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: 1669167.015 - Manu'A Development Services

Inspection Information - Office: Honolulu Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 8:30 a.m. on May 2, 2023, an employee working as a carpenter for building contractor was affixing a platform for a second level scaffold to the scaffold frame. A witness stated that the employee was using a hammer and nails to attach the wooden scaffolding platform to the scaffold support when he fell through the opening between the scaffolding and the second story of the building. The witness stated the employee was not on the scaffold, but rather leaning out over it from the second level opening that led out to the second level supported wooden scaffold. There was an opening of 38 inches between the side of the building and the scaffold platform that the employee was attaching. He fell 14 feet to the concrete floor below. The Chief Medical Officer who signed the Death Certificate stated that the injuries were consistent with falling from a leaning out posture. All of the employee's ribs were broken, implying that he fell in a prone position, with his chest hitting the concrete. The employee died as a result of his injuries.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Broken Bone, Carpenter, Chest, Concrete, Construction, Fall, Fall From Elevation, Fall Protection, Fracture, Harness, Installing, Insufficient Supervision, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Leaning over, PPE, PPE Hazard Assessment, Rib, Scaffold, Work Surface