Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300783487 - Berg Lacquer Co. Dba Ellis Paint

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on September 18, 2003, Employee #1 was working as a maintenance worker with Ellis Paint, in Los Angeles, CA. The firm is an incorporated company that manufactures paint for industrial distribution using mixing, milling, and warehousing operations. Employee #1 had been employed at Ellis Paint as a maintenance worker for ten-and-a-half years. At the time of the incident, he was working with his coworker to install an approximately 8-foot by 4-foot piece of drywall in the firm's new laboratory area. Working from stepladders, the two ascended to the fourth step of 6-foot and 10-foot metal stepladders respectively. Employee #1 was holding the drywall in his right hand while holding onto the ladder with his left hand as he ascended. After reaching the fourth step, he held the drywall against the wall with both hands above his shoulders while his coworker attempted to secure the drywall with screws. In order to align the drywall with an electrical box in the wall more closely, the coworker moved the piece of drywall toward Employee #1. At this point, the coworker heard Employee #1 yell. Employee #1 felt the ladder move, possibly because the drywall shifted horizontally or because the drywall slipped down, hitting the ladder. Employee #1 fell with the ladder to the floor and fractured his wrist. Employee #1's direct supervisor, the plant manager, was in the labeling area at the time of the accident. Cal/OSHA has determined that the installation of the drywall was not conducted in a safe manner, as it was performed from ladders rather than from a safer means, such as a scaffold. While ascending the ladder with the drywall, Employee #1 could hold the ladder with only one hand, and when securing the drywall, he released the ladder completely and used both hands to push against the drywall to keep it in place. The employer will be issued a serious citation for not providing a scaffold for work that could not be safely done from ladders.

Keywords: FRACTURE, MAINTENANCE, WALL, LADDER, MANUAL MAT HANDLING, FALL, LOST BALANCE, WRIST