Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303988166 - American Masonry Enterprises, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Jacksonville Area Office

Investigation Summary

During the morning of March 8, 2002, an employee and another worker were removing an 81 by 86 inches of a concrete block wall on a house to install a window in that space. The block wall had reinforcing steel (rebar) running vertically through some of the blocks, and had joint reinforcing wire running horizontally through some of the blocks. The employees used a mason saw to cut through the blocks. Then they removed the sections of block that did not contain any rebar. The last two columns of block had vertical rebar and horizontal reinforcing wire in them. The employees cut the rebar from the top and bottom of one of the columns, and then manually pushed the column towards the outside of the building. When they pushed the column, the bottom of the column fell into the house. Because the horizontal wires were still connected to the block, the column did not fall to the floor, but swung (like a gate) into the building, and struck the employee in the head. The column weighed approximately 300 pounds because of the concrete within it. The employee was taken to a local hospital where he died later of a head injury.

Keywords: HEAD, REBAR, WIRE ROPE, CONCRETE BLOCK, CONCRETE