Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18861765 - Fred M Bowland Jr Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, who had been hired two days before, had previously worked in construction, carpentry, and roofing work. On this day, he stripped and repapered a side porch and then moved to do the same to the back porch. He stripped the old shingles off the porch top, reaching what he could from a ladder. He finally had to climb onto the porch top to remove the remaining shingles. Employee #1 had worked 45 minutes to one hour and was almost done when he felt the porch top pulling away from the house. He had time to turn around, but could not get off before the whole porch top pulled loose from the house and fell 11 ft to the sidewalk. He fell with the porch top to the ground. Paramedics were called and he was taken to University Hospital Shock Trauma Center, where it was determined that he had a broken back. He will be off work six to nine months. Employee #1 said that he checked the porch top when he first got on top of it as did the owner of the business. Both felt that the porch top was sturdy enough from which to work, and the porch roof gave no indication of pulling loose before it gave way. Leg supports had been placed under the existing porch roof; no other safety precautions would have been feasible under the circumstances. The employer took reasonable safety steps before having work done on the porch roof and was not cited.

Keywords: ROOF COLLAPSE, FRACTURE, ROOF, CONSTRUCTION, BACK, FALL