Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1648829.015 - Gga Construction Corp.

Inspection Information - Office: Long Island

Investigation Summary

At 8:30 a.m. on August 29, 2022, an employee was preparing a building site in order to lay out and frame the first-floor interior walls. The employee entered the ground floor carrying a set of plans that he then placed on a piece of plywood atop a waste barrel. He then picked up a broom and began sweeping water out of the building. After placing the broom against a wall, he bent over and lifted one side of the plywood hole cover with both hands, leaving the opposite end of the cover on the floor. The employee did not completely remove the plywood and instead slid it away in front of his path. The plywood cover blocked his downward field of vision. He then stepped forward into the floor hole. Upon stepping into the hole, he dropped the plywood and it landed partially in front of him as he fell. His body appeared to tilt forward causing his forehead and possibly his face to strike the dropped plywood which was resting partially over the opening on the floor. The employee continued to fall 14 feet down into the basement landing on the concrete floor below. He struck the basement floor below and died as a result. The findings in the narrative are based on reviewing coworker interviews, a video and a third-party report.

Keywords:blunt force, blunt force trauma, carpenter, construction, fall, fall from elevation, fall protection, floor hole, framing, head, obstructed view, plywood, safety device, unsecured, work surface