Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1591388.015 - Ashish Goyal

Inspection Information - Office: Oakland District Office

Investigation Summary

At 1:15 p.m. on April 21, 2022, a Contractor was hired by a homeowner of a single-story residential property to perform renovations and build an addition to the existing structure. This involved miscellaneous demolition work and construction of foundations and footings, and framing. The employee and a coworker, his son, were assigned to demolish the existing fireplace and indoor BBQ wall and chimney between the kitchen and the living room. These structures consisted of bricks and cement masonry units structurally supported by a wall. The chimney went through the roof. The employee and coworker were demolishing the wall and chimney from the bottom up inside of the kitchen with a rotary hammer. The upper portion of the chimney fell through the composite shingle roof and landed on top of the employee crushing his torso. The chimney was too heavy to lift off of the employee and the homeowner called 911. The Fire Department responded and found the employee unresponsive. The Contractor was not licensed which meant that the homeowner became the employer. The collapse could have been prevented by demolishing the chimney from the top down and structurally supporting it by shoring, bracing, or other effective means. The employee was killed due to the blunt impact and crushing force on his chest, neck, and lower limbs.

Keywords: Back, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Bracing, Brick, Chest, Chimney, Collapse, Construction, Crushed, Demolition, Falling Object, Inexperience, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Leg, Masonry, Masonry Wall, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Neck, Residential Construction, Shoring, Struck By, Structural Collapse