Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303731319 - Gillham Masonry

Inspection Information - Office: Omaha Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:58 p.m. on April 18, 2002, Employees #1, #2, #3, and #4 were moving the working level of the scaffold. They were erecting a block wall at a condominium-style residential site. The block wall was 44-ft long by 25-ft high and the scaffold was erected the full length of the wall being erected. A tubular welded frame scaffold, designed by A-1 Scaffold, B series, was erected to approximately 24 ft 9 in. when it collapsed. Employee #1 jumped free of the scaffold and was hit by the falling scaffold, sustaining minor scrapes and contusions. Employee #2, who ended up under the base of the scaffold sustained only minor scrapes and abrasions. Employees #3 and #4 were on the south end of the scaffold when it fell. They rode the falling scaffold as it collapsed. Employee #3 sustained a broken hip and leg. Employee #4 hit his head and sustained severe head trauma. Employees #3 and #4 were hospitalized. The exact cause of the accident is not known, however, several conditions may have contributed to it including wind gusts, loads on the scaffold, lack of supervision by a competent person while changes were being made to the scaffold, and the scaffold was not secured or tied in to the building.

Keywords: FRACTURE, WALL, COLLAPSE, FALL, STRUCK BY, HIP, CONTUSION, LEG, SCAFFOLD, TUBULAR SCAFFOLD