented strand board) engineered wood panels to the exterior of the building. Employee #1 was working inside the building on the fourth level, taking measurements and making cuts in 4 by 8 foot sheets of OSB. His coworker was outside of the building in an aerial lift. Employee #1 was passing the sheets of OSB to the coworker in the aerial lift through wall openings and over guardrails. Employee #1 removed the top rail of a guardrail that had been installed in the doorway leading to a landing for an unfinished stairway on the fourth level of the building. The landing had been blocked off by a mid rail and top rail to prevent access to the landing, which was approximately 5 feet wide and had an unprotected side that measured approximately 8 feet 7.5 inches in length. As Employee #1 attempted to pick up the OSB sheet and pass it out of the window opening in the landing area, he lost his balance and fell backward over the unprotected side of the landing. He fell to the basement's concrete floor below, a fall height of 42 feet 7.5 inches. As he fell, he struck and broke diagonal 2 by 4 wood bracing that had been installed to keep walls plumb in the unfinished stairway. Employee #1 sustained a head injury and additional injuries to his arms and legs. Emergency medical personnel transported Employee #1 to the hospital, where he died later that day.

Keywords: Arm, Blunt force trauma, Bracing, Concrete, Dismantling, Fall, Fall Protection, Fracture, Guardrail, Head, Installing, Leg, Lost Balance, Material Handling, Multi-employer Worksite, Residential Construction, Stair Landing, Struck Against, Unguarded Fl Opening, Unprotected, Wall, Wood Panel