Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18522920 - Bassett-Walker, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Raleigh

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a salesman for Mobay Corporation, a textile and paper dye manufacturer, was visiting a plant in Kinston, NC. The empty building had recently been purchased by Bassett Walker, Inc. Employee #1 and the plant manager for Bassett Walker went to a second floor office to use a telephone. To get to that floor, the men climbed a stairway that was open on the left side ascending to a stair platform 12 ft above the ground floor. The platform was equipped with a 32 1/2 in. high top rail and the middle rail had been removed. A 45 in. length of the top rail had been cut through prior to Bassett Walker purchasing the building to allow removal of office furniture from the second floor. The rail had been put back in place by inserting a smaller diameter, 4 in. long pipe sleeve in each end of the rail and sliding the sleeve to where it held the section in place. Holes had been drilled in the sleeves and top rail so that bolts could be inserted to prevent the sleeve from moving. After completing a phone call, Employee #1 and the plant manager approached the stair landing. The plant manager went back into the office to retrieve the telephone while Employee #1 continued to the stair landing. According to a witness, Employee #1 was backing out of the hall and was reaching back with his right hand, apparently to locate the handrail. He backed into the top rail and flipped over the rail, falling 12 ft to a concrete floor. Employee #1 was transported to the hospital, where he died of a fractured skull early the next morning.

Keywords: FRACTURE, RAIL, STAIR LANDING, SKULL, FALL, WALKING BACKWARD, INATTENTION, OVERTURN